"Miss, your wound is deep; it will become infected if not treated right away." Elisabeta lifted her head to get a closer look at the young lady with a stethoscope around her neck who had just spoken; she hissed, not because she disagreed with what the lady had adviced, but because of who the people think she is; is she some kind of money making machine?
Her mother is still in the hospital bed since she couldn't afford her hospital fees, and now they are attempting to raise her expenses by treating her minor injuries. She winced when the hem of her knee-length gown touched her knee.
She soon replaced her compressed brow with a bright grin on her cheeks and waved at the girl, who appeared to be in her early twenties. "I'm alright, doctor," Elisabeta said, and the lady chuckled.
What was so amusing— can't she realize that Elisabeta was a poor girl whose father only left her five thousand dollars?
Elisabeta rolled her eyes at the girl and bowed her head to relieve the pain in her knee.
"I am not a doctor." The girl in front of her remarked this as she bowed her head to her chest and realized why Elisabeta had referred to her as a doctor; her headset, which she draped around her neck, looked exactly like a doctor's stethoscope, and her coat? It's winter, girl!
"I am not a doctor," the girl clarified, but Elisabeta feigned not to hear her as she continued to blow air on her injuries to relieve discomfort. The lady exhaled and sat next to her; her eyes seemed to demand Elisabeta's attention, but the latter wasn't ready for any talk.
"My elder sister was brought in an hour ago; she has stage three pancreatic cancer. So I'm simply waiting for the procedure to be completed" the girl murmured, Elisabeta heard what the lady said even if her voice wasn't clear enough. That was the same disease that converted her mother's hospital bed into a home.
"I'm sorry," Elisabeta said as she patted the girl's hands. The girl bowed her head to her chest and nodded.
Elisabeta was well aware of how dangerous the illness can be, despite the fact that her mother is a true warrior who has fought for life for the past nine years. The illness was real.
"How long has she had the illness?" Elisabeta inquired of the girl, who was already crying despite bending her head to hide her face from her. Elisabeta could see the girl's grief written all over her face.
"I lost track of time for a long time," the girl replied after rubbing her running nose. "The doctor stated that she has a fifty-fifty chance of survival, and he indicated part of the tumor may be removed, which might boost her odds of survival," the girl said clearly while fighting back tears.
"I can't afford to lose my sister," the girl added. "She is my only relative. My parents were murdered, and I would have died as well. My sister's spouse was supposedly detained a few months ago. I simply can't afford to lose her."
Elisabeta patted the girl's back while placing her head on her shoulder. It was painful and it appeared that their fates were similar. Elisabeta, although not having lost a soul, resembled a weak kid who had received no care or affection.
Her mother was the only person in her life at the time. The doctor said that her mother was Ok and able to return home, but Elisabeta understood the true reason for the doctor's assertion. For a long period, he even stopped treating her mother.
Who wants to jeopardize his profession at the expense of someone who, even in the hereafter, cannot return a single dime?
The girl's sobbing subsided, but she was still not ready to let go. She pretended as though she had never been embraced by someone who truly loved her.
"Do you know who Lucinda is?" As she approached where they were, a nurse inquired. The girl who had been clutching Elisabeta eventually let go; she got to her feet and gestured to the nurse.
"The doctor said he won't touch your sister unless you put money down," the nurse stated. Lucinda stumbled back, as if she had just heard terrible and painful news. Her tears welled up again as she knelt in front of the nurse.
"Please, ma'am, I don't have any money on me; the last money I had on me was what I used to pay the cab man when we arrived."
The nurse shook her head and nudged Lucinda, who was bending at her feet, with the point of her shoes. "Young woman, we are not a charity; this is a public hospital, but we employees need to be payed; why can't you sell your body and pay the bills?" The nurse growled and attempted to walk away, but she was stopped by someone.
She turned back and gave Elisabeta, who had already stood up, a nasty look. "What?" She said, yanking her scrub shirt from Elisabeta.
"Can she put down any amount of money?" Elisabeta inquired, casting sidelong looks towards Lucinda. Lucinda was clearly perplexed and wondered what she was up to. Was she deaf when she stated she didn't have any money?
After making a brief call, the nurse placed her phone to her pocket, cleared her throat, and returned her eyes to Elisabeta.
"She can deposit any sum greater than four thousand dollars , according to the doctor. The operation would cost ten thousand dollars" the nurse stated, folding her arms over her chest and sizing Elisabeta from head to toe, as if wondering how she could afford such a big quantity of money when she doesn't want to mind her own business.
The nurse's jaw dropped wide in astonishment at what Elisabeta accomplished next. She lifted her gown and reached inside her underwear pocket, removing five thousand dollar notes and pointed them at the nurse.
"Take this; that's five thousand dollars; can you use it as a deposit?"
"Huh. Uh. Uh." the nurse nodded and took the notes from her grasp.
"Receipt?"
The nurse dashed to the counter opposite them and returned six seconds later with a receipt, which she handed to Elisabeta.
"Please do what is required," Elisabeta urged, and the nurse nodded as if she were a professor who had just accepted a big quantity of bribe money so that one of her students may graduate. She hurried out after bowing slightly to Elisabeta.
"Why? You don't know who I am." while Lucinda was waiting for a response, Elisabeta turned her head and rested her hands on her shoulders.
"Lucinda, my mother also has pancreatic cancer, however her stage is stage IV, and I am confident she is doing well. Take care and please never consider selling your body; work hard, and your sister will be Ok, believe me."
Lucinda nodded her head and smiled. She hugged Elisabeta and kept saying "thank you" to her.
——
"Get out of the way," four nurses cried from the opposite end of the room as they pushed two stretchers out of the hallway, each carrying a covered dead body.