Mga Pakiwari at Pagmumuni-muni (Book Two)

Stay With Me

Stay With Me

A Short Story prompted by Raquel Panopio over at Twitter for being the winner of Quills and Brushes featured writer story.

//

"We're losing her! Come on!"
"Get me the crash cart!"
"Heartbeat is non-existent!"
"Charge it up now!"
"Open her damn robe, come on!"
"Clear? CLEAR!"
"What's the reading??"
"Pulse is slow but now registering."
"Ok! One more time! Clear it!"
"Charge it up! Clear?? CLEAR!"
"Again, come on! We're losing her! We cannot--"

"Angel, baby. Please. Please. Please. Stay with me, please. Please. Don't do this. Baby, please."

"Please baby... Come back to me."

//

"Menggay! OMG gurl! I'm so proud of you!!" Coleen Mendoza squealed as she hugged her younger sister tight outside the school auditorium. "Grabe! May kapatid na akong doktor!! Hindi na ako magbabayad kapag may sakit ako!"

"Huy!" Nicomaine Mendoza, or Menggay to her family, reprimanded her older sister, hitting her playfully on her arm. "Ano ka ba?! May bayad ka pa rin! May family discount ka nga lang."

"Tse! Grabe 'to! Minsan na nga lang maglambing."

"Lambing pala talaga 'yung lagi kang magpapalibre, ganern?!"

"Eh bakit ba? Doktor ka na! Malaki kita ng mga doktor kaya."

"Ah ganon?? Eh paano kaya kung--"

"Menggay, Coleen. Mga anak."

Both sisters turned once they heard the voice of their mother behind them. They stopped talking and with a huge smiles on their faces, both girls ran towards where their mother was pushing their father slowly on his wheelchair.

"Nay, Tay!"

"Menggay, anak ko," Teddy Mendoza, Nicomaine's father, raspingly called just as Nicomaine swooped down to hug and kiss her father on his cheek. "Congratulations, anak."

"Salamat, Tay," she quietly replied before slowly pulling back and smiling softly at her father and mother. "Ginawa ko naman lahat ng ito para sa iyo, eh. Para sa inyo ni Nanay. Para mas madali ko kayong gamutin."

Teddy has Parkinson's Disease. And though there wasn't any cure for it as of the moment, Nicomaine was adamant that she would make sure that her father still has the best life ever especially now that she was a doctor.

"Ano, tara na? Kain tayo," Nicomaine said as she went to her mother and hooked her arm with hers. "Si Coleen daw manglilibre."

"Hoy! Anong ako?? Eh ikaw nga 'tong--"

"Hep! Hep! Hep! Wala pa akong sweldo. Kaka-sworn in ko lang. Ikaw - tatlong taon ka ng may trabaho. Kaya dapat ikaw ang manlibre."

"Grabe siya sa 'kin," Coleen replied, mumbling under her breath. "Sige na nga. Ang saya saya mo talaga forevs. Basta libre mo rin ako kapag nagpa-checkup na ako sa 'yo."

"Fine, fine," Nicomaine waved her sister off. "Lead the way na! Gutom na kami! Dali!"

//

"No, Sam. I am not doing this."

"Come on, pare. Just show her the ropes. Then you can go back to brooding and not doing anything medical in this hospital as usual. Tutal - this hospital is yours anyway."

"That's the point. It's MY hospital so I could do whatever I damn please here. And I say no."

Dr. Leysam Sanciangco huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest and glared at his colleague and long-time friend - Dr. Richard Faulkerson, Jr. or Doc RJ as most people knew him by. They were in RJ's office at the very top floor of Faulkerson General Hospital and Leysam was trying to get his friend back in the medical brood, so to speak.