CUPID

CUPID - Livingston Hospital

CUPID

“Help! Help!! Help!!!,” came yelling a young man who looked like he was in his early thirties. It appeared that he was carrying a lady on his arms as she was bleeding profusely.

“Get one of the hospital cots!” Carla screamed on top of her voice. In no time, the hospital cot was brought forth and the lady was laid on it and rolled to the intensive care unit. One thing was sure about Livingston Hospital, it never recorded any death since its’ eighteen years of existence. Carla happened to be an experienced Nurse and the overall head of all the nurses, i.e, the Chief Nursing Officer(CNO). The nurses commenced treatment after Carla ran some tests on the lady who appeared to have lost a lot of blood.

“Don’t panic, she’ll be fine. Just give her time to heal,” Carla assured the man.

“Thanks a lot. Do I have to make a deposit already?” the man asked as his pacing heart reduced its’ marathon race momentarily.

“No, not at all, treatment is free for the first 24 hours. After that, we can discuss payment options,” Carla replied, trying to calm the man down.

As the man sat at the reception area, waiting, Carla couldn’t help but notice the sadness in his eyes.

She approached him and asked, “Do you want to talk about what happened? It might help to ease your mind a bit.” Carla said. The man looked up, surprised that someone was willing to listen. He took a deep breath and started narrating the events of the afternoon. He had met the lady, Mary, in a park where she was sitting all alone. They struck up a conversation, and he found out she had just gone through a break-up. He tried to cheer her up and eventually asked her out on a date. They had just finished lunch and were walking towards Mary's car when a man approached them, shouting and causing a scene. He was clearly angry and accused the man, Mr. Leo, of stealing his girlfriend. Before they could even react, the man had pulled out a knife and attacked Mary. Leo was able to overpower him, but not before she was severely injured. Carla listened with a heavy heart, feeling for the man and for Mary. She realized that he was in love with her and was trying to help her heal from her heartbreak. She knew that a broken heart could be just as painful as physical injuries, and that’s when an idea struck her.

She excused herself and went to the hospital’s gift shop. She picked out a small stuffed cupid and brought it back to the man. “You know, the Greeks believed that Cupid was the god of love, and that he could heal even the most broken of hearts. Maybe this little guy can help Mary heal a bit faster.”

The man looked at the plush toy, surprised but grateful for the kind gesture. As he held it in his hands, he felt a sense of hope and love. He knew he had to stay strong for Mary and help her through this difficult time.

Carla smiled, knowing that sometimes, it’s the small acts of kindness that can make the biggest difference in someone’s life. She watched as the man held onto the little cupid, his eyes lighting up with a newfound sense of hope.

An hour later, it was already 03:30PM. School had closed and Carla was already on her way to pick up Lucretia from school.

“I think my dad’s here. See you tomorrow,” Tessa said, hugged Lucretia and walked up to her dad’s car. It was a black Mercedes Benz with tinted glasses somewhat called the Privacy Screen Protector (PSP).

“My Princess, how was school today?” Mr Chadwick asked as he was all smiles as soon as he saw his daughter.

“School was fun,” Tessa said and unbacked her backpack before adjusting herself on the car seat next to her dad.

“I see you’ve made a friend,” he said and stuck out his tongue playfully.

“Apparently, I finally found someone I can communicate with in school,” Tessa said and sighed.

Few minutes later, Carla arrived at Lucretia’s school. Lucretia was standing beside the gate outside the school premises. She walked down to her aunt’s car and entered.

“Baby girl, how was school today?” Carla asked concernedly.

“Not bad. Not as horrible as I thought it’d be,” she said and tilted her head backward on the headrest of the car seat. They got home some moments later and Carla made lunch as Lucretia freshened up. It was already sunset and Lucretia felt the need to do a research about the History class they had in school. She typed, “Mr Clifford and the demon story” on Google but there wasn’t anything interesting to read. Her objective was to know the basis of everything that happened and probably how destructive the demon was, what it looked like, the story of how the priest exorcised the demon out of his body, how the demon was summoned, etc. This was how meticulous Lucretia was. In addition, she wanted to be able to interact in class so as to be a bane for intelligence and superiority since she wasn’t that of a social person, that way, she’ll build up her confidence.

“I don’t know what Oliver saw in that girl in Grade 10. I’ll sound a warning to her before she bites more than she can chew,” said Nadia as she paced aimlessly on the balcony whilst her squad of four girls sat quietly looking at her at intervals.

…

The next morning, being Friday, Lucretia arrived school and she proceeded to her locker when Nadia and her squad blocked her on the walkway.

“Hey nerd! I’ve been sensing a weird chemistry between you and my boyfriend, I’m going to warn you to stay away from him. You’re beautiful doesn’t give you the right to overstep your boundaries,” Nadia said scornfully. She pointed her index and middle finger at her and back to her eyes showing that she was watching her closely, while Nadia’s squad looked at her with disgust and they left.

“Good morning,” Tessa said as she startled Lucretia with her greeting from behind.

“G-Good morning,” she answered after her pulse became normal.

“What’s up? You look bothered, “ Tessa said as she observed her friend.

“It’s Nadia and her squad, they confronted me not long ago on the walkway, “ Lu said.

“I knew this would happen. She’s bossy and full of herself. It’s crystal clear that Oliver is sick and tired of her drama already, “ Tessa said and made her face as if to have perceived a stench; that’s a sign of how irritating Nadia was to her and she’d do anything so as not to fall victim of Nadia’s traps.

“I don’t even know why Oliver keeps trying to get close to me. Yes, he’s gentle but he should stick with his girlfriend,” Lucretia said.

“I can tell Oliver has a thing for you from his stares and advances. I’ll advise you to be careful so you don’t get yourself in trouble. Nadia once ruined a girl’s reputation last year because the girl caught feelings for Oliver and she sent her nudes to him. Nadia saw the nudes and sent them across to everyone’s phone during the end of year party, “ Tessa explained as she sat on the desk while Lucretia leaned on the walk close to the window.

The class was beginning to get filled up and the two girls ended their conversation. Some students talked about a forthcoming competition ranging from swimming, sprinting and playing of basketball between different teams in Dreame High School. Others talked about a party that would take place during the weekend. It appeared that one of the influential students in Grade 10 had his birthday and he was Nadia’s cousin, Landon.

“I feel uneasy right now. I just want to rest my head for a while, “ Lu said as she sat down and rested her head on the desk.

“Hope you aren’t thinking too much about what transpired between you and Nadia?” Tessa asked as she raised her right eyebrow.

“Not at all, I just feel heavy. I’ll be fine,” she said and closed her eyes.

Carla was in her office when one of the nurses called her attention. The man that brought in a lady some days ago needs your attention.

“Good day, ma’am,” said Leo.

“Good day, Mr. Leo,” Carla replied as she placed her stethoscope on her neck and adjusted her glasses.

“I wanted to see the lady I brought here,” said Leo.

“Oh, okay. Let’s head to her ward then, “ Carla said and led the way to the ward.

Mary was already getting better and could talk well. Though, she couldn’t walk properly yet, but the blood transfusion helped her a lot and the Leo couldn’t help but be grateful for everything.

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for her. I thought I’d lose her,” the man said, with tears welling up in his eyes.

“It’s all in a day’s work, sir. We’re just glad that she’s getting better,” Carla replied with a smile. After the Leo left, Carla couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction. It was moments like these that made all the stress and hard work worth it. As the day came to an end and Carla was getting ready to leave, she locked up her office, gave one last look around the hospital, and with a sense of pride and satisfaction, she walked out into the evening air, and drove off to pick up Lucretia from her school. Although, she arrived an hour late but the school was still filled with students as they were spotted in different groups chatting. Tessa had already gone home and Lucretia was left alone waiting for Aunt Carla to show up.