"Please, be safe. Please… be safe!" I prayed as I ran, I'd hit the main road but no taxi or cars were coming. This road really is not too busy. I continued running, I passed the turn to our school already, and I was starting to feel my legs burning. And then,
"Hey! Hey! Wait!" I found a Taxi! I waved to it frantically. I've been running on the main road for about 20 minutes already.
When I got in.
"Please, please mister! Bring me to ABC Hospital!" The driver nodded.
"As fast as you can please!" The driver looked at me from the rear mirror. He had a face of concern and didn't talk back. But he reached for the box of tissue and passed it to me, his face was still looking forward.
I took it, and just then I realized that I was covered in sweat and tears. I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly to catch my breath. It felt like my heart was about to explode from the mixed feelings I was experiencing.
It is still about 30 minutes to get to the ABC hospital, it's not a big facility but that is the nearest we have in the area. I'm not very worried that they cannot accommodate Grandpa. The doctors there are reliable and they have complete facilities, that's where I bring Grandma and Grandpa for their yearly checkups. I can say that they can handle Grandpa expertly. I gave a rough and quick wipe to my face with a couple ply of tissue. The driver does take me seriously, I can feel the accelerator. Maybe less than 20 minutes we arrived. I gave him money but he refused.
"Keep it, just stay healthy kiddo" he closed the palm I used to give him the money. I wanted to cry right there but I still needed energy for what to come.
I ran inside the hospital to the lobby; I smelled a strong scent of rubbing alcohol. I was about to ask for my grandpa's whereabouts, when…
"Jun! Honey!" I hear Grandma's voice. I turned into her way and saw her crying frantically
"How is Grandpa?" I'm trying to calm her down that moment, but honestly, I'm very scared myself too.
"He's still in the operating room. They say he had a heart attack. I called Stella…" I stopped for a second but tried not to get it into me. They are mom's parents anyway. I didn't ask for more, she'll just come if she arrives.
I asked Grandma everything from the start, she told me that Grandpa was tending to the garden when she just heard a loud bang, then Chuna came running to me, saying "Grandpa! Grandpa!" while pointing in his direction.
"After that, I called the neighbor to help me, they offered to leave Chuna behind and luckily her husband was at home and helped us to carry him and drove us here…" I'm still stroking grandma's back.
"He's in that room for hours now" and she started to sob harder again. I hugged her and stared at the green light sign above the door of the operating room, waiting for it to turn off.
After a few more minutes, I stood to bring Grandma some water, I couldn't think anymore, I felt my legs burning from the run I had done earlier. I can hear nurses' indistinct chattering some other people's cries and some kids are playing in the main lobby.
When I got into the water dispenser I took a cup from the stack. I wanted to get warmed up so I chose the button for hot water and I will just blend it with some cold, but when I drank it.
"It's so cold" I hardly gulped that and somewhat sent shivers down my body. When I recovered, I drank the whole cup, threw it, and then took another one to bring for Grandma.
When I got back, I saw a digital clock hanging on the ceiling in the middle of the hallway, it was 11:31 PM. We are still waiting outside of the operating room.
"Grandma, we haven't had dinner yet. And I'm sure you're exhausted. Why won't I arrange something for you to go home? I'll come get you when I get some news", Grandma then, raised her head to meet my eyes. She stopped crying, but her face was already swollen. Then, she shook her head.
"No, honey. I'll wait right here for my husband". I passed her the cold cup of water. She sipped just a little.
"I'm sure grandma doesn't want something cold right now," I thought when I offered.
"Grandma, how about I get something hot for us? We missed dinner time too. It's already late."
Then Grandma started sobbing again, harder. I took the cup from her and hugged her again. I felt her hard embrace. She's almost squeezing me and I can feel that it's already her hardest.
"Jun, honey. I'm really sorry!!!" I was a bit startled and she started to break down. I faced her and knelt in front of her. I'm trying my best to comfort her.
"Why Grandma? What are you trying to say?" I'm confused
"Honey, today is you and Chuna's birthday. Then this all…" I stroked her back and she continued
"…we have prepared a lot for you children… I baked cakes and cookies; we are planning the décor color. I still remember asking Chuna for the things… she wanted to put on the table. We were about to ask… grandpa to come with us to buy gifts for you and surprise you. We were just so happy…" Grandma was talking in between her sobs. I can feel her fists clenching at my back. I just said
"It's okay, grandma… That's not important anymore, we must go home with grandpa…"
A couple of minutes passed, then Grandma pushed me a little to get herself out of my embrace, then she looked at me and put her gaze behind me. I reflexively looked behind me, and there I saw Mom. I sat back down on the chairs beside Grandma, and she opened her arms to welcome Mom. Mom took it while she was standing. She's wearing her usual working attire in the shade of black. The hug was brief.
"I came as soon as I heard, do you have news?" She glanced towards me and I just shook my head. Then she reached out for my hands. She was holding it with a bit of squeeze.
"Happy birthday son." I took back my hand. I'm having some kind of confusion about bringing that up in this situation. She's being ostentatious. So, I couldn't help but glare at her for a moment. I saw the digital time behind her, it was 11:52 PM, I just thought.
"At least, she made it in time"