Call of the Water (COMPLETE)

54. THROUGH THE GLASS

The waiting room in the clinic was bright and colorful. The walls were painted lemony yellow, the comfortable soft chairs added orange, blue and purple to the mix, while several lush plants brought in the green.

A large window overlooking a well-kept garden let the sunlight in. On the far end, to liven up the shaded part of the waiting room, was an aquarium inhabited by many multicolored fish.

During the past couple of hours which we spent there, my eyes would often follow the paths of the fish that swam carelessly through the water. I deliberately sat right opposite of the reminder of my former home. Chairs on each side of me were empty. Harper was sitting one seat away, Opal and Nia sat close to the doors to the operating room, and Ardea next to Mathias by the window. Mr. August stepped outside for a while to stretch his legs.

Through the frosted glass on the sliding doors that lead towards the operating rooms, we could make out silhouettes of the personnel walking by.

Somewhere in the distance, a church bell marked the passing of another hour. Nia sighed. "I feel like we should do something," she said.

"What can we do?" Harper asked.

"Say a prayer," Nia suggested.

"I think we're already saying our prayers," Ardea replied. "Just silently."

"It wouldn't do any good anyways," Mathias decided to share his thoughts. "We don't know the deity Aquantiens pray to."

They all turned their heads to me, making me feel compelled to answer. "We believe in the living ocean. We pray to the sea currents for abundance. We pray to the tides, asking them to provide for us."

"In that case, I have to agree with the wol...Mathias," Opal said. "I don't think that praying to the currents and the tides would do much good in this case."

Before anyone had a chance to agree with her or to oppose her, the entrance door opened and two familiar faces joined us.

"Hello Azora's parents!" Opal was the first to greet them.

"Hello everyone," my father replied.

"Any news?" my mother wanted to know.

"Not yet," I said.

The eyes of every single person in the waiting room wandered off in the direction of the sliding doors. We watched as the figures, blurred due to the frosted glass, moved around. Very little sounds came through the doors. Our thoughts traveled to an operating room at the end of a hallway to be with an Aquantien patient.

My mother sat next to me, my father by her side. The silence coated us.

After several minutes, Doctor Kasian's voice traveled to us. "Everybody, get ready! This is it!"

I gripped the armrest of the chair I was sitting on and leaned forward, completely unaware of anything else. After hearing Doctor Kasian's voice, the world around me sank into a fog. All that existed were the sliding doors and the people on the other side.

A beeping sound was heard, followed by a commotion after which Doctor Kasian gave an order like a general in the battle. "Submerge her! Now!"

I startled when I felt someone's grip on my hand. I looked to the side, meeting my mother's eyes as she tried to let me know the fear I was feeling wasn't limited only to me. I looked around the room and realized that they all shared my apprehension.

My free hand reached out and grasped Harper's palm, while my mothers free hand looked for my father's palm. Like a chain reaction, everyone's hands reached out to hold the hands of the persons sitting the closest.