00.2: A WOMAN WHO WANTS TO DIE
759 Words
Jakarta, two years ago.
"Baby, wake up, please. Let's pray first."
Devan woke Andien, his wife, who was still asleep that morning. She opened her eyes and looked at her husband's morning face.
"Morning, baby. You look pale," Andien muttered.
"I'm a little dizzy. Go pray first, baby. It's late in the morning."
Andien got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to clean herself.
"Dave, are you okay?" Andien asked as she spread out her prayer rug.
Devan, who had been sitting weakly on the side of the bed, just smiled at Andien. The man lay back down, making Andien even more worried.
Andien immediately performed her morning worship, but she was struck by an uneasy feeling. Andien returned to check Devan's condition after completing her responsibilities.
"Baby, let's go; we're going to the hospital."
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy."
"No way, baby, we've been together for fifteen years, and I know something's wrong. You've never been this way before. Come on, I'll assist you to your car."
Devan did not object. When his wife held him tightly to the car, he surrendered.
"Where are you going?" asked Kiano, Andien's younger brother, when he heard a car engine start.
"Hospital. Please take care of the children, Ki."
"Is Devan sick?"
"He said he had been dizzy since waking up from his sleep."
"How about I just drive Devan to the hospital?"
"Let me handle it. I'm leaving."
"Drive carefully. Dave, please get well soon," Kia said as he let Andien and Devan leave, leaving him worried for no reason.
Andien's anxiety was heightened by Devan's silence throughout the trip. It's unusual for her husband to be silent when he's sick, even when he's with her. Andien drove as fast as she could until she heard Devan calling him softly about fifteen minutes after they left their house.
"An-dien."
His hands fell limp. There was a snoring sound.
Andien was stunned and terrified. She immediately stopped her car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and cupped Devan's face. Devan's eyes remained open, but he made no response to his wife. The two lovely eyes had turned away from her. Andien was perplexed, her eyes grew hot, and tears flowed freely.
"Baby... What's the matter?" Andien hushed.
Andien kissed Devan's lips and face several times.
"Baby, talk to me... Baby, Dave, please," Andien sobbed even more.
Andien lay down Devan's chair, pressing her ear to his chest. There isn't anything. Nothing could be heard.
"Oh, God..."
Andien pumped his husband's chest thirty times, listening to his breath. Nothing. She gave him artificial respiration. Nothing, nothing has changed. Andien repeated it again. She did cardiopulmonary resuscitation again. Once, twice, three times, four times, until her clothes were soaked in sweat and her hands were numb.
Andien immediately got back behind the wheel and drove his car back in a hurry. The car horn continued to blare, the hazard lights flashed, and she screamed her way through the open window.
Panic.
Andien is terrified.
She's completely terrified.
They arrived at the hospital sometime later. Andien ran to the emergency room door, sobbing profusely. Several medical personnel ran with gurneys, three male nurses and a doctor ready to transport Devan to the emergency room.
Andien sobbed beside the bed where Devan was sleeping. She explained what had happened and what she had done before arriving at the hospital in a daze. Doctors continued to monitor Devan's vital signs. Andien noticed the young doctor's sad expression.
'Please don't...'
"Sorry, ma'am. He died on arrival."
Andien remained silent. Freeze. Her body seemed to be empty of life. The voices seemed far away. Her hands shook. Her knees were weak.
"Ma'am?" asked the doctor again.
"Ma'am?"
"Ma'am, is there any family we can assist you in contacting?"
"Ma'am?"
Andien remained silent. She moved closer to Devan with trembling steps. Andien cupped her husband's face in her hands. She stared at him, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Baby," she said quietly, almost inaudibly.
Andien was in tears. Sobs. Her chest felt constricted as if Devan's death had taken the air around her.
"Baby," she said once more. She pressed her lips against Devan's. She kissed every nook and cranny of her husband's face. Just like Devan did every time he woke her up.
"Wake up, please. What should I do? Take me. Take me, please. Don't leave me, baby."
The doctor and nurse next to her were stunned, not daring to interrupt Andien's sobbing.
"Dave... Take me, please. Take me. I don't want to live without you. Dave!"
- Writer
