Pride Before A Fall

For the life of me, I don’t remember leaving with the paramedic but hours later I was still at the emergency room of the Emory Crawford Long hospital being examined to see how bad my bruises were. That’s when I saw the news report flash across the screen.

"We now have breaking news; A brutal attack tonight on Atlanta’s southwest side has left two injured, one in critical condition and the other’s condition is unknown at this time… Let’s turn this story over to Nancy who is on the scene. Nancy…”

"Thank you Monica. As previously stated this was a brutal attack and neighbors say they are shocked by what happened here earlier in the Cascade area. As you know Cascade is an affluent area on the southwest side of the city. Right now, the crime scene investigators are on hand collecting evidence to see how this could have happened and what the motive was. It was originally reported that there were only two victims but now we have learned that there was a third victim in this attack: The latest victim we have absolutely no information on. We do know that two of the victims were taken to Emory Crawford Long Hospital. Monica, that’s all the information that we have at this time but as the story develops, I will give you more information. Back to you…”

It was so bizarre. I would always see breaking news stories of things that were happening in real-time but never did I think that I and my wife would be the headliner.

When we arrived, I was taken to a separate room from my wife. I guess it was due to the nature of her injuries; she needed urgent care. My face was scared badly, my body was reeking with pain and my flesh felt like it was melting right off my body. Despite all this, nothing was more painful than being separated from my wife --she needed me.

I could see a doctor outside of my room that faced the nurse’s station. As he consulted with her, he flipped through a couple of charts, jotted down some notes, then the nurse pointed to my room. I wasn’t sure what to make of this but I knew something wasn’t right. I felt eerie and the hairs on my arms began to stick straight up as he began to walk towards my room.

The doctor was a tall husky black man with oversized scrubs under his white lab jacket and he wore equally large round wired framed glasses that made him look much older than what he really was. His cleanly shaved face was expressionless and he walked with his hands in his pockets.

He was so heartless and cold as he delivered the news. His face never showed any compassion in his delivery and he left before I had any time to react to the news. For the next few minutes I was left alone in the room to analyze this news. I told myself that this it wasn’t possible and it was all a horrible misunderstanding --the same way you would after awaking from a horrific nightmare. My fear gave way to anger. I called the nurse’s station demanding to be taken to the room where my wife was being held.

The short walk through the sterile hallways seemed so long. It was a solemn walk. It felt like I was on a treadmill. The nurse said nothing the entire walk. It was like she knew there was no real comfort in these situations. Before I walked into the room, I could feel my heart pounding incessantly. I turned to the nurse and said a quick thank you and asked if I could please visit alone as it is customary for someone to initially be in the room. She agreed and stepped away from the door.

I said a little prayer before finally entering the room. I desperately needed to find a source of solace, but there was none. I walked through the door and saw my wife lying lifelessly on the hospital bed. I emitted a huge bass-filled scream as I fell to my knees and grabbed her hand. She was already cold and her previously butter-toffee colored skin had already turned pale. The tears that poured from my eyes began to intermingle with the blood on my stained shirt. “What have I done?” I kept asking to myself.

I remained there on my knees by her side for a moment. That moment seemed like hours as I tried to rationalize my actions. Time stood still and I could not allow myself to progress. The time capsule that I was predetermined to live in was interrupted when the nurse came in and said with a slight undertone: