Searching for love

2

My body felt heavy as I attempted to open my eyes but failed to do so. I strained my ears to hear the familiar sound of a steady beep which was accompanied by the smell of antiseptic. Yes, I was in the hospital. A place I totally loathed. I guess this was a totally natural reaction for many. After all, my mother had only passed away a few months ago and I now associate hospitals with death. My mother was all I had and she got taken away from me fairly early. My throat felt scratchy and parched and I wanted water. I finally opened my eyes only to quickly close them again to shield them from the bright light. I slowly forced myself up in an upright position and groped blindly for a glass of water with my eyes mostly closed. Finally succeeding in finding what seemed like a glass of water I chugged it down and sat back against the bed, my breathing shallow again. Why was I so tired? What had happened? Maybe an allergic reaction from my lunch? But I hadn't eaten anything unusual...I decided to call for the nurse as it seemed like no one was going to check on me anytime soon and I needed answers. I painstakingly pushed the button, my hands limply falling to the side after completing a task that could only be described as easy was accomplished.

I had only just closed my eyes and regained my steady breathing when a doctor came in accompanied by a police officer. I frowned at their entrance, confusion clear on my face. What was a cop doing here? I wasn't shot or anything so why was one here? Seeing the confusion on my face, the doctor offered me a papery smile, and said, "Hello, I am Doctor Jordan and this is Deputy Michales. We just have a few questions for you, Ms. Layla Johnson". I nodded at the two tall men in the room and said my voice hoarse and low, "Before that, if you don't mind I have a few questions of my own...for instance, what is going on? What happened to me?"

Dr. Jordan nodded and said, "It seemed that you were poisoned and collapsed at the park. We flushed out the poison from your body but you are still weak and the effects of the poison are still lingering. This poison is unique and we don't actually have an antidote and have never dealt with it before. However, since it didn't do too much damage to you, we believe it's a weak poison. The deputy here needs to ask you some questions about how you might be poisoned". I sighed and nodded. Here I am at a hospital, poisoned of all things. My once quiet and monotonous life had finally changed to a fast-paced mystery story and I couldn't be happier! Well as long as I didn't die. But even then...my life was finally looking up. Trying to hide the smile that attempted to burst free I looked head-on at the young, still, babyface deputy who attempted to put on a serious and mature cop face which led me to stifle the giggles that were bursting through. Really, what was going on with my life?

"So ma'am. Do you remember consuming or drinking anything close to the time when you collapsed in the park?", Deputy Jordan asked his voice loud and clear. I nodded and said, "Yes, in fact, it was lunchtime. I headed to my favorite cafe where I had my usual order however, I only had a small bite and threw it away though and headed to the park immediately after that". The Deputy scribbled furiously in his little notebook and said, "Do you think you ever noticed anyone following you?", my eyes widened at his words and I screeched and said, "You think I'm being followed? No way! I would have noticed that, right?"

The deputy looked up from his notebook and said, "Don't worry about it. These are procedural questions. Do you think there's anyone who would want to harm you?", I groaned, my head spinning in circles. I knew I wanted more excitement in my life and to break away from the monotony but I did not ask for this, definitely not. "No, I do not have any enemies. In fact, I have no friends or no life. I go to work and come home every day that's all. My mother was the only one that was a part of my life. Is that what you wanted to hear!", with that out of my system I slumped onto the bed, my head throbbing wildly and closed my eyes. I ignored the doctor and deputy and heard them leave eventually. As soon as they left, I broke into tears. It was at this moment I felt more alone than I ever did. I had no one to call and no one asking about my wellbeing. For the first time, I felt truly alone.

I had finally been discharged from the hospital after having to stay overnight for further observations. It was a Saturday so I really didn't have anything planned. As I walked down the hospital's busy corridor I thanked God that I had been sick on a Friday, imagine the amount of work I would have missed otherwise! I had already contacted the office and they assured me that they had everything covered and that I could have Monday off as well. As I stepped into the taxi that awaited me I realized what a crazy workaholic I was. Here I was thinking about work after being poisoned! Really, what was wrong with me? I looked outside the window noticing the brightly lit and covered streets that were swarmed with people. They were happy people and busy people, there were sad people and poor people. New York was truly a beautiful city filled with people of different races, ethnicities, and statuses. Sadly, even after growing up in this city and living here for all of my life I had never gone around doing anything at all here or appreciated the city's beauty before. I sighed heavily and leaned against the seat of the taxi. My phone rang and I rushed to receive it. The only people who could be calling me were all from work but since it was a weekend...it was highly unlikely. I hurriedly picked up the call and breathlessly said, "Hello, this is Layla Johnson". I heard rustling from the other end and a deep, clear voice said, "Hello ma'am. This is Deputy Michales. Sorry for interrupting your weekend, but if you could stop by the station today we would greatly appreciate that. We have some news and information we need to share with you". I nodded to myself, my eyes glinting in excitement. Yay! I finally had plans for the weekend, the first in a long time. I told the Deputy would head there soon and he thanked me and hung up. I eagerly told the cab driver to head to the station and we were on our way.

I seriously needed to thank the person who poisoned me because this was a whole new experience for me. The station was insanely busy, with people screaming, crying and running around. It was also a beautiful sprawling building that had apparently been established in the 1800s! Wow! Its architecture was simply spoiled. I walked further down to the front desk where a queue awaited me. I peeked to the front of the queue which was definitely many feet ahead. How long would I have to wait in the queue? As soon as that thought entered my head I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to face the young deputy. He smiled a stiff smile towards me and led me away further inside the station to what seemed like a large conference room. As he was leading me away I noticed his frown. "What's wrong? You seem to be frowning?"His eyes widened at my question and he coughed and said, "It seems that you are in the same clothes that we found you in. It still has a little bit of blood". I looked down at the white top and black trousers and frowned, true enough my shirt was stained in blood. I ran a hand through my hair and said, "Oops, I didn't realize. I just got released from the hospital and was on my way home when you called. I decided to head here directly". He nodded at my words and said, "Are you feeling better now?", he opened the door to one room as he asked me this and I nodded. Inside the room was another man who appeared in his late forties and was dressed smartly in a suit instead of the regular cop uniform which led me to believe he was the detective leading my case.

The detective got up at my entrance and strode forward and extended his hand to me. "Hello, Ms. Layla. I hope you're doing better. I am Detective Kay. You can call me Kay. Thank you for taking the time to stop by". I smiled at him pleasantly and sat down on one of the chairs he directed me towards. He sat across from me and said, "We are conducting our investigation on the poisoning and discovered that you were indeed targeted and that the poisoning was done at the cafe you eat from. We found residue of an unknown poison there. We interviewed the staff there and discovered that one of the staff had been threatened to put the poison in your order. He however cannot identify the suspect as he had his face covered and cannot be identified other than being a male of six feet". He stopped talking and looked at me meeting my eyes. His deep, black eyes searching for answers in mine. I blinked startled by his intense gaze. "Um...I see. What is going to happen next?"

"I am going to be straight with you. Did you orchestrate this yourself?"