The feeling was as if she was going to fall off from a fast-moving vehicle. She was still holding tightly to her seat belt when she felt someone tap her arm.
In shock, she opened her eyes and almost jumped when she saw a man in white.
“Are you all right, miss?” the doctor asked.
Carol looked around, bewildered and shocked that she was back in her hospital room.
CHAPTER 3 “Where, where am I?” she asked, as if she was not too sure of her environment.
The doctor blinked. He was in the company of two nurses. “Well, you are in a hospital, miss.”
“What happened?” Carol asked, looking around frantically, half-expecting to see the mysterious man in black seated on the chair. But he was not there. The chair in her room was empty.
“You were involved in an accident, miss. I am afraid you were the only survivor. All of the others did not make it out alive,” the doctor replied.
“They did not make it out alive? But we were all together in the car. How did I get out alive? How did I get here?” Carol asked.
“The rescue team found you some distance away from the burning SUV. In fact, it is a miracle that you were able to get out of it,” the doctor said.
“Get out of it? How did I get out of the burning car?” Carol demanded.
“Look, miss, you must relax and try and get some rest, okay? I know how traumatic this incidence must have been to you. Try and get some rest, okay?” the doctor said.
Carol sat up on her bed. “I don’t need any rest, please. Just answer my questions.”
“What answers do you need from me? You should be grateful that you are alive. Don’t you understand? It’s a miracle that you were not in that burnt SUV,” the doctor replied.
“A miracle?” Carol repeated.
The doctor nodded. “Yes, it is. You should be grateful for that, miss. Now try and get some rest, please.”
After the doctor and nurses had left, Carol was all alone. But she knew that she wasn’t going to be alone for too long.
“You seem to not believe in miracles,” the voice said suddenly.
She turned to look at him. As expected, he was seated on the chair.
“Are you a miracle? Are you my miracle?” she asked.
“Like I told you earlier, you can call me whatever you want. Some people think of me as a solution provider. To others, I am a miracle. And yet others call me the answer to their prayers, or simply their dying wish.”
“But you are not any of those. You are like a sick joke. What is this supposed to be to me – a second chance or what?”
“Careful with the temper, Carol. By now you should know that I am immune to any sort of provocation. Collecting debts from people like you is a serious business which requires concentration and meticulous attention.”
Carol snapped her fingers excitedly. “That is it. That is just what you are. You are a debt collector.”
“Like I said earlier, Carol, I go by so many names these days that I do not even bother to remember. All I know is that after I have granted a dying wish to a person like you, that person must be ready to repay their debts.”
“And in order to repay that debt, I must provide another soul, otherwise I will get sent to the same situation I was in when I made my wish?”
“Exactly, Carol. You now understand the process very well.”
“How long do I have to repay my debt?”
“Two days.”
“Two days?”
“Yes, Carol. Exactly 48 hours from now.”
“But that is too short a time! Where will I get a soul for you 48 hours from now?”
“You talk as if you are not conscious and with a life to live. You can even be creative with the process, Carol. And before you know it, you will find out that you are already repaying your debt, even before you get discharged from this hospital.”
Carol frowned and shook her head, as if trying to clear her mind. “Wait, I didn’t get that. What do you mean by being creative and repaying my debt before I get discharged?”
The man beckoned to her. “Come, Carol. Come to the window.”
She stood up from her bed and walked to the window.
“What do you see outside?” he asked.
“It is the car park, with some cars and people walking around,” Carol replied.
“No, Carol. Look again. Now tell me, what do you see?”
Carol looked again at the car park down below. After a while, she looked away. “I’m telling you there is nothing there. It is just the cars and people walking around.”
“Okay, Carol. I’ll open up your mind a little. What I can see is height. Do you understand, Carol. Height.”
Carol turned to look at him. “Height?”
“Yes, Carol. You are on the seventh floor of this hospital. Just imagine what it would be like to get someone thrown down from this floor. No one would ever suspect anything. They’d probably say that the person was depressed, mentally ill, or even suicidal. And that would be the end of the story. You would have repaid your debt even before you are discharged.”
Carol gasped. “You are suggesting that I deliberately kill someone?”
“I am not suggesting anything to you, Carol. I am simply showing you options on how to get your debt repaid quickly.”
“But I cannot push anyone down from this floor. That would be terribly wicked of me to do,” Carol protested.
The man stood up. “Then maybe you might consider what would happen to you if you don’t. Do you remember the burning SUV? Perhaps you’d like to find yourself inside it once again. And this time there would be no one to answer your prayers, pleas, cries for help, or dying wish. Is that what you’d prefer?”
Carol shook her head vigorously. “No, no, no, please don’t let me die like that again.”
“You are not going to die like that, Carol. As long as you do what must be done. If you must know, we do not like our debts to remain open for too long. Fortyeight hours is all you have, Carol. Do you understand? Forty-eight hours.”
Carol nodded. “Yes. I understand. Forty-eight hours.”
And then he was gone.
He had not opened the door nor jumped through the window. He had just vanished, disappeared from the room like he was never there at all.
Carol sat down at the edge of the bed. What had she gotten herself into? she wondered.
Just then the door opened and a man in a doctor uniform came in. “Hello, miss. Sorry, I did not realize that you were awake. How are you feeling?”
Carol nodded. “I am okay. I am feeling stronger.”
“That is good. I am going to give you some more medications, if you don’t mind. That would help both your body and your mind to heal.”
“But I feel all right, Doctor. Do I still need more medication?”
The doctor nodded. “Of course you do, miss. You don’t realize what it means to survive an accident, do you? Well, it is a good thing that you are alive. And we don’t want you suffering from any kind of contamination or ailment as a result of what you must have gone through to get out of that burning SUV.”
The burning SUV, she thought. So everyone actually thought she had miraculously escaped from a burning SUV?
“This room is a bit stuffy. Maybe I should open up the windows for you a little bit?” the doctor asked.
Carol watched him walk to the windows. He drew aside the blinds and then opened the windows. For a while he just stood there, perhaps admiring the scene downstairs.
Carol was watching him. As she did, her mind began to race. Perhaps this was going to be her chance, she thought as she jumped down from her bed and tiptoed towards the doctor.
When she had gotten close to him, she stopped and began to contemplate what to do.
All she had to do was to forcefully push him and he would fall out of the open window, she thought. That would not be a difficult thing to do.
But he seemed to be such a nice person, she found herself thinking. Why would she want to kill such a
nice man?
The debt collector must be watching her struggle with her emotions, she was thinking.
How she wished that there was another way out of this predicament, she thought as she stretched out her hand towards him.
Just then, he turned. As he did, she quickly withdrew her hand. “My, you were able to get out of bed? Even with the medications I had given you?”
Carol nodded. “I feel restless. I wanted to take a look out of the window.”
The doctor stepped aside. “Sure. Why not? You can take a look outside. I guess you must be feeling bored, right? I’ll ask some of the assistants to get a television set brought up to your room.”
“Thank you, Doctor. That would be very nice of you,” Carol said.
After he left, Carol sank to the floor and began to hit it with her clenched fists.
“Are you all right, miss?” someone called. With tears streaming down her face, she looked up from the floor. It was one of the nurses. Carol had not heard her come into her room.
“Are you okay, miss? What is the matter with you? Why are you crying?” the nurse asked as she knelt down by her side.
Carol wiped her face with the back of her sleeve. “I am just tired and confused. I really don’t know what to feel or think anymore.”
The nurse nodded. “I understand. Not everyone can cope with such an incident. I heard that there were four of you all together in that SUV. And you were the only one who made it out alive. It must be truly traumatic. Were they your friends?”
Carol nodded and wiped away more tears. “Yes. We were all classmates going to the beach.”
“I am really sorry. See, the doctor told me about your medications. Let’s get you to your bed so you can rest, okay? I am sure that by the time you have rested a bit, you will be feeling much better. How about that?”
Carol nodded. She wrapped her arm around the nurse’s shoulders and tried to get up. But her knees were feeling weak.
“You are feeling groggy, I am sure. Here, let me help you up,” the nurse said and wrapped Carol’s waist. And just as she pulled up Carol, the nurse staggered backwards. In the process, she stepped on the edge of the bed sheet that was on the floor. Instinctively, she let go of Carol and began to struggle to get a grip on anything.
Carol had been let go by the nurse. And still weak, she collapsed back on the floor, as she was unable to hold herself up. From the floor, she watched in shock and amazement as the nurse slipped and struggled to regain her balance. She was already close to the window and, realizing what was about to happen, she began to scream, with her hands thrashing all around.
At the last moment, she grabbed onto the curtains and held onto them. But the window blinds only offered momentary relief. They were not designed to support the weight of a full-grown, adult woman. And they easily gave way.
Carol was still on the floor. Instinctively, she stretched out her hand to the nurse, as if she expected to catch her and stop her from falling.
But Carol’s attempt at preventing the inevitable was futile.
The last thing Carol saw was the look of horror on the nurse’s wide eyes before she fell out of the window.
Carol gasped as she heard the nurse’s scream outside. Then there was a loud thud, and then there was silence.
It was not long before she began to hear the sound of commotion on the ground outside.
Carol remained huddled on the floor. She was too frightened and weak to even muster the strength and courage to take a look outside the window.
She just remained on the floor with her face buried in her hands, crying helplessly.
She was still in that same spot when the door barged open and the doctor and some other personnel rushed in.
“Are you all right, miss?” the doctor asked, rushing to her side.
Carol managed to nod.
“What happened?” the doctor asked.
“I don’t know. She was trying to help me up. I think she slipped and then, and then, and then –” Carol stuttered as she struggled to complete the sentence.
The doctor patted her shoulder. “It’s all right. Come on, help me get her back into the bed.”
Carol was carried back into her bed. After she had been laid down, the doctor examined her for a while. “I think you are going to be fine, miss. I am sorry about that incident. It must really be terrible. I mean, having to witness such a tragic accident not long after surviving one.”
Carol reached up and held the doctor’s arm. “Please, Doctor. How is the nurse? Is she all right?”
The doctor’s eyes were heavy with grief as he shook his head. “I am afraid not, miss. She broke her neck from the fall.”
Carol gasped and covered her mouth. “My goodness. Is she dead?”
The doctor nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. Such a terrible thing. Isn’t it?”
Carol nodded. “I am so sorry.”
“You don’t have to be. After all, you have repaid your debt. Just like I knew you would. You could have actually saved the nurse if you had wanted to. But instead you chose not to do so,” the doctor said.
Shocked, Carol cringed backwards in fear.
“Relax, Carol. After all, you are no longer indebted to me,” the doctor said with a smile as he left the room.
THE END
The Lonely Children
CHAPTER 1 The man parked his taxicab by the side of the road. He then shut off the engine and glanced around. He could see a couple of people walking by on foot. Across the road was the entrance which led into the city’s train terminal.
This is always a good spot to get potential passengers, he thought.
He glanced at the clock on his dashboard.
The time was 10.32 AM.
From the benefit of hindsight and years of experience as a cab driver, he knew that the next train was going to arrive by 11.00 AM. That meant that he had less than half an hour to wait.
But I am not going to be idle during that period, he thought to himself.
Taking his eyes off the train terminal, he glanced at the brown bags on the seat by his side. He checked the labels on the four bags. They were all fast food meals packed by a popular restaurant in the city. He nodded at no one in particular and checked their labels again.
Three of the bags had a black sign on the side of the bag. The sign was similar on each, and resembled the capital letter G. At first, no one would easily recognize the signs. They were small and made to look like part of the markings on each of the bags.
But he knew better.
He knew what the signs meant.
And they were on three of the bags.
He deliberately avoided touching those three bags and reached for the fourth bag. He then double checked again to make sure that there was no sign on the fourth bag. Once he was satisfied that it was unmarked, he opened it and brought out a huge sandwich and a bottled soft drink.
As he ate, he began to think about how the day was going to be.
The sun was already up that morning. That meant that it was going to be another hot day. He restarted the car, then leaned over and turned on the air conditioner. He allowed his body to feel the cool breeze that was gushing out of the various vents.
Satisfied that his air conditioner was in perfect order, he leaned over to turn it off.
“Are you free at this moment to take us into town?” someone asked.
The abruptness of the sudden enquiry startled him and he dropped both his drink and the sandwich. Cursing, he reached down to pick up his meal. When he got back up, he was looking into the faces of two children.
They were both young. He figured that they could not have been more than seven or eight years old. One of them was dressed in a pair of trousers and a shortsleeve shirt, while the other was wearing a long, flowing dress. He guessed that they were brother and sister.
He frowned as he glanced around. “Yeah? What are you kids doing around here?”
The boy smiled. “I am sorry, mister. We were hoping you could take u
s into town.”
He looked at the boy. “Where are you from? Are you new in town?”
The boy nodded. “Yes, we are new in town. We arrived not long ago from the train terminal.”
The man blinked. “The terminal? You mean a train dropped you not long ago?”
The boy nodded. “Yes, sir. A train dropped us off not too long ago.”
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. The time was 10.39 AM. He looked back at the boy. “Are you sure about that, kid? Because the next train is supposed to arrive in about twenty minute from now.”
The boy smiled. “Of course I am sure, sir. The train dropped us at exactly 10.30 AM. I know, because I saw the big clock in the arrival hall. And that was the time on the clock when we arrived.”
He frowned. “Did you say 10.30 AM? But there is no train that arrives here at 10.30 AM. They always arrive at the top of the hour. You know, like 10.00 AM, and 11.00 AM.”
The boy shrugged. “Well, I cannot say why the train chose to drop us off at that time. I don’t work with the station.”
The driver glanced at the terminal. There were no passengers milling out of the glass doors. He looked at the boy again. “How many of you arrived on that train?”
“Just me and my sister, sir,” the boy replied.
“Just the two of you?” the man asked.
The boy nodded. “Yes, sir. Just the two of us. No other person came off that train.”
He looked from the boy to the girl. They looked very young and naïve. There were three trolley bags with them and two other bigger boxes.
“So, where are your parents or guardian?” the man asked.
“They did not come with us,” the girl replied, speaking for the first time.
“What? You mean you travelled all the way to this city alone?” the man asked.
The girl shook her head. “No. We were not alone.”
“Then who travelled with you?” the man asked.
“We were not alone, sir,” the boy said.
“But that is what it seems, young boy. Or am I wrong about that observation?” the man asked.
The girl nodded. “You are wrong about it, mister. We were not alone.”
“If you were not alone, then who was with you? I need to know,” the cab driver insisted.
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