The Brave Hearts

What a typical day for the community residing in Southcrest, Mississippi. Dr. Joseph Brave opened up the typical newspaper with a morning brew of coffee. "Nothing good appears these past few days." He exhaled vigorously.

"Riots and violence became my morning mail routine. When will they stand and fix this mess?" He sipped his freshly brewed coffee.

"Well, maybe when they have no people left to protect. Politics has always been politics." Her wife Maxine sat on the empty chair on their lawn garden and poured out her usual chamomile tea.

"It has been two weeks in a row, they started in Los Angeles, and we should take caution as riots came up from nowhere. It might appear next to our door." He looked intently at her anxious wife.

"You've got nothing to worry, I'll make sure we are safe. Just school and house for the meantime." She knew how her husband thinks and it will be pointless to argue at this point.

"Worry about your work as lots of patients are coming in from different districts." She verily changed the topic.

"I don't know anymore, patients are all over the place. The once quiet workplace became absurd chaos. I bet these riot incidents were the root cause." He sighed heavily. Dr. Brave knew there was more to what's happening in their place. He has done research on what could be the real reason behind the continuous outbreaks of these freaking notorious gangs. He believed someone was pulling the strings.

With all the pandemonium that was happening around, he was thankful for the safe place they reside in. They have lived with the simplicity of life with Maxine and their son but with the recent changes in his demand as a well-known surgeon for 7 years. He looked at the awards he achieved as the most talented surgeon at a young age. Recognized as years passed by that the days of his career reached its peak and season. Reminiscing as she met her wife as a public journalist in the early days of his career definitely left an impact on how he viewed his life as a successful and extravagant doctor, carefree and purposeless journey. He was glad to find the meaning of his existence. When she gave birth to their son, Bobby, he couldn't ask for more. His love to protect will always be the center of everything; his ruthless past was already forgotten and he is now facing the bright future that lies ahead.

Looking back before he met Maxine during his residency training as a startup surgeon, his only goal was to finish and show his parents what he can become without any of their financial assistance. He had a difficult and traumatic childhood that leads him to be a not so exemplary adult. No one will believe how there has been a change in him.

Back in the days, what seems to be just yesterday brought him the reality that maybe he will be hunted by his dark past. He has been living for years with this family in the crowded life in the city but now in this simple backyard in an average plot of land here in Mississippi, he saw the future differently. Friendly neighbors, green village and a quiet district are what attracted him to settle down in this place. No violence and far away from the busy streets with healthier air to breathe made him be in love with the location.

Deep inside, he knew this place was meant for him and his family. A peaceful environment for him to start again as he gave this as an anniversary gift to their marriage which made Maxine jump and cry to him at the moment of surprise. He'll definitely do anything to preserve the life he has now.

Reading the newspaper definitely reminded Joseph of how things used to be in the past. He was lost in the thought when Maxine interrupted his deep thinking.

"You better hurry up or you'll be stocked in the heavy traffic." She stood up and cleaned up the half drank coffee on the table.

"Just phone me over if you'll gonna come home tonight. I'll wait for you for dinner." She leaned towards his face and kissed him goodbye as she went through the house. He stood up and worn his coat and tie, ready for work attire.

"Good morning Doctor. How are things so far?" He arrived at work in less than 30 minutes in a car. Nurse August greeted her with all the smiles and tweak.

"Pretty usual. How's our patient in ICU room 11B?" He checked the records of her vitals and scans.

"She was stable after the surgery, we just need to inject steroids and anti-seizure medications. She's a showing sign of a full-recovery patient." Nurse August explained.

"Great. We need a full monitoring schedule of her medications and visitations." Dr. Brave said as he was feeling confident that Mrs. Daniels, his patient who has undergone a spinal bullet extraction would recover and the process will be at 80 percent chance of survival.

"Do we have any relatives to explain the medications after a post-surgery treatment?" He asked as he opened up his laptop and checking his schedule for today.

"Still to no avail Doctor. We tried to contact the police department as well. It has been three days since confinement. She's lucky to have covered by her insurance so we are able to proceed with her treatment." She gave him the records of the patient and the possible identity aside from getting her last name "Daniels".

He looked intently at the records and somewhat he was reminded of her burnt cross mark on her neck.

"That's weird." He looked at her assistant with a frowned face.

"Why so?" He asked curiously.

"Well, I thought she was part of any religious activity. But she was here because of a malfunction caused by a bullet in her spinal column. I never thought she could survive. Another, insurance without any details of her relatives?" He smirked at his reasoning. She left the record plate on his desk reminding of his room visits.

She left the room and get back to her post to gather the medicines for their round visit. Without a second thought, he just placed the files for review and verification. This has always been his habit, keeping the records of people that have a purpose of coming into his peaceful life.

"Dr. Brave, the man of the hour. It's been a while." Dr. Carlton shouted to gain his attention. He has always been a part of his life for a reason he doesn't understand.

"Hello Dr. Carlton, I don't have all the luxury to chit-chat with you." He sounded pissed to his longtime colleague.

"Oh, common Joseph, when was the last time we saw each other? I believe that's within the last year's press conference. We have a lot to catch on." Dr. Carlton shrugged his sarcasm with a joke. Here we go again. Joseph sighed heavily. His colleague has always been mediocre in all things. He knew Carlton more than anyone and he believes his profound friend will never leave him alone without a proper conversation.

"Okay, okay… let's have a few cups over the week." He sounded defeated as he was left with no choice.

"You bet! Don't you dare keep me hanging?" He left with a smirk on his face.

"Can my day get any better?" He exhaled heavily.

"Vitals, good. Check the blood pressure every hour." Dr. Brave reminded Nurse August of the daily monitoring of their patient 'Mrs. Daniels'.

"Yes, Doc. It's been a long day. Let me serve your coffee before you drive home to help you relax." She motioned outside the quarter cubicle of their surgeon department.

"Alright. Make sure it's brewed. I don't drink instant." He pinched his forehead for his hectic schedule caused him a headache.

"Of course." She answered as he heard the door banged as she left his office.

It wouldn't hurt to close my eyes for a few minutes, right? He said to himself. He had a long day because of a sudden shootout and people were sent to the hospital this late afternoon.

He was about to fall asleep when his phone rang on its infamous iPhone ringtone. 'Who the hell?' He planned to ignore the call but Nurse August entered bringing hot coffee from Starbucks and saw the blink of lights with the caller ID.

"Doctor, it's Maxine. Shall I picked it up for you?" She asked with a serious face. Upon hearing the name of all names, he got up to the point of almost being outbalanced on his seat. He answered the phone with all smiles on his face, "Yes, Max." He paused for a second and frowned.

"Okay, got it. On my way… bye, I love you." He immediately put on his coat and stacked up to the files. "Everything good, Doctor?" He forgot about Nurse August being with her at the moment with a platter and bread on its side.

"Oh, yes. August, please take care of the bread; I'll bring the coffee. I'll drink it on my way home. Call Dr. Carlton if there's an emergency. He's supposed to be my replacement for tonight's shift." He hurriedly went through the door with his keys and files on his right hand and coffee on the left.