Jasmine was seven when she started hearing voices in her head. Kind voices, all of them seemed to come from happy memories. But never had she ever remembered any happy moments in her life.
**
It was a cold December afternoon. A woman in her late 20's and her office mates went to the nearest hospital after she complained of abdominal pain. She was then 9 months pregnant and her coworkers thought she was already in labor. Her boss contacted her husband right away to inform him.
The husband hurriedly left their small café to see his wife. Seated in his car, he was waiting excitedly for the light to turn green when a delivery truck behind him skidded off the snow and lost control of the brakes. The sudden impact from behind propelled the car forward creating a loud screech which alerted the pedestrians crossing the street. All, except for an old woman.
He made a hard turn on the opposite direction to avoid the person, but instead crashed into a lamp post nearby.
The wife tried to call her husband numerous times to tell him not to rush. The abdominal pain was caused by something she ate earlier. Her office mates were relieved to know that she was fine and left to go back to work. She on the other hand, decided to take the rest of the day off and wait for her husband to arrive and drive her home.
After a series of unanswered calls, she settled on the thought that her husband must already be driving which was why he was not picking up. She decided to wait for him patiently.
On her way to the reception area, a stretcher was rushed in and was attended by the hospital staff immediately. Her heart suddenly went erratic. She didn't know why, but she started walking towards the direction of the emergency room. Her steps were halted only when her feet landed on something.
As her belly would not allow her to bend over to pick it up , she decided to gently lower herself, grabbing onto a nearby chair for support. It was a red silk wristband with a familiar name embroidered on it.
This brought her back to the first time she went to a café. She didn't know what flavor she wanted to try first and was torn between buying everything or nothing at all.
She was finally next in line when she smelled a wonderful flowery aroma. It made her happy. It made her forget what she was trying to escape from.
Not knowing that she was smiling broadly, she asked the guy behind the counter, probably older than her by 2 years, where the smell was coming from. The guy trying hard not to laugh, replied, "Jasmine". She was utterly clueless. Seeing her blank expression, he immediately clarified.
"It's from Jasmine tea. Would you like to try?".
Remembering that scene from a few years back, sent a jolt up her spine. "Jasmine", the wristband says.
She immediately got up and walked as fast as her feet would allow. She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to wait outside of the emergency room. But she needed to confirm it.
There is no way that finding a wristband, with the name they promised to give their daughter, a few meters away from the emergency room's door would be a coincidence.
Finally, a lady in blue uniform came out and was turning her head as if looking for someone. Her already stiff legs found their way to the nurse standing outside the door. She then showed her a wallet with ID cards and asked if she knew the patient.
Cold beads of sweat started to form on her forehead as she nodded. The sad expression on the nurses's eyes made her heart sink. Her next words felt like a stab in her heart, "He lost a lot of blood. We couldn't save him. We're so sorry."