Episode 2

After taking a moment to herself and forcing her brain to organize her thoughts, Sheila finally got herself together and forced herself to think of a solution.

Her paralysis was not permanent; she knew that for certain.

Even though she was paralyzed, she was still able to lift her head and see if she had any missing body parts like a leg or a hand.

She didn't know if the little girl was crippled or something, so it was better to check.

After doing a quick assessment of her body, Sheila breathed a sigh of relief. Everything seemed to be intact. Her nerves, too. She only guessed they had become stagnant from lying down for so long.

"Right... everything seems to be in order... for now." She muttered to herself.

Suddenly, she thought of doing a small task. First, she would try to move some small parts of her body, like her toes or index finger, and if successful, she would move another one, and another one, until she could move her entire body.

Finally, after over an hour of trying, she managed to move her entire body. To speed up her progress, she did some modern exercise routines, such as the peddler and horizontal running while laying down, which helped increase blood circulation and temporarily relieved her headache.

Using her elbows to push her upper body upwards, Sheila sat on the cold surface of the altar and shook off the rose petals with a grimace. She surveyed the room, taking in its luxurious size, high glass ceiling, and intricate gold and crystal carvings on the walls. Magnificent wall paintings of landscapes hung around her, and two gorgeous chandeliers hung above her head. Just by looking at the interior design of the room, Sheila could tell that everything was very expensive, including the construction of the place. It was definitely not her apartment, and she wondered where the hell she was.

As her thoughts wandered, Sheila knew the room was not a hospital ward. The atmosphere was too luxurious, too elegant for it to belong to a normal patient. The room didn't smell like chlorine, which is normally present in hospital rooms. Instead, it had a feminine touch from scented candles and roses, and the unlimited supply of rose petals constantly falling from the ceiling was the source of the sweet scent. Her body was telling her to go back to sleep and enjoy the luxuries, but she couldn't stay. She had to find a way to go back.

Sighing, Sheila looked inside her memories for answers. She found a recent memory from when she was on her way home, completely drained and exhausted from work after closing the internet cafe where she worked for three years. While walking on the crowded sidewalk, she saw a man having trouble crossing the road. His footsteps were uneven, and he was walking in a zig-zag like manner while holding his head. Sheila thought the man was going to trip on his own foot, but he didn't. She watched him for a while, and when she saw that no one came to help him after 7 seconds, she approached him and swore under her breath. She couldn't stop herself from helping when she saw the pain on the stranger's pale-looking face.

Sheila's steps quickened as she approached the man. If she wanted to get this done and over with, she had to help the man cross the street safely first.

"Excuse me?" Sheila was about to ask the man if he needed assistance when his body swayed and he fell right into her arms.

"Ompfff!" Sheila's face crumpled in an ugly expression when she felt the man's weight almost toppling her over. He was heavy!

He fainted before she could even say a word. She had already thought about this before approaching him; she planned to ask him if he was okay or not, and then take him to the hospital and leave him there. After that, she would walk back to her little apartment and take a long-deserved sleep.

Unfortunately, her plan had been utterly derailed from its original path now that she was staring at the unconscious man in her arms. She groaned, a little frustrated by her situation. Honestly, she had better things to do than lifting an unconscious man in the middle of the street. That's why she had to find some help.

Looking at the people around her, Sheila called for some assistance. "Uhm, excuse me? Can you give me a hand?" But the people just walked by, giving her side-long glances before walking away.

"Okay..." Sheila tried one more time. "Excuse me, sir." She called out, even though she was having a hard time keeping the unconscious man steady using her strength. Sheila forced herself and grabbed a random stranger's coat. "Sir, can you help me?" she asked.

The stranger looked at her, then at the unconscious man leaning on her shoulders. He said, "I can't help you, Miss... I'm afraid I'm late for my meeting." Without another word, he brushed her hand away and left her gaping at his back in disbelief.

When the man's back disappeared from her sight, Sheila sighed to herself. Why was her luck so bad today? Everyone was concerned about their own business, and no one was willing to help her take this man across the street. "Nevermind, I can do this on my own..." she mumbled to herself before cringing from the uncertainty of her situation. She knew she couldn't do this alone, but she had to try.

"Harrumph!" After counting to three, Sheila held the man's arms and tried lifting him up. The man's weight was crushing her, so she put him down for a bit, ducked a little, and tried again. She placed herself in front of the man, making him lean his weight on her back.

"So heavy!" She gritted her teeth. She couldn't help sweating profusely. She wanted this to end, but she wasn't finished yet.

Sheila clenched her jaws as she took a deep breath through her nose. She took the arms of the man on either side of her shoulders, bent her knees for a boost, and pushed him forward giving it a little bit of strength until she felt comfortable with him leaning on her back.

"Okay! Let's do this..." She said, doing a mental fist pump to lift her fighting spirit. She looked at the other side of the street. "Step by step." She said, before counting to three and started dragging the man on her back one step at a time.

Twenty seconds later, she was sweating like crazy. Her back was soaked, and her shirt was drenched from sweat. For her, dragging this man felt like climbing a mountain trail while carrying a sack of rice behind her back. It was exhausting! Since she wasn't exactly the athletic type, Sheila's legs started to tremble. Her legs were starting to lose their strength, but her determination was stronger than her body.

If she had been mentally weak, she would have abandoned this man long ago.

Looking up at the sky, Sheila sighed, hoping a shooting star would appear so she could make a wish. She yearned for something that would change her life, like winning the lottery or an accident that would give her a truckload of money. But she knew money doesn't fall from the sky. It was a fictional idea, not reality.

Sheila looked at the traffic light, which was still red. The noise of the cars going through the intersection reached her ears. She held onto the man's sleeves and continued pulling him forward.

Almost there... A little more, and then they would reach the other side of the...

Beep! Beep! 

A loud noise interrupted her thoughts. Sheila turned to see a truck speeding towards them. It wasn't slowing down. The headlights were out, but Sheila could see the driver's panic-stricken face. The man was slamming on the brakes and froze when he saw that a person was standing in the middle of the street.

He stuck half of his body out of the window, shouting at the unconscious man and the woman carrying him, "Get out of the way! Get away from there!"

Unfortunately, it was too late. The large vehicle was already too close. Sheila had a split-second decision to make: leave the man and save herself or push him out of the way and try to save his life.

Time slowed down at the most crucial moment. Sheila didn't know how it happened, but everything around her seemed to be frozen. Looking down at her trembling hands, she knew she had to make a decision quickly. If she hesitated, both of them would die. Time didn't wait for anyone.