ER

I went alone at the gym last Tuesday night. I decided to just do cardio work out and skip the muscle toning. I didn't have enough sleep the night before and I don't know why. My day didn't start out well as I expected but I still went on with my life that day smiling to the morning sun though I was carrying my gym bag and some other stuff for my office mate who just recently moved out of her sister's house.

I walked alone on the wet sidewalks of Makati City. The puddles reflecting the lights from the light poles and buildings. It was a few minutes before 10pm and there were only a few people walking around and only a few cars were running by. I kinda felt lonely and I know there's something else in my intuition that's telling me that something's wrong. Ed tried calling me on my cellphone while I was on my way to the underpass but I just missed his call when I was about to answer it. I texted him and asked why he called. He said that he just wanted to say 'hi'. I sighed in relief. But, that weird feeling was still there. I prayed silently that it won't be anything too serious.

Around 11pm, my mom knocked on my door. She asked me to come to my younger brother's room. I went to his room and saw him moaning and twisting in pain due to stomach pains. My mom wanted my opinion if we should bring him to the hospital. I looked at him closely and saw that his eyes were already fading and he's pale. He's trying to say that he wants to be brought to the ER because he can't handle the pain anymore. I remember what he told me earlier that he fainted when they brought him to the clinic that morning. I suddenly found the connection to what I was feeling while I was on my way home. I told my mom that we should bring him to the hospital already.

At the ER, we were waiting for the results from his x-ray. I couldn't handle the environment at the ER that I had to sit outside to get some fresh air. There was a mixture of worry, fear, and nausea. I think I'm about to go insane due to the depression I'm feeling. I texted Nana and told her where I was and what I was feeling. She called me up to calm me down. After a few minutes, I gathered up some strength to go back inside the ER and see how my brother is doing. I went to his bed and saw him feeling weak from the pain. He asked me if there was a result already. I told him that we're still waiting for it.

After a few minutes, there was a commotion outside. There was a man who was asking for help because there had been a car accident that happened across the street. At first, the medics didn't want to deal with it because they said that they have to have a police report first before they could admit the victim at the ER. I thought it was a stupid and heartless excuse. The reason why they have a job is that they're supposed to save lives! Why wait for a police report? They know very well that we have a slow security in this country! It took them a while for them to finally admit the poor blood soaked man in the ER. What's worse was that they placed him beside my brother's bed! Eventhough they shut the curtains between my brother's bed and his, we can still hear his painful sobs. My brother got more depressed and begged me to move him out of the ER. I, Ms. Nausea, forced myself to be strong for my brother eventhough I was already weak in the knees and wanted to faint. When brother calmed down a little and I went to where my mother is and took a seat. Later on, another group came in. Three dark men came in soaked in blood. Behind them, I saw the nurses push an emergency bed in and on it was another man who was bathed in blood. They said that he was hit on the head with a beer bottle. A woman was crying and one of the men was crying too. I couldn't look at the sorry sight for I might just puke. The new patient was placed on the other side of my brother's bed. I went over to my brother to see if he was ok. There was a nurse that was inserting a tube in his nostril and he was choking. I felt my stomach turn and a pain in my chest as I watched my brother choke over a tube. I had a vision of my dad for a moment there. I wanted to cry.

Finally, they moved him to a room. My mom asked me if I wanted to go home so I could get some sleep before I go to work. I told her that I'll just stay behind and help her watch over my brother. I just hope that his condition isn't anything serious...