Molecule

Chapter 4: From Honey to Gall

Our first month of marriage was as perfect as our feelings. But perfection doesn't last forever... This is one of the dates I will never forget since those pains started tormenting Ezra. It was exactly January 9, 2019. On this day, at two-fifteen in the afternoon, Ezra had sent me a message saying he was coming home early because he wasn't feeling well. I advised him to see a doctor and get his kidneys examined since he had been experiencing terrible colic for at least two months, possibly due to kidney stones. However, he was as stubborn as I was, and knowing it could be those "kidney stones," he decided to go home and have his famous herbal tea. I asked him to let me know if he needed anything and went back to work.

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Six forty-five in the evening. I park my car in front of the house, but on the other side of the street because there's an ambulance and two official government vehicles in front of my residence. My heart almost jumps out of my chest with nervousness. I rush inside, exuding the essence of despair.

"What's happening here?!" I shout to the men as soon as I enter my own house.

"Mrs. Pruton? Please, stay where you are. wear this," a well-dressed federal agent stops me from going to the rooms and offers me a heavy-duty respiratory protection mask, which I immediately refuse.

"Are you crazy?! I'm not putting that on!" I throw the mask to the ground with disdain. "I want to see my husband immediately! And the correct pronunciation is Priton (Prüton)!"

"Ma'am, I'm Federal Agent Machado. I'm afraid I can't allow you to see your husband yet. We'll wait for the doctors to come out and..."

"I'm going to see my husband!" I speak loudly enough for at least both neighbors to hear, and I dodge the agent, running to our bedroom and opening the door abruptly.

I hear recently activated defibrillators being de-energized, and the sound of the machine announces Ezra's heartbeat returning. Tears inevitably fill my eyes, and I rush to him as he lies on the bed, slowly opening his eyes with strong coughing.

"Love, you're here..." he comments with a weak voice and closes his eyes again, dropping his head.

"What's happening here?! What are you doing to my husband?!" I scream hysterically.

"Ma'am, we need you to step aside! We need to take him to the hospital immediately!" one of the two doctors isolated in white suits retorts.

The sound of the environment seemed to mute. I look at Ezra, who is quickly placed on a stretcher and carried to the ambulance. Quickly, but to me, my eyes seem to capture that moment in slow motion. My blood pressure drops like an out-of-control plane, and I suddenly feel my chest cooling down. My body collapses to the ground, and before I completely pass out, I feel Agent Machado carrying me in his arms to the same ambulance.