Page 40 of Encircled in Darkness
“Hello?” my voice caught, and I cleared my throat.
“Amaya. It’s Margaret, I need you to get here as soon as you can.”
“What’s wrong?” I jumped up and ran into the house, putting the phone on speaker as I threw on clothes.
“Natalia’s blood pressure’s been extremely high all night and this morning she started having issues with her heart rhythm. Sweetheart, do you have anyone who can come with you?” Margaret had met James when we visited every week and I assumed from her question that they weren’t expecting her to pull through.
“I’m alone today, but I’m on the way. Can you tell her I love her and I’m on the way?” I pleaded as I slipped my feet into a pair of shoes and snatched the phone from the bed.
“I’ll tell her. Drive careful, Amaya.”
I disconnected the call, grabbed my backpack and car keys before locking up, and ran to the car. Tossing everything into the back seat, I screeched out of the driveway and sped out of the neighborhood.
Pulling onto the interstate, I fought through my distorted vision, the tears falling thick and fast as I sped up through traffic. I wanted to throw up and every moment of our lives together, the good and the bad, bombarded me like a nightmarish kaleidoscope of pain and happiness.
Her words from my dream whispered over it all as I swiped the tears from under my eyes. I saw the sign for the hospital. It was another thirty miles and I was trying to be careful with my speed as I moved back and forth through the lanes, pushing my way to the front of the cars.
“Hang on, Natty. I’m on the way.” I whispered into the car and heard my phone ringing from the passenger’s seat.
I reached over to grab it from under the backpack when it stopped. Moving my hand around until I felt it, I pulled it out to find it was dead. I had forgotten to charge it last night, and when I ran out of the house, I hadn’t grabbed my charger. How could they call me if something happened? How could I let James know where I was?
Shit! I promised him I wouldn’t leave and now he didn’t have a way to get in touch with me. I didn’t have a way to tell him about Natalia.
Beating my hands on the steering wheel, I screamed into the car. “God Damn It!!!”
I took the exit for the hospital and was driving over the limit down the four-lane country road. There was no traffic and I prayed to get there before she...No! I couldn’t even think about Natalia dying. I didn’t think I could be strong like she wanted me to be. Not without her.
I pulled the car into a space near the front of the single-story rehab hospital and ran inside. The front desk attendant had a visitor’s pass waiting for me when I burst through the doors, and I snatched it before running down the long-term wing.
My heart was racing, and my palms were sweating as I stopped in front of her closed door. I looked down the hall and didn’t see Margaret. Terrified of what I would find when I opened the door, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Exhaling, I pushed the door open to find Margaret on one side of the bed and Natalia’s doctor on the other.
They both turned to me and I could see her chest was rising and falling very slowly. Margaret gave me a grim look and extended her hand to me. Crying, I fought for breath as I kept my eyes locked on my sister’s chest, praying that it moved again. Stepping up to the bed, I looked at the doctor through a veil of tears.
“Amaya, I’m so sorry.”
“Is there anything you can do?” I begged and grasped my sisters’ hand, bringing it to my cheek as Margaret pushed a chair against my legs and forced me to sit.
“No, sweetheart. I wish there was. It’s just her time.” The sadness reflected how much she meant to everyone who knew her.
Margaret rubbed my back. “We’ll all stay right here with her. She won’t be alone.”
The doctor went to the foot of the bed and Margaret stepped to the side of the room as I rested my head on her chest and heard a faint beating against my ear. The tears soaked her gown as I spoke to her, ignoring the people in the room.
“I’m so sorry, Natty.” I fought the sob threatening to break free from my throat as I sat up and stroked her long black hair from her face. “It’s okay. You can go whenever you’re ready. I promise, I’ll be okay. I promise I’ll be strong like you taught me. You don’t have to stay here anymore. There’s a better place waiting for you, and I know I’ll see you there one day. I’ll never forget you. I love you, Natalia.”
I kept watching her chest and with each passing second, I watched her slip further and further away from me. I could feel my heart breaking as her chest stopped moving and the monitors behind her went from an occasional blip to a flat line.
The doctor stepped in, placed the stethoscope against her chest and Margaret came behind me, resting her hand on my shoulder as the doctor looked up and nodded sadly.
“She’s gone. I’m sorry, Amaya.” The doctor explained, his voice thick with emotion.
I could feel Margaret next to me, trying to give me strength as I fell apart. I wrapped my arms around my sister's lifeless body and cried for her beautiful life cut short. I cried for my best friend and the only family I had left. I cried for the injustice of the world. I cried for the two little girls who never had love and for the woman that would never be.
I looked at the wonderful nurse who had taken such great care of my sister. “Thank you, Margaret. Natalia and I are grateful f-f-for the care and love you gave her. I-I-I can never repay your kindness.”
The older woman pulled me against her chest and hugged me, the way I imagined a mother would console a child. I felt her tears on my shoulder as we embraced. Pulling back, she wiped a piece of hair from my tear stained cheek and smiled.
“She waited until you got here. I think she needed to know you were going to be okay. Are you going to be okay?”
