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It is a waste to ignore the musings of the mind. |
| Writing is the communication of the writer's hopes and dreams. To write is to express the laughter, the tears, the joys of the heart. It is the writer's desire to communicate all his feelings and desires in her/her heart to a reader. |
| In the meantime on the road to the village hospital. "Pop," Jess' voice was faint. "It's all right, Jess, please don't talk." Martin grabbed at the towel on his shoulder and wiped off the splash of blood that flowed freely out of Jess' mouth. "I hurt, Pop," Jess said. "I know, I know, please try not to talk, okay?" Martin assured his daughter. Jess nodded. Martin was near to tears. "Hurry it up, will you?" He screamed at the cart driver. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." "No worry, Martin," the driver replied. "I know how you feel." As they arrived at the hospital, Martin bundled Jess out of the horse-drawn cart. The driver ran ahead and grabbed a guerney. A doctor, a nurse, and two other hospital staff were right behind him. "Sorry, Martin, you can't come in. We'll let you know as soon as we examine your daughter." The doctor said with a final push at Martin. "But, but..." Martin's frustration showed in his face. "Wait there and we'll let you know," the nurse repeated as the hospital staff dashed into the operating room. Martin felt exhaustion, not from physical tiredness he was sure of it. His hands shook as he strode to the waiting room. He ignored the sweat on his forehead. He clasped his hands tightly to stop the shaking. He gave in to tears and sniffed. He realized he was unable to share Jess' pain, and he was devastated. He found a chair at the corner. He closed his eyes and gathered his emotions. He must be strong for his daughter. "Martin," the cart driver touched his shoulder. Martin sprung off his chair. "Jess, is she...?" "It's me, Martin," the driver said. "You look exhausted. Why don't you come with me and we'll have something to eat?" "No, you go ahead. I'll wait here until I hear from the doctor." "I got you a cup of coffee. Take it." "Thanks a lot," Martin said and sat back. "Don't worry about me, I'll wait here." Alone again, Martin paced the floor. Jess was always a good girl and he was shaken that she climbed a tree again. He remembered when she climbed a tree at the backyard years before. She didn't fall but he was right there, and brought her down to safety. He brushed the dampness in his eyes. He thought of his wife, Grace. Grace appeared at the kitchen door. Martha was aghast. She rushed to Grace's side. "Grace, what are you doing? You must rest." "I can't rest, Martha. I want to know what happened to my little girl." Ana, Lita, and Jo huddled together, afraid to look at Grace. They were prepared to the scolding from Grace. "I know what happened and I'll tell you." Martha looked at the girls and shooed them off the kitchen with a wave of her hand. "She looked deathly and pale. I should go to her." Grace started to cry again. "There's nothing you can do at the hospital. I'm sure the doctors will take care of Jess." Martha led Grace to a chair. The three girls scampered out of the kitchen, realizing they may not fully escape the scolding that Grace prepared for them. (to be continued) |
| Grace saw Martin through tearful eyes and felt the kiss he planted on her cheek. When he bundled Jess in his arms, she knew her little girl was going to be well cared for. She stayed crouched on the ground, praying for Jess and for Martin as they sped to the village hospital. Ana and her Mom came upon Grace at that minute. They helped her off the ground and led her back toward home. Lita and Jo followed behind in silence, afraid to start a conversation. Their faces were pale against the afternoon sunlight. "Here we are, Grace, please go and rest in your bedroom," Ana's Mom said. Grace, as if awakened from a deep sleep, looked up and saw Lita, Jo and Ana staring, their eyes dulled by the accident and their lips were closed tight. "How can you do this to Jess, girls? How and why didn't you stop her climb the tree?" She didn't wait for their reply. She began to sob, her heart was breaking, her cries were deep in her breast. The girls just stared at their feet, as if their lips were clamped tight and the guilt in their faces kept them humbled. Ana's Mom, Martha, took hold of Grace's arm and led her to her room. She closed the door behind her and stayed with Grace for a long while. When she came out, she found the three girls still huddled together, consoling each other. She took pity on them and led them to the kitchen, where she gave them lemonade. "I want to know what happened out there, Ana," Martha said as the girls took their drink. "It's not my fault, Mom," Ana said. "Nor it's Lita's and Jo's." "All right, all right. I didn't say it's any of your faults. I just want to know what happened." Lita, Ana and Jo eyed each other, deciding who should speak first. "We tried to stop Jess from climbing the tree," Lita said. "But she did it anyhow. We couldn't stop her because we were asleep." "What?" Martha did not want to believe what she heard. "You fell asleep... how?" "We had our picnic and it got hot, so we all laid on the blanket and fell asleep." Jo was quick to answer. "And while we were asleep, Jess must have gotten up and climbed the tree," Ana added. "Jess woke us up but she was already up in the tree," Lita said. "We asked her to come down. At first she didn't want to, then she started to climb down. And that's when it happened." Lita shivered, covered her face with both hands, remembering the sound of the branch breaking and Jess falling down to the ground. "There was a very loud snap of the branch when Jess stepped on it. All we could do was watch as she crashed, face down, to the ground." Jo started to cry. Martha was wide-eyed, her mouth opened to say something but she didn't. Instead she felt her knees wobble and she gave in and slumped on the floor. "We thought she was dead, there was a lot of blood coming out of her mouth and nose," Ana said. (to be continued) |
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