Just a Dream

October 31, 2023

Today's the day I go out and celebrate my birthday with friends and family. I'm not able to do that immediately  though because I have work until 5:00pm.

I make a quick glance at the clock in my car, 6 in the morning. I sigh, I mean, someone has to work today to pay the bills. With this in mind, I slowly emerge from the car's seat and make my way to the doors of Columbia Health Hospital. Major hospital right? You'd probably think I have some fancy job here that's high paying. Actuality.... I just clean and sterilize the supplies that get used and clean the area after they transfer a patient. Basically a janitor during and after procedures. Gross? Only sometimes.

Suddenly, there's a loud crash coming from the ER doors from paramedics rushing in a patient. I quickly tie my hair back and put on my protective clothes and make my way towards the scene. Upon arrival, I see a girl, about my age covered in broken glass, bruises, and blood.

"Lionetti you don't need to be here for this procedure." One of the doctors call to me.

Her BP is high along with her heart rate and I can tell she's lost a lot of blood.

"Lionetti you need to leave the room" I hear the doctor call again.

"What happened? Do you have a name for the patient?" I ask grabbing the clipboard from the nurse.

I skim the page and find the name of the patient.

"Lionetti you absolutely cannot be in here for this one. If you keep this up we're gonna lose her, she's already lost too much blood!" The doctor calls once again ordering me to leave.

"I can't be in here? She's my sister, I think I'd be more help than any of you! We're compatible in blood type and I know just about everything there is to know about her and you wanna tell me I can't be in here?!" It was my oldest and closest sister who got into an accident with a drunk driver, her car was totaled and Ava looks absolutely horrible.

"You're right, sorry, just don't get in the way. We didn't want you here because we didn't know how you'd react to the situation" He apologizes.

"If there's anyway I can help,I'll be around the corner..." I say before leaving the room to grab my bag that I left in the back room.

I slowly pull out my phone, pull up the dial pad, and hesitate before calling.

We've never been close and haven't spoken to each other since I left. I'm pretty sure she doesn't even have my number anymore. I let out a long sigh and finally press the call button.

The phone rings a couple times then I hear a soft, "hello?"

"Mom?" I say partly choking on my words scared that she'll think I did this to Ava. "A-Ava's here in the hospital's ER..."

"What?! What happened?!"

"Car accident... She looks REALLY bad... I'll call you when I get any update on her condition- I need to go" and just like that, I ended the call. She needed to know about it but I don't know at all how to talk to my mother, it's always just been me and Ava...

I make my way back to the room to see once more if I could help out in any way possible. One I walked in, the doctor tripped over the table of supplies causing them to fall and scatter on the floor, liquids spilled as well with a loud crash from the tray making contact with the floor. I ran out to grab a replacement of sterilized tools and returned it to the stand so they could continue while I cleaned up the mess.

"We're losing her!"
"She needs blood!"
"Stabilize the heart rate, or she'll lose more blood even faster!"

All the doctors start panicking causing me to panic as well. In the panic I get bumped over with one of the doctor's hip and in attempt to catch myself, my hand lands on an open wire chewed through but what seemed to be a mouse.

I felt a shock and I felt the whole world spin and go blurry.

"D-Doctor? I don't- I don't feel too good." And that's it, end of the line for me. Death from an electronic shock of an unprotected wire.

Or so I thought.