The next morning came like a big shock for Jackline who was silently sleeping inside her bedroom. The continuous ringing of her cell phone made her frown and she subconsciously reached out to check who was the caller. When she noticed that the id displayed the name of the hospital she became wide awake. Answering the call she placed it beside her ear.
"Hello!"
"Hello, Is it Miss Carter? Your name is registered under one of our patient's relative columns."
"Yes, my uncle is there. Is everything fine?"
"Ma'am, the patient is in a critical condition. We need an immediate blood transfusion but unfortunately we don't have his matching blood type. Can you come to the hospital in case you have any idea about anyone with a similar blood group?"
When Jackline heard that her uncle was in a critical condition, for a moment her mind turned blank. Early in the morning she was not even awake yet, this news had made her so sober that she did not answer when the receptionist from the hospital called out for her. Snapping back to his senses, she said in a hoarse tone.
"Yes, I will be there. We both have the same blood groups." She remembered that in the past, her uncle had given his blood to her a lot of times because of her constant injuries. It was at least three times how far she could recall.
Jackline sat on her bed with her face void of any emotion. Her mind still could not register the face that his uncle was suddenly in a critical condition. Till yesterday, she thought everything would be fine but then this. They did not seem to have interacted much in the past few days. There were so many plans both of them had made to go on hiking together, yet, all this seemed to be incomplete. What if something happens to him? Her eyes flickered for a moment. What was she supposed to say to her aunt? But before that she needed to reach the hospital.
"Jack." All of a sudden a familiar voice sounded from downstairs. Jackline's eyes turned slightly misty when she heard her. She had to tell her as well. Closing her eyes for a brief moment of seconds, she tried to calm himself. She had to rush to the hospital as well. Gathering up her courage she rushed into the bathroom and changed her clothes at the fastest speed before she rushed down.
"Aunt." Her voice was still hoarse and her face was pale. Adela, who was drinking her coffee, looked at the direction of voice and noticed Jackline standing there. She had probably brought her up since a young age. So as soon as her gaze landed on her face, she could tell that something was not right. Something must have happened. A sense of fear spread across her chest but her face remained calm and composed. Placing the cup back on the table she asked in a low tone.
"He… was he able to pull off the night?"
When Jackline heard her question she understood that she must have sensed something was wrong. She lowered down his gaze and shook her head before answering.
"I just received a call. We need to rush to the hospital. He needs a blood tranfusion." Her eyes were turning moist as well no matter how much she was trying to hold himself back. She wanted to be strong in front of her aunt but her efforts were of no avail. Especially when she heard that soft tired sigh that escaped from her lips, she was hardly able to control himself.
Adela seemed to be so lost in her thoughts that she did not realise that teardrops were constantly seeping out from her eyes. Her face was drenched with tear drops while she looked at a distance without speaking anything. Not even her shoulders were shaking. Jackline who witnessed this sorry state of her aunt felt a pang of pain in her chest. She did not know what she should say to her. She could not even make out that whether she was even crying or not. She could clearly see tears falling down from the corner of her eyes but her face was void of any emotion.
"Aunt, he is still alive. He needs a blood transfusion. We need to rush to the hospital quickly. It's not the time to break down, we have to be strong for him." Jackline could not take it any longer. She embraced her tightly in her arms and said softly. She wiped away her tears but still it continued to fall from her eyes. Her eyes were turning red and swollen. Jackline was completely helpless at this point. Adela, who was silent up till now, suddenly burst out. She cried hard with her hands clutching Jackline's shirt with all her strength. She could not believe that just in one day so many things happened. She would shake her head in denial and then cry out. Her heart was feeling very heavy and she could not actually think of a way out to calm herself.
"There is no point in going there. He has the rarest blood group."
When her aunt mentioned that, Jackline nodded her head and mentioned.
"I know but he has given me his blood so many times in the past. This time I will give him my blood."
"Only he can donate, you can't…"
"Aunt, let's go first."
After what felt like a long time had passed, Adela seemed to be slightly calm. Jackline helped her in pouring out a glass of water and handed it to her. She drank a few sips and took a deep breath.
"Aunt, we need to go to the hospital."
Jackline whispered in a low tone and looked at Adela with her gaze a little bit conflicted. She was wondering whether he should take her along with him or not.
"Alright, give me two minutes."
Adela did not wait for Jackline to say anything and walked away from the dining hall.
In the meantime, Jackline had already informed his bureau about what happened and that she won't be able to make it up for today. Naturally, the bureau helped their working employees so for Jackline they had already arranged everything at the hospital and were working along side with her to find a donor. Jackline had just reach the hospital to check on her uncle when a nurse came running.
"Ma'am is there any donor? We are rushing out of time."
Jackline's face turned pale. She clenched her fingers into a tight fist and explained the situation. The nurse thought for a moment before she replied.
"Ma'am, let me talk to the doctor regarding this. We cannot take risk simply because the patient has donated his blood to you."