She Lived
Leah stared at him. He turned his wrist, glanced down and saw he was running a little late for work, he hated working on Sundays. He gulped down the last sip of flat white then sighed, And so it goes.
“Got to run,” He said and she smiled as if to say typical.
He took his matte black coat from the shoulders of the chair, pulled a $20 note from his wallet and placed it on the table for the lunch and the coffees. He kissed Leah’s cheek and left the café. Outside, he trotted along to his scorching red hatchback and took off in a cloud of dark smoke. He knew the shortcuts through the city and he would be at work before his shift began.
She ran out looking behind her. It was all so loud, so fast. The tyres shrieked then a sickening hollow crunch sounded. Her head bounced on the hood and the car stopped.
Tyler flipped his mobile phone open and with a trembling hand, he thumbed in 111. Everything became a blur. Suddenly he found himself outside the car holding the tiny body in his arms. His chest felt fragile and he began to weep. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, her bleeding nose, her blonde hair splashed with blood; like a porcelain cherub bumped from a shelve.
The ambulance arrived with blazing sirens and flashing lights. Tyler stepped back. The crowd didn’t bother the medics. They placed her on a dolly then in to the ambulance. The sirens faded to silence and people stared. He scratched is salt and pepper stubble then turned around.
His mobile phone sounded and made him jump. The screen read ‘Work – Calling,’ he turned the phone off. His clothes and face were moist with sweat. He was only a few blocks from the hospital and he knew the alleys and short cuts in this part of the city. Leaving the bloody scene, he ran.
The cops would come to ask questions and waste time, so he ran. He jumped fences and bowled between people along the way. Everything was racing. He bolted across roads, cars bleated their horns and wheels screeched but he continued to dash. When he reached the hospital, he entered the accident and emergency centre. A short line lead to the receptionist but strolling through double doors towards him he found a young doctor.
“Excuse me, Excuse me?”
“Yes can I help you?” replied the doctor.
“A little girl was hit by a car and was picked up and taken by an ambulance, not long ago, I need to know if she’s alright?”
The bright-eyed doctor frowned with confusion for a moment then lead Tyler through to a small waiting room in the intensive care unit. He pointed at the seats and quietly said, “Wait here.” Tyler found a seat and his heart slowed; his straight blonde hair was still moist with sweat.
Fifteen minutes elapsed and the young doctor led a gray bearded physician in. He stretched out a hand and Tyler shook it. “Tyler Small.”
“I’m Doctor Paul Holden,” He paused and glared at the younger doctor who took the hint and briskly departed. “We require you to identify the girl. I know it’s ha- ”
“I don’t know her name,” Tyler interrupted.
“Oh OK how d-”
“I hit her with my car.” Tyler said with teary green eyes. The doctor eyed Tyler suspiciously then spoke.
“I see, well she is in critical condition and in a short while she will be moved to the surgical unit to undergo emergency surgery. We can’t be sure until the scan results are back but some brain damage is suspected.” The doctor pulled his sleeve back and looked at his watch. He continued, “You can wait here but the surgery could take up to six hours and as soon as we identify her the family will be notified and will probably make their way to the hospital,” The doctor eyed Tyler above his glasses , waiting for a response.
“I want to wait her to see if she is alright.”
“I will send a nurse out when we know more.” He replied, before leaving through the double doors.
Limp, tattered trash mags were stacked all over the low square glass table. Tyler just sat. He still wore dark tapered jeans and a long white shirt. Tears came in waves. Every so often doctors, nurses and visitors walked through the room. Hours passed. Every time a nurse entered through the double doors, Tyler would eye her with swelling anticipation until she walked by. The short hand of the wall clock sat just below four. He thought about work for a moment until the crash scene flashed in his mind. The young blonde thing rushing out, the thud, the smell of burnt rubber, the wash of red down her face.
“Mr Small?” A short white nurse with short black hair had crept up before Tyler had noticed.
“Yes? That’s me.”
“The young girl is out of surgery. She had internal bleeding and the CT scan returned inconclusive. Surgery corrected damage to the scull, damage to the ribs and repaired internal bleeding. Bones in her right arm and both legs were broken so we put her in a body cast. She is stable.”
“Can I see her?” He asked and the nurse looked over her shoulder then back to Tyler. She lowered her head and quietly spoke.
“She’s in the ICU ward on the second floor in room 7.”
“Thank you.”
Tyler found the room. He knew the police would like to speak to him but he wanted to see the girl first. Under a white spread sheet, lying flat and still was the little blonde girl. What were you running from? He thought. White bandages were wrapped down to the bridge of her nose. He sat gazing at her and tears came again.
Every hour a doctor would complete checks, and then leave. When she left she would weakly smile or nod at Tyler. He sat all night crying. Sometime in the early morning, he left the room. He found a pot of instant coffee and heaped it into a cup with sugar then poured in hot water and milk. He drank it and took another one back to his chair.
Around lunchtime, Tyler left for more coffee. When he returned a doctor with two nurses was pulling her out.
“Oh hi there, we just need to take her for another scan.”
“Will she come back here?”
“She will but it may not be for a short while.” They pulled her bed and I.V. and left. Tyler sat for a moment then dosed off.
He woke later to the squeak of the bed wheels. “Any result from the scan?”
The doctor pressed the bed back into place then walked close to Tyler, bent her knees and lowered herself to eyelevel. “The surgeons are looking at the scans now. There seems to be some haemorrhaging and spots, but nothing too serious was detected. “Her breathing, heart rate and temperature are back to normal. Her body seems to be recovering. She is pumping blood and breathing without assistance so tonight we will remove her from life support. “A little girl went missing last week and her description fits the little girl here. Her family will be notified soon. They will need to come in to identify her.” The doctor hung her chart over the foot of the bed then left.
Tyler sat and waited with his hands clasped at the bend of his knee. He had never cried like this. He didn’t cry when his childhood best friend hung himself. He cried only once when his mother lost a three-year battle with cancer but now, he cried and he couldn’t stop. An empty responsible feeling had filled him. When the doctor came back, she disconnected catheters and pressed buttons. “She’s supporting herself and now the recovery will begin.”
She left and Tyler stared at the girl. He stood and walked to her side. He lowered his face next to hers. He whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek as his tears spilt again. You’re too young to die. He sat back in his seat and prayed, he didn’t know who he prayed to he just prayed for her, prayed for her to wake up healthy and perfect again.
Something happened. A blue light flashed above her bed. A nurse raced in and looked at the monitors. “What’s happening?” Tyler asked.
The nurse pressed a red button on the wall and called “CODE BLUE.” In a moment, the crash team arrived.
Tyler stood and pleaded, “What’s going on?”
“She’s crashing,” one of the doctors called to the others.
They dragged her bed out. Tyler’s heart slammed. He stood and followed. Tears spilled down his cheeks and as they moved her, a fleet of doctors plugged her with I.V’s and jabbed needles into her. “Where are you taking her?” Tyler desperately called after the doctors. A short nurse blocked him.
“You can’t go into the surgical unit,” she explained as the team lead her through double doors. Tears streamed from his eyes and he turned and locked his fingers behind his head. She’s gone.
***
A police officer around 3 am the next morning dropped Tyler Small at his home. He collected his mail from the letterbox and switched on his mobile phone. He had missed a dozen calls from work. Inside, he pulled a beer from the fridge and opened it. He dropped the bills on the kitchen bench and fell into the couch. A few silent tears dripped and he gulped down some beer. He sighed, And so it goes.
I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this, but I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed this story. I have taken a liking to your straightforward, heavily ironic style, and this story was very well-written. As has been said, I felt like you did not give too much detail at all. In fact, I felt there were points when, personally, I would have liked to see more detail. I'm just going to address a few things, all right?
A very nice job! Once again, I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this. Please PM me if you have any questions and do keep writing!
