The Physiotherapist (English)

Chapter 2 - The Phone call

He was sitting under the shade of a tree in front of the house. He liked to rest watching the movement of the waves in the sea, sometimes he kept his eyes closed, just listening to the sound of the waves breaking on the beach. This was one of his favourite shows. When he opened his eyes, he saw the girl coming out of the water holding a woman's hands. He felt his heartbeat faster and faster inside his chest as the two walked towards him. When they were close, the little girl let go of the woman's hands and ran towards her with a smile on her face. Reaching him, she stopped, looked at him with affection and said:

- Hi my angel! They need you and you need them. Open your heart and do not waste this chance!

Placing a kiss on his cheek, the little girl hurried back to the woman, bringing her hands together again. He saw the two of them reentering the water before disappearing from his sight, while he was still trying to say something without succeeding.

Dr Singto Prachaya jumped out of bed screaming for Myna. When he realized that it had been a dream, he began to cry. It had been years since he dreamed of his little sister. It had been fifteen years since she left.

As he calmed down, Singto remembered when his mother got pregnant and the birth of his little sister. He was six years old and a sister three years older, who no longer wanted to play with him, saying that he was too young, so he kept asking his parents for a little brother or sister as a gift. He always said he would help take care of him or her. When his mother told him she was pregnant, he screamed and jumped for joy. Finally, he would be the big brother and he would protect his little brother or sister. Unfortunately, the plans did not go exactly as planned. His mother had a difficult pregnancy and everyone was told by the doctor that the little girl would be born with some special needs, they just didn't know the full extent of these needs.

Myriana, whom Singto immediately started calling Myna, was born with a serious problem with her spine, limiting her mobility, and a deficiency in her diaphragm, the muscle that helps the lungs breathe in and out, forcing her to become trapped in a machine to carry out breathing for her. As they were from a very wealthy family, it was not difficult to adapt the house to receive the little girl with all the necessary equipment to make her as comfortable as possible.

Despite his six years, Singto fulfilled exactly what he had promised. He took upon himself, within the limits allowed, the responsibility of taking care of the girl, he even learned to do the exercises that the physiotherapist ordered to practice with Myna, to improve her respiratory system. Whenever I could, I was with the girl. When he woke up, he ran to his room to kiss her good morning and talk to her. When he got home from school he would tell about his day and before going to sleep he would always stop by to kiss him goodnight. It came as no surprise to anyone when the girl started talking and one of the first words she said was "Shing", and so she continued to call him. When she was six years old, Myna caught a cold that quickly progressed to severe pneumonia. Singto was in high school when he saw his father at the door of the room to pick him up. At that moment, even without needing his father to say the reason, he knew that his greatest fear was happening: his little sister was leaving!

When he got home, Singto ran to his little sister's room and, as he always did, came in smiling at her and asked:

- How is my little angel feeling?

With difficulty breathing and speaking, she replied slowly:

- I am... stil... not... your... angel... but... I pomise... that... I wil be! But... you... have aways... ben... my... angel! Tank you... for... taking cari... of... me, "Shing"! (I am... still... not... your... angel... but... I promise... that... I will be! But... you... have always... been... my... angel! Thank you... for... taking care... of... me, "Shing"!)

Unable to say anything else, Singto held and kissed his little sister's hand when she left. His mother, who was by his side the entire time, pulled him in and hugged him tight as he cried his pain.

Some tears were still running down his face when he realized his cell phone was ringing insistently. He took another deep breath before answering the call.

- Dr Prachaya speaking!

- Good morning, Dr! Sorry to call so early, but the hospital has a patient in need of you. The operator on the other end of the line spoke.

- I will be there as soon as possible. He replied as he remembered the dream. "They need you and you need them. Open your heart and don't waste this chance!"