chapter seventeen

"Arielle, l have a meeting coming up so l will be leaving you for a little while", Auntie Yolei said looking at her little wrist watch.

"Oh, ok", l said already feeling that this afternoon was going to be long with boredom. At the same time, l was grateful for the moment of solitude because l needed to calm down my nerves before Keisty arrives.

"But of course I won't leave you alone, you might tear up yourself with boredom..."

"No it's ok, l will be fine", l lied.

"Honey, l might take long, are you sure you don't want me to call some nurse to accompany you", she asked concerned.

"No, l will be fine but can l please just tour in the hospital. Just get to familiarize with the place", l asked.

"Sure, but don't get lost. Be sure to return back here before Keisty comes", auntie Yolei said as she walked to the door.

"Sure", l said. She blew me an air kiss then left.

I thought, l might just consume more time walking around rather than being baby sit by a nurse. Things might get awkward when we don't have anything to talk about.

I walked out the door. The wide white passages were sparkling clean despite the ups and downs of nurses and patience. The atmosphere was filled with the smell of chlorine detergents and pills. So typically medical atmosphere.

I looked left and right and noticed that the passage was just stretching further until it took a turn. Both sides of the passage were doors leading into many surgery rooms.

I turned into the passage then went further down. The surgery rooms had a transparent glass on  the walls but curtains were drawn blocking the view. I was passing by a surgery room with an open door when l heard a panicked voice calling from inside.

" Miss!, excuse me miss!", l turned to look into the room. A nurse, couldn't be more than three years older than me was frantically pressing an unconscious patient's chest to apply pressure. The heart monitor was beeping alarmingly.

I rushed into the room. The nurse's hands were shaking as she pressed the chest. Her forehead was sweating. And some of her hair had loosened from the bun and was dangling in her face.

"Please find doctor Steven", she said without removing her eyes from the patient.

"I don't know him, it's my first time here", l said starting to panic too.

"Ok, just call any doctor you see!", she shouted breathlessly.

I stepped out of the room and ran like a crazy person. I started shouting, "doctor!, doctor!, is there a doctor any where?. Are you a doctor?", l would ask any person l passed by even the visitors. You can't be sure in such a big hospital. I earned quite a stare from the people. Most of them just shook their heads 'no'. Some looked sorry at me and started helping me by calling for the doctor too.

I continued running through the wide passages. The patients and the visitors parted way as though l was an ambulance speeding with a critical patient through a congested road. I was thinking, how is it possible to not bump into one doctor in such a large hospital.

I saw an open door to a surgery room and just burst into it. A tall doctor in a long white coat was talking to a patient on the hospital bed. He turned around to look when he heard me marching in. He frowned with questions through his glasses when he saw me.

I was relieved a little bit to finally find a doctor but l couldn't relax yet.

"Sir-l mean doctor, please come, there is a...", l tried to speak at the same time trying to catch up with my breath.

"Miss, calm down ok. Breath, just breathe", he said moving from the patient's bedside. I took two deep breaths then tried to speak again.

"Doctor, please. There is a patient who has just stopped breathing!"

"Okay, what number is the room?", he asked calmly although he looked alarmed.

"I don't know, l'm new here", l said. He sighed.

"Okay, do you know where the room is?", he asked. I nodded. "Okay please lead the way."

I ran out the room, he followed running after me. We ran through the passages back to the room. Everyone looked at us as we sprinted like athletes through the passages. I ran to the door and pushed it open.

By now, the nurse's arms were vigorously shaking from exhaustion. The loose strands of her hair that were once dangling were now sticking to her face with sweat.

She looked at me with eyes wide with terror when she saw me enter. The doctor followed in and her eyes relaxed a bit. She looked relieved.

The doctor didn't ask any questions, he just read the situation and walked to the wall. He flicked a switch and a machine on the other side of the room started humming. He placed an oxygen mask on the patient's face and looked at the monitor. The loud alarming beeping noise subsided and was replaced by a a low consistent one.

Both the doctor and the nurse sighed with relief. The nurse wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Her arms were still shaking.

Just then, the door burst open again and a number of doctors came running in, fully dressed in white surgical overalls and white latex gloves.

They stopped in the room and looked. Everything was looking normal. They looked at the doctor l had called questioningly.

"The patient is temporarily stable, l put him on a ventilator", the doctor said. The other doctors looked at each other and just nodded relieved.

"Oh great doctor Steven, thank you. We had to quickly dismiss from the meeting. All the people were talking of the girl looking for a doctor, saying a patient stopped breathing", one of the doctors said.

"The one you need to thank is the young lady over there ", doctor Steven said pointing at me. "She is the young girl you are talking about".

Everyone in the room stared at me. I shifted a bit shyly.

"Young lady with the way you ran you must really love him, l assume he's your father or...", one of the doctors said pointing to the patient on the bed.

"No we are not related, the nurse asked me to find a doctor", l hastily replied. The doctors nodded looking at each other.

"Thank you for your urgency, you just saved a life today", doctor Steven said. "Now if you will excuse us, let us see if we can do anything about the problem. He said moving to examine the patient. All the other doctors followed. l took the chance to walk out of the room.

"Excuse me miss!", a feminine voice called when l had made a few steps away from the door.

I turned around and saw the nurse who had told me to call the doctor running behind. I stopped and she breathlessly caught up with me.

"I just want to thank you for helping me today, not many could do what you have done. I was so stressed at the moment that I thought he was going to die", the nurse said.

"Oh that's okay ", that's the only thing l could think of saying.

I was expecting her to move past me but surprisingly she kept walking by my side. Her lips were twitching like she was hesitant of saying something. l heard her sigh then turned her face to me.

"Do you remember me?", she asked.

I stopped walking then looked at her face with a frown. It's my first time being at this hospital, how can she expect me to know her. Well not first time technically, but first time visiting.

"No l don't ", l answered with an 'are you serious right now' tone.

"Well, of course you wouldn't", she said sounding somewhat disappointed. "Do you remember the day you woke up in the surgery room, l was the one who was attending you while you slept".

My eyes widened in realization. She was the same nurse whom l saw when l woke up the day auntie Yolei took me home.

"Oh, l'm so sorry. How could l forget you", l said trying to cover up for the mistake l had made.

"That's okay, l'm used to it by now. You know in such a big hospital, you get to meet many people, some you get so attached to but only to realize that they forget about you once they are out of the hospital." She said it without any bitterness but made me feel guilty and sorry for her.

"I still remember you though. It's just that when l first saw you, l was still a bit mixed up from sleeping for long", l paused to change the subject. " So for how long have you been working here?"

"Only two months, l had just graduated with nursing science degree from the nursing school"

"Okay, so you're still new?"

"Yes, but I was the one who attended you on the last two months of your stay here. Your aunt just came to me after we had finished our group photos on our graduation day. She came and asked me for a walk around the campus. I was a bit unease, l thought of her as a complete stranger but then she started questioning me about home and everything. I didn't know where she was going but l answered her honestly. She then just took out a card and gave me. She told me that l am employed. I was filled with confusion but mostly overjoyed. It was that easy for me to find a job. You know when l told my friends about it, they couldn't believe it they thought l was lying, but after a few days they saw me going to work and they knew it was true", she finished smiling.

"Oh, unbelievable. She must have seen something in you that she liked", l said surprised by her story.

"You know, l think she was doing it for you because when l came here she assigned me to mainly take care of you", she said then looked at me smiling wider. " You know, l owe you. If it hadn't been for you, l couldn't have been here."

Her words enlightened me on something else. Maybe she knows the reason why I came to the hospital.

"So ummm nurse..", l started.

"Please call me Emily", she interrupted.

"Okay, so Emily, l was very ill right, what was the sickness", l asked.

"No, you were recovering. I was told that you had been involved in a serious car accident", she answered.

Now l thought, that explains the lose of memory. It also explains the eight month long hibernation.

"Where did it happen?", l asked.

"Well l don't know. I just told you all l know." I looked down disappointed at her words. She looked at me with a worried look. "Don't be sad, why don't you ask your aunt?", she suggested.

"Auntie will never tell me. She says she shall but not now", l said in a flat voice.

"Maybe she thinks you are not ready yet. You never know, some information might cause flashbacks of bad memories", she said with a considerate tone.

"But l need to know somethings. Do they keep records of the patients here?"

"I believe so. Every hospital is required to keep records of patients from at least a year ago."

My face lightened at this. My mind was already crafting another plan of finding out who l am.

"Oh please help me Emily. Would you please tell me where to find out the information about my past. I am so confused right now, l really need to know something about my past", l said looking at her with my best pleading face.

"I'm sorry but l can't help, the information is kept in a secured database. Only the inquirement stuff has access to it. They only open someone's information if the very individual ask for it or when the police needs it. Why don't you just go ask for it."

I pondered for a second but then thought that auntie Yolei would find about it in no time so it was best not to take the risk.

"Okay, l will think about it", l said. Then I thought that l could use Emily's help sometime since she's familiar with how things work here. I asked for her contact. She gingerly gave it. After that we parted ways as she hurried into another surgery room.

I suddenly remembered that auntie Yolei had told me to return back to her office before Keisty returns. I sprinted back to the office and as soon as l bolted into the room, l saw auntie Yolei talking to someone through her phone.

I gave her an apologetic look. She just nodded as she ended her call.

"Good evening auntie...", l started but she interrupted.

"Hi Arielle, Keisty and Prisca are waiting for you in the parking lot. Let's go", she said taking her purse and walking towards me. She extended her hand and l took it then we left.