Wicked Fate

FIFTYSECOND CHAPTER

Acceptance

"NO!!!!!!", Dara screams as everything around her starts to spin.

It begins slowly and then goes faster and faster and faster as both her parents disappear and a hazy mist envelops the space surrounding her.

She hears snippets of conversations, laughter, cries of sadness, triumphant jubilations, sighs of fear – they pound into her head all at once and as she is about to screech for all of it to stop, a stillness settles in.

As the smoke clears, she finds herself in a hospital – no... this is the clinic. It is the same but somehow it is different.

She is in the emergency room.

"All clear?", she hears someone asked and sees that she has now been transported in the middle of an operation.

"Clear", a very familiar voice answers.

She hears the whirr of electricity and sees them trying to revive someone – bloodied, struggling... it is no other than her Grandfather.

"Oh my God", she exclaims and knows without a doubt that she has now arrived at the very night her Grandfather met a road accident. He was immediately rushed to the hospital and she, Chaerin, and her Aunt scrambled to immediately reach him.

When they arrived, he was already declared dead.

This could be those few precious moments before he finally passes away.

"We have a pulse", somebody shouts excitedly, "We have a pulse!"

There is gentle coughing and everyone in the room pauses for a second to confirm if it came from the old man.

"Principal Park", one of the nurses beseeched and Dara finally recognized her as her beloved unnie.

She was a Nurse in the clinic too before becoming a teacher.

"Mai-ah...", her Grandfather's weak voice echoes throughout the whole room. Dara is sure that almost everyone there knows who he is.

He is checked for lucidity.

It is a normal procedure most especially with patients who have to undergo intensive operation. As the whole room prepares and instructions are given back and forth, Mai takes his hand and tries to get his history.

Without family present, they have to try to check with the patient as long as his conscious mind is working about potential allergies he has to any medicine. A patient's adverse reaction to a drug can easily cause death in these procedures.

"You're badly injured Sir. We have to operate on you immediately, but can you help us? We have to know if you're allergic to any form of drug", Mai asks now – as calmly as she could for Dara could see that her eyes want to burst into tears.

"I'm not allergic to anything", her Grandfather answers, a little strength in his voice.

"Your blood type Sir?"

"I'm an O", he grasps for air, "Before you sedate me..."

"Mr. Park –", Mai dissuades but sees that the old man really wants to speak.

Her Grandfather looks directly into her unnie's eyes and Dara feels the hand inside her heart squeeze tighter. He is struggling but he is determined – no one can ever mistake the look he is giving. "Whatever happens to me, tell my Grandchildren that I love them and that I will always be beside them... they will never ever be alone."