A flash A loud bang Darkness Darkness
At last, the darkness began to fade. A voice reached his ears:
“Emily Victoria, this is a paramedicsomething exploded in there.”
Through the pain, he felt a hand touch his neck. He tried to open his eyes, barely managing it. Before him, a rectangular pendant with engraved zodiac signs the eyes of a woman in a white coat
“To the operating theatre!” came a voice nearby.
His parents had just returned from work. His mother rushed straight to the kitchen after glancing into the room where her son was doing his homework. His father, James, however, noticed the boys mood the moment he stepped in.
“Tom, whats wrong?” James ruffled his hair.
“Nothing,” muttered the ten-year-old.
“Come on, out with it!”
“Its Mothers Day soon. Our teacher kept us after class today and said we have to get gifts for the girls.”
“And whats the problem?” James smiled.
“Theres an equal number of boys and girls. She assigned who gives to whom,” Tom sighed. “I got stuck with the ugly oneEmily Foster.”
“Every girl wants a gift on Mothers Day, even the ones you think are ugly,” James spoke to him like an adult. “Did she assign them alphabetically?”
“No, by zodiac signs.”
“Hows that work?” James couldnt help but chuckle.
“By compatibility. Emilys a Virgo, and Virgos get on best with Taureans. And Im a Taurus.”
“Thats good, then! Maybe youll even fall for her when youre older.”
James burst out laughing. His wife, Sarah, hurried in.
“Whats going on in here?”
“Sarah, back to the kitchen,” James said sternly. “Tom and I are having a serious talk.”
Once she left, Tom asked glumly,
“Dad, what do I do now?”
“Get her a gift!”
“What kind?”
“Ill make something for your chosen one at work tomorrow.”
“Dad, what can you make? You work at the factory.”
“True, but Im in the plating department. We handle all kinds of metal finishes.”
“Dad, I dont get it.”
“Youll see tomorrow!”
The next day, James brought home a pendant on a chainrectangular, gleaming like gold. One side bore two engraved zodiac signs, Taurus and Virgo, while the other had finely etched words:
“To my classmate Emily for Mothers Day! From Thomas.”
Oh, how stunning it looked! And when his mother wrapped it in cellophane, it became even more dazzling.
Mothers Day arrived. The teacher had no intention of holding lessons. First, the pupils presented her with a gift, and she thanked them at length. Then she announced the boys would give their gifts to the girls.
Chaos followed. All the boys rushed to their “chosen ones.” Tom approached Emily Foster and recited the line his dad had taught him:
“Emily, happy Mothers Day! Maybe one day, fate will bring Taurus and Virgo together.”
After delivering the rehearsed words, Tom returned to his seat, oblivious to the way the “ugly” girls heart had begun to race.
Soon after, Emilys family moved to another part of town, and she transferred to a different school.
Thomas opened his eyes. The white ceiling of a hospital ward. He tried moving his limbsonly his left arm obeyed.
“Where am I?” he mumbled.
A tapping sound echoed as a man on crutches approached, studying him before asking,
“Back with us? Youre in the emergency surgery ward.”
“Are my arms and legs still there?” Thomas whispered.
“Seem to be,” came the cheerful reply. “Though youre bandaged head to toe.”
“Good, if theyre all intact.”
A nurse stepped over, sympathetic.
“How do you feel?”
“What happened to me?” Thomas countered.
“Your lifes not in danger. Your arms and legs will work. Youll just have plenty of scars.” She handed him his phone. “Your mum asked you to call when you woke up.”
“Tom!” His mothers voice trembled through tears.
“Mum, Im fine,” he forced a cheerful tone. “They said its just a few small scars. Ill be out soon.”
“They wouldnt let me stay overnight. Im coming now.”
“Dont get too upset, Mum!”
He set the phone down, mustering a smile for the nurse.
“Thank you.”
“You wont be discharged anytime soon,” she smiled back. “Three weeks, at least.”
“What happened to you?” his wardmate asked once she left.
“Im a paramedic. Oxygen cylinders started exploding at the factory,” Thomas recalled. “We got called in before the fire brigade. Huge building, three casualties inside. We ran incylinders scattered, fires here and there. We carried them out I was the last one out Just as I reached the door, another cylinder blew. Dont remember anything after that.”
“Rough luck, mate.”
“Thomas Carter,” the nurse called. “A colleagues here to see you.”
“Tom! Howre you holding up?”
“Arms and legs attached!” Thomas grinned weakly. “Can only shake hands with my left, though.”
“Youll be all right!”
“What happened after?”
“We were almost out when it blew. Dragged you backyou were covered in blood Doctors were already there”
“Thanks.”
“Tom, dont mention it!” His friend suddenly grinned. “Rumor is were up for medals.”
“By then, Ill be out.”
“Right, Id better go. The doctors are doing rounds soon. Nurse said not to stay long.”
His friend had barely left when a doctor in his forties entered.
“Hows our hero?”
“Alright.”
“Talkings a good sign. Lets have a look.”
“Did you stitch me up?” Thomas asked.
“No, Emily Victoria did. Shell be in the day after tomorrow.”
Two days passed. Thomas could now attempt standing, though the pain in his legs was still sharp, his right arm badly torn. Dozens of wounds littered his bodytwo on his face from hitting the gates during the blast. (Thankfully, hed thrown his right arm up in time.) A glance in the mirror showed his face still swollen.
Today, the doctor whod spent five hours stitching him up would be doing rounds. Thomas felt oddly nervous.
Then she walked in. Young, slender, glasses that didnt detract from her looks, the white coat suiting her perfectly. Thomas, at twenty-seven, had been married oncebut theyd split after six months. “Incompatible,” the divorce papers had said, though in truth, his ex-wife had hated a paramedics salary.
“Hello,” the doctor said, approaching his bed.
“Hello. Youre the one who stitched me up?”
“Thats me.” She smiled. “Something wrong?”
“Let me take a look at you.”
She leaned over himand there it was. The zodiac pendant around her neck.
“Emily Foster!” he exclaimed.
She studied his swollen face, uncomprehending.
“Sorry?”
“Im the Taurus,” he said, pointing at the pendant.
“Tom Carter?” Her lips trembled. “You remember me?”
“Of course I do, Emily.” Seeing her tears, he rested his palm on her hand.
“Sorry.” She dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “Never thought wed meet like this.”
She didnt return to his ward that day, but Thomas soon learned their schedules matched: day shifts, night shifts, two days off.
He hated looking helpless in front of her. The next day, he forced himself to walkleaning on beds, even venturing into the corridor by gripping the wall.
Evening. The day-shift doctor left. The night team arrivedtheir chatter filled the hallway. Rounds would start soon
Thenshouts. Hurried footsteps. The sound of another emergency.
By ten, the nurse dimmed the lights. Sleep wouldnt come. Past midnight, muffled sobs echoed in the corridor. He rose, stepping out quietly.
At the nurses station, his former classmate sat with her head in her hands, crying. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Emily, whats wrong?”
She stood, burying her face in his shoulder.
“I operated on a woman hit by a car,” she choked out between sobs. “I did everything I could Shes in ICU now, but she wont make it. Two kids her husbands with her”
“Easy, Emily.”
“Three years as a surgeon, and I still cant get used to people dying.”
“Easy, easy. Our jobs are like that. Five years in, Ive seen plenty of deathbut weve saved lives too.” Thomas sighed. “My wife left because of it. Said I came home a wreck and the
