“Double expresso to go, please Tom.”
“Night shift, huh?”
“Should’ve stayed in Byron Bay.”
Night shifts at St Vincent’s were pure Adrenalin, but Saturday nights were insane. Yet, I couldn’t walk away. This was medicine. Real medicine.
“M…m..my daughter…Have you s..s..seen my d..d..daughter?”
The faces on the photos kept changing, but the anguish was always the same.
I refused to look at the photos anymore. Tried to zone her voice out. You could drown in Emergency, if you didn’t hold a piece of yourself back.
“Sh…sh…she has carpe diem tattooed on her ankle with a p…p…purple b…b…butterfly.”
I couldn’t speak.
This has been another contribution to Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Butolt.
Last Friday afternoon, we took our son to Emergency at our local hospital for what seems to be migraine auras without the headache. We were very stressed and were naturally concerned he might have a brain tumour or some form of serious neurological problem. However, we were told it wasn’t acute and so we found ourselves down at the waterfront having dinner at what we would call a street cafe, but it looks very similar to a diner.
St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst is right in the thick of things near Kings Cross in Sydney’s red light district. Thought you might appreciate reading about a typical Saturday night in their Emergency Department.
I Also wanted to share a bit of real-life excitement here on the home front. Last Monday morning, we were expecting a visit from the host of our local breakfast show, Rabbit, who was popping around with a prize. Well, the prize turned out to be a surprise visit from his co-host, Julie Goodwin, Australia’s first Masterchef. They filmed it and posted a clip on their Facebook page. I thought you might enjoy hearing me, although my mother said they could’ve captured more of my serious side.Here’s the link
xx Rowena
So now I want to know about the woman and the photo! Glad your son checked put okay. Hope this doesn’t become a lifelong issue for him.
Faith: #TheWordonWords at Life & Faith in Caneyhead.
Hope your son is fully recovered, it is never good when our children are unwell. Lovely to read a little about Sydney.
Glad to hear your son is well. Great story. All Emergencies are hectic on the weekends and the night of the full moon, for sure. Lovely story, as I read I thought the lead character was a detective or private-eye… had to reread to see he was in medicine. Still, it was a great story well told. Hope the character finds her daughter.
Glad your son is okay. Nice trip to the watefront 🙂
Good story. I think it would be very rough to work in a high volume emergency room.
Glad your son is okay.
Congrats on winning the contest! I saw some of the pics in one of your earlier posts.
Nice story. I wonder about the last line. Does that mean she knows who the person is in the photograph? Or just that she can’t keep something of herself back, in the end?
Claire, I have been writing these flash lately with a real mysterious element to them where things aren’t clear. My thinking with this one was that she’s seen the girl, but it’s not good news and that she can’t bring herself to tell the Mum.
I also thought that the title “Missing” also applies to her. That she’s become disconnected from the people around her and also herself.
How does that sit with you?
xx Rowena
Thanks very much, Sascha. It was an amazing experience, which will keep on going as I cook my way through her cookbook, which is currently sitting in a cookbook holder at the end of our kitchen table. It’s like Julie is sitting at our table. Yes, I am a bit of a Julie tragic, but she’s such a good person as well as an amazing cook.
Thanks, Iain.
Thanks for your well wishes for my son. I’d forgotten about the effects of the full moon and I have heard that does affect people.
I often find I need to read these flash fiction pieces through a couple of times to really get the picture clearly. I think there’s a lot more hidden in them, due to their shorter length. Perhaps, it’s like reading poetry in that way. I usually have to read a poem a few times to pick up all the nuances.
Thanks for your well wishes for my son. Being a teenager, he can use all these well wishes. It’s not an easy time but he’s doing well overall.
I will be heading down to Sydney on Thursday and plan to visit a dessert bar run by a former Masterchef contestant. I’ve been there once before and I don’t know why its taken me so long to get back there. His desserts are amazing!
Unfortunately, I don’t think the search for her daughter is going to have a happy ending, but it might not be the worst either.
I think it’s cool to have a chef who is a hero, especially if it lends itself to some lovely cooking! 🙂
Lots of atmosphere in your story. I loved it. Lucky girl to have your hero show up and cook a meal for you. :o)
Me, too. I write a friday fic, set it back for a few days/weeks/years, come back, and it’s a whole other story than when I first wrote it. It’s all good. 🙂
“I couldn’t speak.” I have that same feeling after finishing this story. Not for a bad reason or anything like that, but because it was a powerful and emotional story that left me feeling kind of numb. I’m glad your son was OK 🙂
Nice story that really portrayed the stress of working in Emergency wards. That last line took my breath away.
Took my breath away, too. Unexpected, and a great little story.
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Thanks very much. Fortunately, the only experience I have looking for lost children, is missing dogs. Years ago before we had kids our dog jumped the fence in a storm and I went round the shops with a photo making enquiries. Stuck up posters. On Monday morning, the people who’d found him contacted the vet. They’d also put posters up, which stopped at the pole before ours.