Dual Destinies

CHAPTER I - MARTH

My gaze strayed appreciatively over the panorama of the ocean's sparkling blue waves swelling and foaming with white as they lazily hugged the seashore. I was glad to be stationed at Brent Hospital that week because I was already running out of steam. . I was a ticking time bomb– I felt like I was going to burst any moment because of my stressful life as a student nurse. At least our conference room was overlooking the stunning view of the ocean, I thought.

In one week I'd experience anxiety, tension, uneasiness, and sadness because we're constantly bombarded with school requirements and difficult exams. The emotional merry-go-round I'd been on had been going on and on for months.

"Marth, are you okay?" Maya, one of my dutymates, concernedly asked.

"Huh?" I answered distractedly, shifting my gaze from the ocean to her face.

She chuckled and continued, "I was asking you if you're okay. You're in a daze."

"Your black hair is slowly fading to gray, and your face went from tan to cyanotic real quick!" she joked.

"Get it? 'Cause you seem blue!"

I laid the drug handbook I was holding in my lap and sighed. "It's nothing, I'm okay," I calmly responded.

"Ya sure?" she doubted as she stood up and continued, "Hmmkay, I'll go check in with my patient and take his 12 o'clock vital signs. Be right back."

Finally, she's gone and I was left in solitude. It's not that I didn't like her. In fact, I appreciated her concern, but I'd rather be alone that time. I looked back at the scenic view of the ocean and drew in a deep breath and expelled it slowly in an attempt to mend both my headache and... heartache. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

I rose from the cold plastic chair I'd been sitting on for minutes and went back to my patient's bedroom to check his IV fluid level.

I stood on the doorway and knocked on the door then opened it. "Good afternoon, sir," I greeted Mr. Diego Sta. Maria, my patient. I took a step forward but quickly halted– I forgot that he's diagnosed with tuberculosis, so I donned my mask on before going closer to him.

I grabbed his IV fluid bottle to measure its fluid level. While checking it, I couldn't help myself but feel sorry for Mr. Sta. Maria. He only learned about his illness a few days ago and was still coping up with it. "600 mL, sir," I reassuringly told my patient as I returned the bottle to the pole. "How are you?" I asked.

"My chest is aching," he reported to me in a feeble voice.

He's not alone. My chest had been burning of pain for weeks, too, after my ex-boyfriend called it quits with me. He dumped me the night we celebrated our first anniversary and my 18th birthday in his apartment. The painful memory was still vivid in my mind– I clung to him as hard as I could, but sadly, he pushed me away then out his apartment like I were a dog.

As the nights went by, the nightmares that plagued me had become worse. Many a night had I been forced to relive the moment that he left me.

I didn't realize I detached my being from the physical reality of my patient's room and Mr. Sta. Maria's presence and therefore did not notice him eagerly waiting for an answer.

Tensely, I asked, "When did this pain start?"

"Just a moment earlier," he replied with an apparent weakness in his voice.

"I see. Maybe you need to rise and sit down," I said as I approached him. I asked him if it was okay to assist him to sit on his bed and he agreed. I raise the foot of his bed so he wouldn't slide down.

"I'll be right–" I said but was interrupted by a knock on the door. The door then creaked open, and a young man with a disheveled curly hair carrying a plastic bag filled with groceries walked his way to the bed.

"Uncle, are you okay?" the guy asked with worried eyes.

"I'm fine, Janssen," Mr. Sta. Maria replied in a voice that hoped that his nephew would be relieved.

His nephew wasn't convinced and he averted his look towards me. Our gazes met and he asked, "Sir, what's wrong with my uncle? Is he alright?"

I was eager to share my knowledge, but I hesitated. I removed my mask and replied, "Sir, it's better if you ask those questions to Mr. Sta. Maria himself."

"Alright. I'll go ahead and finish my other tasks. If you need me, don't hesitate to ring the call bell," I continued and went out the patient's bedroom.