The night duty
08.24.09
Taken with permisson from jerb's flickr account
It was 4am, but patients at the ER (Emergency Room) were still a handful. This was the first time that Madelin volunteered at a referral hospital. The cases ranged from gunshot wounds, heart attacks, stokes, and vehicular accidents. She patiently tended to each one of them.
Every gentle touch eased the agony and pain from each of those patients. Her voice was soothing, her eyes reflecting the fond memories of patients she had generously nurtured within her wings. These evoked a serene countenance on her face. Although her green scrub suit was dirty with blood and sweat, her form blended well in the chaos of the bustling ER.
She paused a second to watch a basketball commercial being aired on TV. She was intrigued by this earthly activity that some of the nurses enjoyed. She mentally noted it as one topic to talk about when she had the chance. And then she moved on to the next patient.
She was tired. All she thought of was the remaining two hours on her clock, so she could take some rest from this corporeal form. There seemed to be a war in the emergency room that brought toil on her angel wings. The other nurses looked like zombies with their mechanical movements and their monotonous tones as they spoke to the patients.
One particular patient caught her attention - Mr. Rey Jr. He was in his late twenties, an early case of a heart attack; a mild- mannered man who deceivingly looked younger than his age. Madeline approached him as soon as the doctor left his side. She took his vital signs, concentrating on the pulse. The contact with his skin was the only means where she can repair his broken body – his broken heart.
One touch was all it took for the myocardial infarction to heal. His breathing was tranquil beneath her touch. He opened his eyes and said, “Thank you!”
“Shhh. You need to rest sir,” Madelin said. “Your wife is waiting for you outside. I can call her in, if you want.”
“Are you an Angel?” Rey Jr. smiled, and stared unabashedly at her.
“I am a nurse, Sir,” Madelin replied. “Try to get some sleep now and you’ll get well soon,” she reassured him.
Then Rey Jr. closed his eyes in peace, and slept. Madelin went to the storage room to replenish the empty emergency cart. This was one out of a thousand other responsibilities on her mortal list.
At 5:55am, there was some peace and quiet. There were still some patients, but most of the patients’ anguished souls had stopped screaming. She sensed the pervading calm and silence as her halo was becoming radiant once again.
Nobody noticed of course.
She recalled this dream – no – a premonition of her friends Jhong and Lyle, when he visited her at home. Not quite a home for her, but a transient place so that her human body would not be out of place. Seeing him would have been a nice change of ambience. She could relax and share with her kind these experiences she was still learning from.
These mortals were interesting. Their habits, their fragile bodies, and their melodramatic lives. She took this work for her amusement, yet, she didn’t know that offering her miraculous healing hands would extol such labor on her soul. She needed to rest.
“Madz, do you need to endorse anything?” Holly, the Charge- nurse, queried, as she was leaving the ER.
“Bed 6 would like to call her grandson later if she could,” Madz intoned. “I have already replaced the bandages on beds 9 and 10, so they are ready to be transferred to their rooms,” she continued.
“You saw too many patients on this shift Madz,” Holly smiled. “Thank you for your services. We’ll be looking forward to having you again tonight.” She handed Madz her honorarium.
“It’s my pleasure to help, Holly. Besides, I would love to spend this on a spa,” she flashed a radiant smile. “Perhaps tonight won’t be as chaotic as last night?” she tried her best imitation of one of the nurses she overheard a couple of days ago.
Madz left the emergency room in her street clothes. No one had noticed her stretched wings. The glorious morning was just beginning, but she really needed to rest for another toxic duty tonight.
About the author: Zorlone
Zorlone, an anagram of my name. A title fitting to this blog of mine. Words are created every time such as blogs created online. This site will showcase thoughts translated into words. Dream. Create. Inspire. Follow me in Twitter @Zorlone or visit me too at 140 Flash Fiction.
Insanity Road
Flood and Traffic are Tears and Choices
Difficult to please
Memoirs of a Guardian Angel
Praying for a Miracle
A Future Expected
Second Chances
Finding answers
Left Side Only
Haiku april 19, 2010
haha! wow! kaya lang pinatay mo ako hayup. :p hahaha! I might have survived the first heart attack pero mas mataas na probability of another – hehe. Dahil yata ito sa bulalo… :p
@reyjr,
Relax lang pare. Remember that in the story, an Angel healed you. There are no studies yet about the morbidity and mortality of patients with a previous MI who were healed by Angels. (wink)
Salamat pare sa nomination sa PBA.
Z
I’ve promised myself I’ll be on blogging leave for the rest of the week, but I really cant help it specially when I’ve read this kind of creative writings… can’t help but comment and applaud your thing Doc Z. You really deserved a standing ovation! molto buono, molto buono, MAGNIFICO!!!!
@Jhong,
Grazie molto mio amico!
I actually made a mistake with the settings of my WP timezone. LOL. Keep writing Jhong! hehehe
Z
@reyjr Every meeting nga namin ang pinaguusapan….
Ilan ang cholesterol level mo?
Ano FBS mo?
Kamusta diet?
Yan ang usapan pagtumatanda na talaga…. Palaging nagpapablood chem yung mga tao dito eh takot madedo!
Medyo lugi kami ni lyle sa sa BILLING… tsk tsk tsk!
@Zorlone Joke lang! hehehehe Thanks Doc Z for mentioning us in your short story! It’s really amazing.
awww, that’s nice. ^_^
@Emz,
Hi! Thanks for dropping by my site.
Z
@Jhongmed,
If you want you can follow up your check ups with me. Pagusapan na lang natin ang agreement sa PF. he he he.
Nah, kidding pare. What are friends for? Monitor ko ang mga sakit mo.
Z
huhuhu, naiiyak ako.. teka isasali mo ba ito Doc Z sa isang award giving body? Baka manalo ako ng best actress, LOL!
Kidding aside, pinaiyak mo ako Sen. Trillanes, hmph! Maybe I feel so special because I am the main character of the story. Although you just used my name, and some of the answers you had asked me before, feelihg ko, you were actually seeing me as that Nurse. Touched naman ako. I am speechless. Don’t know how I can give you the gratitude that you deserve.
Ang galing mo magcompose ng poetry. Ngayon naman a short story. I hope someday I can write my own. I dreamt of writing my own novel (that’s a secret).
Teka, inom muna ako ng tubig, still can’t get over from the tears of joy.
Thanks Doc Z. I owe you one 
BTW, my name is spelled Madelin, not Madeline
@Madz,
I’m glad that you liked the story. Actually, I need to keep writing to get used to making short stories. I get confused with the English language and it’s not as simple for me compared to poetry. Everything is just magnified. he he he.
The emotions seem to be in a linear form while in poetry, it is abstract. Of course, the better writers can make abstract thoughts in their short stories too, that makes a surreal vision.
Yikes, sorry, I got a little carried away. I should go back to my writing. he he he
BTW, I imagined you to be the character in the story and not just the name.
Z
hala pinaiyak mo si Madz – lagot ka sa baby nya…
@Reyjr,
Di ko naman sinasadyang mapaiyak si Madz e. hehehe.
Z
Galing ng istorya. Touched by an Angel. First short story mo ba ito Z? Pinakyaw mo ata creative writing ah.
@Luke,
Lumalabas ang age natin pare ah… pero sa tingin ko madami lang talaga ang alam mong mga TV shows
Yup, first short story on this site. But probably the 5th I published on a blog. Di naman pare, I am still learning and learning some more. I have good tutors. he he he.
Z
I like this, Z. Especially this passage:
“These mortals were interesting. Their habits, their fragile bodies, and their melodramatic lives. She took this work for her amusement, yet, she didn’t know that offering her miraculous healing hands would extol such labor on her soul. She needed to rest.”
More! More!
Holly,
She needed to rest, she has the body of a mortal in this story. he he he.
With the help of my weird dreams, I might be able to write more stories.
Z
He he he, mukhang napakaexcited ng mga readers mo Doc Z. May umiyak pa. What about giving them the links to your previous short stories? One is in my blog..he he he… and two more,. I think?
Way to go , Z. Bravo! Keep writing.
@Jena,
You forgot to mention about the angry character… he he he. I explained to him that this was the healing hands of an Angel and not by a mortal doctor.
Oh, the links to the other stories. Oo nga ano? Why not?
Thank you! I got a little help in making this one.
Z
OMG – ReyJr had a heart attack? That’s for consuming too much bulalo, I think. Madz as a protagonist, Holly as head nurse, Jhong and Lyle – cameo roles.
I enjoyed this, Doc Z. You made it seem so easy. Very inspiring.
@Jan,
I made this one before I read the post on PG. he he he. So, the character was already there in the first place. I wasn’t planning to give him a heart attack, but, I wanted to emphasize that “he doesn’t look his age.”
I owe Madz for citing me on her blog, like twice already and this was the least I could do. I asked her three questions which were “in” the story.
Z
[...] The night duty | Zorlone – Filipino Poet and Writer http://www.zorlone.com/2009/08/24/the-night-duty – view page – cached [caption id= align=aligncenter width=500 caption=Taken with permisson from jerb's flickr account][/caption] It was 4am, but patients at the — From the page [...]
I know you were really picturing me out in the story, the basketball fever, the dream (although you replaced yourself with Lyle
)..
Thanks again
haha, isn’t it so much more fun when you know the backstory to the story? haha.
I was telling Doc Z how everyone thinks I’m younger than I actually am – hence his insistence to include “he doesn’t look his age.” haha!
@Reyjr
At least you enjoyed that line. hehehe. Tama ba ako?
Z
this is amazing. *blows his nose* huhuhuhuhu
i’m touched. a premonition. LOL
by the way, i’ll try to recall my story as well. i made something similar as this one in my high school days. used to be a poet too.
The story was very touching
No wonder Z is amazing
You made a lot of souls smile
Specially your bestfriend Lyle
@Lyle,
Wow! You made a poem! That’s great! More more more!
Thanks for gracing my blog with your presence. I feel secure that my SEO is here.
Z
[...] – “The Night Duty” – A night like any other night at the Emergency Room, but not for Madelin. She is an [...]
[...] – “The Night Duty” – A night like any other night at the Emergency Room, but not for Madelin. She is an [...]
You're a national treasure Doc Z. Galing!
Thanks Kate!
Will keep you entertained with my posts.
Z
You're a national treasure Doc Z. Galing!
HI FRIEND THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HOPE EVERYTHING IS FINE. TAKE CARE ALWAYS N GOD BLESS U ALL.IM GLAD TO KNOW U.