Dei went for her rounds early the next morning. She was surprised to see Bed 2 empty. It was as if someone had haphazardly thrown the beddings on it, too.
“Ano kayang nangyari kagabi?” Dei asked Nina who picked up a pillow from the floor and helped Dei with cleaning up around Bed 2.
“Sabi ni Kakai, tin-ransfer daw si Faulkerson kaninang madaling araw…mukhang nag seizure ata tapos ayun, nilipat na…”
“Saan naman?”
Nina shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention to Lt. Tan, who was moaning in Bed 1. Odd numbered beds lined one side of the ward. Nina drew the curtain around Lt. Tan’s bed as he needed to pee.
As Dei was removing and folding the soiled and used sheets and beddings from Bed 2, she found Rj’s dogtag tucked in between the mattress and the frame. They had put that same dogtag under Rj’s pillow when he was first brought to Bed 2 but it found its way into that space from all the movement on the bed.
Dei pocketed the dogtag with thoughts of surrendering it later on to her superiors. She stripped the bed clean and tidied the rest of the area up. In the ward, ‘old’ patients were replaced almost immediately so Dei needed to have Bed 2 ready and useable. She took the soiled beddings to the laundry and returned with clean sheets which she put back on the bed.
Dei was staring at the empty bed when she felt something very warm in her panta pocket. She reached in and felt the dogtag.
“Ano na kaya nangyari sa kanya?”
“Kanina mo pa naayos yung kama pero sya pa rin ang iniisip mo?”
“Hmm…ewan ko nga ba…” Dei shrugged.
“Don’t tell me nahulog ang loob mo sa kanya…”
“Paano? Eh halos tatlo-apat na araw pa lang sya dito…”
“Sabagay…o, kung tapos ka na mag-emote, yung pasyente mo sa Bed 1, mukhang tapos na rin magmilagro…” Nina broke Dei’s daydream as a whiff of poop filled the air.
“S…sorry…akala ko utot lang e …” replied Lt. Dario.
“…tapos ka na ba talaga?” Dei asked as she drew the curtain around the bed and got some supplies from the bedside cabinet.
“…I think so…”
Dei sat in her bunk, holding the dogtags up and examining them.
“Hala sya! Di mo pa rin sinu-surrender yan?” Nina, who was on the top bed of their bunkbed, looked down at Dei. She moved down to Dei’s bed and sat beside her.
“…di naman hinahanap e…”
“…hindi nga…na-update mo naman yung chart nya diba? Nilagay mo ba dun na nahanap mo yan as personal effects?”
“…hindi…”
“Hmmm…pwedeng wag mo nalang sabihin…”
“…pwede…basta wag mo rin ako isusumbong…”
“…well…”
“…ikwento ko kaya na nagmomomol kayo ni Buknoy sa likod ng water tank?” Dei teased.
“…bakit alam mo yun?”
“Pinapahanap kayo si Ma’am Marta nung isang araw kasi sobra na ata kayo sa 15 minute break e…”
“Ang hot kasi ni Buknoy…nakita mo na ba yung mga pandesal nya? My gahd! Pengeng chizwhiz!”
“Talaga lang ha?” Dei giggled. “O, basta wag mo akong isusumbong, di rin ako magkkwento ng sexcapades mo sa water tank…”
“Oks!”
Dei kept the dogtags in her pocket and made it her lucky charm, bringing it wherever she went.
She noticed that it would become warm sometimes. It felt warm especially when she felt tired or stressed from work. It felt like a warm hand caressing her, assuring her that everything was going to be okay and she felt better.
A month later, an order for Dei to return to headquarters came. A certain Sgt. Tuviera had her located and requested for her to return to headquarters in the city. Dei was already getting used to work and routine at the camp hospital but she also wondered why she was being transferred again. And she wasn’t returning to the same hospital either.
“Sa Mendoza daw tayo…”
“Mendoza?”
“Oo, yung state-of-the-art facility dun sa kampo.”
“Yung sa city?”
“Oo. Nag upgrade sila. Balita ko talagang bongga yung facilities nila…ang alam ko nga, pahirapan makakuha ng work dun…”
“Ows?”
“Karamihan daw nung staff dun, hand picked…kaya maswerte tayo…”
“Lahat ba tayo sa grupo malilipat?”
“Oo ata…pero sa iba-iba pa ring units…sana magkasama pa rin tayo…”
“Hmm…”
“O, ready ka na? Maaga daw tayo lilipad bukas…”
“O...oo…kamusta na kaya sya? Saan kaya sya nalipat?” Dei asked as she held the dogtags up again before slipping them on her neck for safe keeping.
She’s never told anyone about it getting warm every now and then. Tonight, it felt warm again as she put it around her neck.
BINABASA MO ANG
Dogtag (completed)
Ficção Geralthis started from a prompt for a twitterserye soldier + military nurse find love in an unlikely circumstance disclaimer: ranks mentioned in the story are for labeling purposes only. they are not meant to discredit official titles or ranks of officer...
