3 Bad News

For a second I couldn't move my body. I stood frozen on the stairs leading up to the second floor. My heart was beating so fast. The bones of my body were trembling and I was showering in a cold sweat. The thought of regrets for haven't been able to pay my father's kindness had clouded my mind.

"MIKA!!!"

Hearing my mother, who is often soft-spoken, suddenly yelled out of desperation made my mind clear. I instantly took my phone from my pocket and called an ambulance.

While waiting for the ambulance, I went down the stairs and took a closer look at my father. I stood behind my mother who was supporting his laying body with her arms. His body looked very pale and weak. He wasn't like this when we had dinner. He was tired, but he didn't look sick. He was healthy, or has he been hiding his illness from us? Something weird was definitely happening to my father.

"W..w..what should we do Mika!?" said my mother while still holding his body. Her face was filled with shock and confusion.

I couldn't answer her question and I couldn't approach my father's body any further. I was afraid. I didn't know what to do.

After waiting for around 30 minutes, the ambulance came. They approached my father and checked his vitals. His heart was not beating. They soon gave my father first aid. One man was pumping his chest while the other tried to use some sort of apparatus that pumps air to his mouth.

Hearing what the paramedics just said, my mother and I gasped in terror. Fear was etched onto our faces.

They took my father inside the ambulance with a stretcher and we went immediately to the nearby hospital.

Inside the ambulance, the paramedics were still relentlessly trying to make his heartbeat again. all I could do was witnessing the scene in front of me and pray for the best.

Around 20 minutes have passed.

We have arrived in the hospitals, my father was immediately taken to the emergency room while my mother and I were asked to wait in the waiting area.

We waited there. We sat in a somewhat busy open room. There were a lot of nurses and doctors walking from one room to another. There were other people too who appears to be enduring the same fate as us. Lingering on the uncertainty of what might happen to their loved ones' future, some were seen to be covering their faces in dismay and others were seen to be praying hard for the best outcome.

I was sitting on the bench in the corner, trying to avoid other people, while my mother was pacing back and forth in front of me. My mother looked very worried. She often bit her nails whenever she was anxious.

I don't know whether it's about paying the hospital bills, or my father's condition, or both. a pale complexion was sketched on my mother's face.

It's been 1 hour since we arrived in the hospitals.

A lady with her slim body wrapped in a white coat came to approach us hastily. her long hair was tied in a ponytail and it was a little bit messy as if she just went into some sort of skirmish.

"Are you Mr Andrew Jonathan's family?

"yes! I am his wife and this is our son."

"my name is Dr Linda and I'm here to tell you that we managed to resuscitate his heart."

Hearing that sentence made us sigh in relief.

"But, he is still comatose and we haven't found the cause of the problem yet. So, we need to do more tests to see the root of the issue," she continued.

"Can we see him now?!" said my mother impatiently.

"yes, you can! follow me!"

We followed Dr Linda. She guided us into a room that was well-lit and moderately spacious. We could see my father who was laying on a bed connected to a life support. IV was attached to his left arm and an oxygen mask was covering his mouth and nose.

"Oh my God!" my mother was shocked. she leaned her back towards the wall. her legs couldn't support her anymore so she slowly dropped and sat on the floor while still covering her mouth in disbelief.

Both feelings of sadness and happiness were mixed inside our minds. we were speechless. For a moment, the room was only filled with the sound of the heart monitor with its cable that was attached to his body.

"If you need help, you can call me by notifying the nurse," said Dr Linda before leaving the room.

She left the room. I stood near the door and my mother sat on a chair near the bed.

I was thinking. If my father is hospitalised, then, my mother needs to work, and I don't think that her high school diploma will be able to give her a proper job that can afford both the hospital bills and our daily necessities. I too need to help her.

Then, I remembered the talk that my father had during dinner. I asked my mother about the job offer that my father said during dinner. She looked at me. She rummaged her purse to find her phone.

Thank god she knew the guy father was talking about during dinner. She gave me his contact information and I went outside the room and shortly contacted the number.

"Hello!"

"H..h..hi, I'm Mika. A..a..and my father told me that you have a job for me."

"Oh!!"

He suddenly raised his voice. It surprised me.

"Your Andy's son ain't cha?! How's he doing?" he continued his sentence in excitement.

"H..he is hospitalized and he is in a coma now."

"Oh.., I'm sorry to hear that."

His voice feels friendly. I find it to be quite easy to have a conversation with him even though I fumbled a few of my words. I then continued,

"So..., about the job."

"Oh yeah! I did talk to your father about giving you a job! Are you sure you can handle it kid?!"

"I have to do it!"

"That's the spirit!! I'll send you the address and you can come tomorrow before 09:00 a.m. Can you do it?"

"Yes! Thank you very much!"

I ended the conversation. I felt both happy and satisfied with the fact that I managed to talk to someone I barely know and also manage to get a job. Though the payment may not be the best out there, I feel like it can help to alleviate my mother's burden a little bit.