The automatic doors to the emergency room slid open with a whoosh, admitting a frail elderly man guided in by a paramedic. He leaned heavily on a stretcher, gray hair disheveled, eyes darting around uncertainly.
"John Doe, seems to be in his late 70s, was found wandering and unresponsive near the park," the paramedic rattled off. "Possible dementia, maybe stroke too."
Dr. Jenkins looked up from reviewing a chart at the nurse's station. His gaze softened behind his rimless glasses. "Let's get him settled in bay 2," he directed. Carefully, they helped the man onto the exam bed.
"Sir, I'm Dr. Jenkins," Ren introduced himself gently, his pen light quickly accessing the man's pupils. "Can you tell me your name?" The man stared at him blankly. Ren nodded at Hana who stood nearby. "Can you help me get his vitals?"
Hana moved quietly to assist, with efficient motions she took the man's blood pressure, pulse, and other readings, documenting each dutifully. Her touch was feather-light as if sensing his fragility.
Ren inspected the man further, no facial drooping to indicate a stroke. He held the man's hands, noting a faint tremor. Testing reflexes elicited no response.
"Possible catatonia," Ren murmured. When he peeled back an eyelid, the man flinched slightly but otherwise remained unresponsive, adrift in a haze they could not penetrate.
Hana hovered nearby, observing the perplexing case. Her hands, though fully gloved, twisted the hem of her scrubs in unconscious worry.
"Poor thing," Julia remarked softly, joining them. Her curly hair bounced gently as she checked the monitors. "No ID, no family here. We'll have to fingerprint and photograph to try contacting next of kin." Hana's heart constricted at the thought of him utterly alone.
The man's eyes flew open, suddenly lucid. He stared at Hana with recognition. "Sammy!" he croaked. "Where is...my Sammy..." His voice dissolved into racking coughs.
In the blur of medical personnel swarming around the gurney, the patient's hand darts out, grasping Hana's wrist. A jolt passes between them and suddenly she's awash in visions - a woman on a swing in a sunlit yard, the harsh squeal of tires, labored breathing through an oxygen mask, the smile of the same lady in a white dress. Hana gasps, the memories slamming into her with force.
"Nurse Shizumi, step back!" Dr. Jenkins orders, misreading her distress. Hana swayed, the images flooding her mind too rapidly to grasp.
The connection was broken suddenly by other nurses. The visions faded but left a shadow—the lonely specter of love and loss. Sammy must be the woman from the glimpse she'd seen. His daughter or wife perhaps.
Hana pales. What have I done? She backs away slowly, feeling the air in her lungs shorten with each breath. She couldn't have a panic attack in the middle of an emergency. Dr. Jenkins glances at her quizzically before returning his focus to his patient. The danger seems to have passed, but Hana's heart hammers against her ribs.
Green eyes flash with irritation beneath her riotous halo of copper curls. "You help by following protocol, not panicking at every slight tension," Crystal continues sharply.
"I am sorry," Hana whispers, blinking back tears. Her slender fingers worry over the charm on her necklace compulsively. She cannot meet Crystal's stern gaze.
As the most senior nurse, she runs a tight ship. Hana shrinks under her glare. "No more sideshows. Understand?"
Hana nods mutely, cheeks flaming. She just wants to disappear, to rewind time and stop herself from unleashing the visions. But the man's whispered plea echoes in her mind - "Where is my Sammy?"
YOU ARE READING
Eternally Yours
Romantizm"...Even if our love takes a century to reignite, this wanting heart will wait two..." Haunted by a childhood trauma, Hana, a gifted but introverted intern, walks the halls of the hospital with a secret burden. Kidnapped on her fifth birthday, the e...
