One month
1889 Words
Elena answered the phone before the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Miss Kyarshik?"
"Yes."
"This is Dr. Lawson from St. Mary's Cardiac Center. I need you to come back to the hospital."
Elena stopped beside the taxi stand.
"What happened to Ethan?"
"He had another episode."
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
"Is he conscious?"
"Yes. He's stable at the moment."
"At the moment?"
"I'd rather explain when you arrive."
Elena looked toward the hospital entrance.
"I'll be there."
She ended the call and stepped into the first taxi that stopped.
"St. Mary's Cardiac Center."
The driver pulled into traffic.
Elena sat in the back with her bag pressed against her knees. Less than an hour earlier, she had walked out of Blackwood Group with her job gone. Now she was returning to the hospital because her brother had suffered another cardiac episode.
She opened her banking app.
Twenty-three thousand, four hundred and eighty naira.
She stared at the number.
Rent would take most of it.
Food would take more.
Ethan's medication had already taken a portion of what remained.
She locked the phone.
The surgery would cost more than she had.
She didn't know how much more yet.
The taxi stopped outside St. Mary's.
Elena paid and hurried inside.
Dr. Lawson waited near the cardiac ward.
His white coat was unbuttoned, and the folder under his arm had several pages sticking out.
"Where is Ethan?"
"Room twelve."
"Can I see him?"
"Yes, but I need to speak with you first."
Elena stopped.
"Is he worse?"
"His condition has progressed."
"What does that mean?"
Dr. Lawson opened the folder.
"The medication is no longer enough to manage the defect."
Elena looked at the medical charts.
She understood some of the words.
Not enough.
"Then what does he need?"
"Surgery."
"How soon?"
"Within a month."
She stared at him.
"Why so soon?"
"His heart is working harder than it should. Another serious episode could cause complications we may not be able to reverse."
"Then schedule it."
"We need to discuss the cost."
Elena waited.
Dr. Lawson told her the estimate.
She did the calculation in her head.
Once.
Twice.
The number remained the same.
"I don't have that."
"I know."
"I can borrow."
"That will be difficult."
"I'll find someone."
"We can submit Ethan's case for financial assistance."
"How much would they cover?"
"I can't promise a figure."
"Insurance?"
"Your previous employment plan may not cover the procedure now that your employment has ended."
Elena looked at him.
"How do you know I lost my job?"
"The admission record was updated."
She looked down at the folder.
She had been fired that morning.
Her brother needed surgery before the month ended.
The two problems had collided so quickly that she hadn't had time to process either one.
"Can I see him now?"
Dr. Lawson nodded.
"He's awake."
Elena entered the room.
Ethan lay beneath a white blanket with a monitor attached beside his bed.
He turned when he heard the door.
"There you are."
His voice was lighter than it should have been.
Elena pulled the chair beside him.
"You had another episode."
"I know."
"How long?"
"Not long."
"What happened?"
"I got dizzy."
"Ethan."
"I did."
"Did you faint?"
He looked away.
"No."
Elena waited.
He sighed.
"Almost."
She sat down.
"Why didn't you call me?"
"You were dealing with your job."
"I would have come."
"I know."
"Then call me."
"I will."
Elena picked up the cup of water on the table.
"Drink."
Ethan took it.
"You're becoming a doctor."
"No. Doctors don't threaten their patients."
"You haven't met the right doctors."
He drank half the cup and returned it.
Elena looked at him.
He smiled.
She didn't.
"Dr. Lawson says you need surgery."
Ethan's smile disappeared.
"When?"
"Within a month."
He looked at the ceiling.
"Okay."
"That's all?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know."
"Then I'll say okay."
Elena leaned back.
"The surgery is expensive."
"How expensive?"
She gave him the amount.
Ethan went quiet.
Elena watched him calculate.
He was sixteen.
He shouldn't know how many months of rent could fit inside a hospital bill.
"That's impossible," he said.
"We'll find a way."
"With what money?"
"I'll figure it out."
"You just lost your job."
"I can get another one."
"Today?"
"Maybe not today."
"Tomorrow?"
"Maybe."
"Elena."
"I said I'll figure it out."
Ethan looked down at the blanket.
"You shouldn't have to."
"I don't have to. I want to."
He lifted his head.
"You already gave up university for me."
Elena said nothing.
"Don't do that again."
"I didn't give up my life."
"You left school."
"I made a choice."
"Because of me."
"Because I was your sister."
Ethan turned toward the window.
Elena knew that silence.
He used it whenever he wanted to hide an argument.
She waited.
Eventually he said, "You could have finished."
"I could have."
"You could have had a better job."
"I have a job."
"You had a job."
She almost smiled.
"That's a technicality."
He didn't smile back.
Elena reached across the bed and adjusted the blanket near his shoulder.
"Stop worrying about me."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm worried about the surgery."
"So am I."
Ethan looked at her.
"But we'll be fine."
His voice was steady.
Too steady.
Elena knew her brother.
He was scared.
He just didn't want to add his fear to hers.
She let the subject go.
The nurse came in to check his blood pressure.
Elena stepped aside.
While the nurse worked, Elena looked at the photograph inside her bag.
She had carried it for years.
Their father stood in the middle.
Elena was fourteen.
Ethan was ten.
Their mother had already been gone for two years.
Daniel Kyarshik had one arm around each child.
The photograph had been taken shortly before everything changed.
Elena remembered the day her father was arrested.
She had been doing homework at the kitchen table when two police officers came to the apartment.
Ethan had been watching television in the next room.
Daniel opened the door.
The officers showed him a document.
He read it.
Then he looked at Elena.
"Take Ethan into the bedroom."
She stood.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
"What happened?"
"Elena."
His voice stopped her.
She had never heard him speak to her like that.
Not because he was angry.
Because he was afraid.
She took Ethan by the arm.
"Come on."
They went into the bedroom.
Ethan looked back.
"Why are they here?"
"I don't know."
"Are they taking Dad?"
"I don't know."
She closed the door.
The next time she saw her father, he was behind glass.
Elena sat across from him with a telephone pressed to her ear.
Daniel looked thinner.
His prison uniform hung loosely from his shoulders.
"They said you stole money," she said.
"I didn't."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because someone changed the records."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You worked at Blackwood for years."
"I know."
"Then someone there must know."
Daniel lowered his voice.
"Elena, listen to me."
She leaned closer to the glass.
"The documents they have are false."
"Can you prove it?"
"I tried."
"Try again."
He looked at her.
"You sound like your mother."
"Good."
A guard moved behind him.
Daniel glanced over his shoulder.
"Don't trust every document just because it has a signature."
Elena frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means numbers can be changed."
"Who changed yours?"
"I don't know."
"Then find out."
Daniel smiled sadly.
"I wish I could."
Elena looked down at her hands.
"I'll prove you're innocent."
"Don't put yourself in danger."
"I'm not scared."
"You're fourteen."
"I'm still going to prove it."
Daniel reached for the glass.
Elena raised her own hand and placed it against the other side.
"I'll take care of Ethan."
His expression changed.
"That's my job."
"Not anymore."
He looked at her for a long time.
Then he nodded.
Three months later, Daniel died in prison.
The official report listed cardiac failure.
Elena never accepted it.
She was sixteen by then.
Ethan was twelve.
There was no father to bring home.
No mother waiting at the apartment.
There was only a funeral, a pile of bills, and a younger brother who kept asking when things would return to normal.
They never did.
Elena stayed in school for a while.
She attended lectures during the day and worked evenings.
Her grades dropped.
Her rent increased.
Ethan needed school fees.
Food cost more.
Medication cost more.
Eventually, Elena stopped attending university.
She packed her books into a cardboard box and placed them beneath her bed.
She found work at Blackwood Group.
The pay was modest.
It was enough.
Enough for Ethan's school.
Enough for food.
Enough to keep the lights on.
She told herself she would return to university when things became easier.
They never did.
The hospital room came back into focus.
Elena looked at Ethan.
He was awake.
"Where did you go?"
She blinked.
"Nowhere."
"You were staring at the wall."
"I was thinking about Dad."
Ethan lowered his gaze.
"Me too."
Elena sat beside him.
"He would have hated this."
"What?"
"Seeing you in a hospital bed."
Ethan gave a small smile.
"He'd probably complain about the bill."
"He'd complain about everything."
"He did."
They both laughed quietly.
The sound faded.
Ethan looked at her.
"Elena."
"Yes?"
"If the surgery costs too much..."
"No."
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"I know."
"What if you can't pay?"
"I'll pay."
"How?"
"I'll find a way."
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
Ethan studied her face.
Then he smiled.
"Okay."
Elena knew he didn't believe the situation was okay.
She knew because he kept glancing at the hospital bill.
She knew because he had stopped making jokes about the surgery.
She knew because he had asked about the cost twice.
But he didn't tell her he was afraid.
He didn't ask what would happen if the money never came.
He didn't cry.
He simply kept telling her they would be fine.
He was protecting her.
The realization made Elena look away.
She couldn't afford to break down in front of him.
So she opened her phone instead.
She checked her bank balance again.
Twenty-three thousand, four hundred and eighty naira.
Four weeks.
She needed enough money for Ethan's surgery before those four weeks ended.
Her job was gone.
Her savings were almost gone.
Her brother was trying to convince her that he wasn't frightened.
Elena slipped the phone back into her bag.
She took Ethan's hand.
"I'll be here."
"You should go home and sleep."
"I'll stay."
"You have work tomorrow."
She looked at him.
"Not anymore."
He winced.
"Sorry."
"Don't be."
"You'll get another one."
"I will."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Ethan nodded.
His eyelids lowered.
Elena remained beside him until his breathing became slow and regular.
She knew he was pretending to sleep.
She knew he was pretending not to be afraid.
She also knew why.
He didn't want her carrying his fear on top of everything else.
Elena watched him for another minute.
Then she opened her phone.
She started with the numbers of people she trusted.
One by one, she would call them.
If that failed, she would find another option.
She had four weeks.
She would use every one of them.
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