Tragedy

"Did you win a lottery," The surprised man asked as he walked in on Caitlyn dancing happily. "Oh, no, sir," She replied and laughed heartily. The man smiled and took a sit in her office.

"How about the documents I asked you to duplicate?" He asked. Caitlyn opened a drawer and brought out a green file. She closed it and stretched the file to him, "here they are sir."

He took it and thanked her before opening it. He brought out the documents and went through them, carefully. Caitlyn watched him, hoping there was no mistake.

She was sure there was none, as she had carefully done as he asked. The man finished and put them back into the file. "Well done, Miss Caitlyn," He praised her and she smiled.

"See me in my office in thirty minutes. I'll prepare a file which you would give to Mr. Martin King the next time he comes to the firm." Caitlyn nodded with a smile. She was excited that she would be seeing Martin again.

As her boss left her office, she giggled while clapping her hands like a little child. A loud music from her phone made her pause her jubilation. She peered at the screen and it read, "mother". A small frown appeared on her face.

"I told you not to call my phone when I'm at work, mother. Why don't you listen?" She reprimanded her mother. "Is this Caitlyn Hugh?" A male voice asked.

She checked the caller ID and it was indeed her mother. "Who are you and why are you with my mother's phone?" She asked.

"Your mother was involved in a terrible accident, ma'am," He broke the news. Caitlyn's jaw dropped open while a pool of tears instantly began to form in her eyes.

"What did you say happened to my mother?" She stuttered with a shaky voice. Her whole body was trembling and she felt stiff. 

"I need you to be calm, ma'am. Please, come to the hospital."

Caitlyn immediately sprang up. "I'll be there. Text me the address, please," She cried, hurrying out of her office.

Tears streamed down her eyes uncontrollably. She bursted into her boss's office. The man stood up. "What's wrong, miss Caitlyn?" The man asked, alarmed.

"My mother was rushed to a hospital. She was involved in an accident. I was told it's a terrible one," Caitlyn cried. The man looked at her with pity and went over to console her.

"Do you know the hospital?" He asked. Just then, a message alert sounded on her phone. She opened it. 

"The doctor just sent it," She replied, sobbing. 

"Get yourself together. My driver will take you there, okay? Be strong, miss Caitlyn," The man comforted her.

... 

Caitlyn arrived at the hospital an hour later. Her mother's house was a longer drive away from her workplace.

"Caitlyn Hugh?" A man dressed in a white shirt tucked in black trousers called as she ran into the hospital. Caitlyn hurried to him. "Are you the doctor? Where's my mother?" Caitlyn asked and sniffed.

"Please, I'd love for us to talk in my office," The doctor suggested. Caitlyn's heart skipped a beat. She knew the situation was very serious for the doctor to suggest that. Otherwise, he would have simply told her which ward her mother was in.

She didn't protest. She followed him to his office with a racing heart. She wasn't prepared for a bad news. As they walked past different wards, Caitlyn peeped in to check if she would find her mother in one of them. However, her mother was not in any.

The doctor opened the door and walked in, Caitlyn followed. "Sit, please," He told her. Caitlyn refused. "I'm okay with standing, doctor. I just need to see my mother."

The doctor sighed and took off his glasses. Caitlyn's heart was in her throat as she waited for the doctor to speak.

"I am sorry, your mother couldn't make it. We tried every possible way to save her," The doctor dropped the bomb. Caitlyn held an indescribable expression for some seconds before she began to smile. The smile soon turned into a nonstop laughter. 

"Are you okay, miss?" The doctor asked worriedly. Caitlyn's laughter was accompanied with tears that gushed out of her eyes like a flowing river. She fell to the floor when her legs began to feel too weak to hold the weight of her upper body. 

The doctor stoop up and moved to her. He held her. "Miss Caitlyn?" He called, but Caitlyn kept on laughing. He removed his phone from his back pocket and dialed a number.

"Come to my office with two nurses this minute," He spoke into the phone and flung it to his table. He tried to help Caitlyn to her feet, but his effort was futile.

She wasn't laughing anymore, but she didn't appear normal either. Her eyes focused on nothing, her body was stiff, while her tears didn't stop pouring. Another doctor and two female nurses ran into the office. The doctor holding Caitlyn breathed a sigh of relief.

"She's in a severe state of shock. Please, take her and begin treatment on her immediately," He told them. The other doctor immediately carried Caitlyn in a bridal style while the nurses went ahead of him to create space for her.

... 

"Martin, mom fainted. Come to the house, please!" Martin's brother, Herald King, yelled over the phone. Martin who was about leaving for his home immediately rushed over to his mother's house.

"Madam has been taken to the family's hospital," The gatekeeper informed him as he drove into the mansion.

"Damn!" He cursed and reversed his car.

"How's her condition?" He asked Herald over the phone. "Critical, brother," The man replied. Martin hung up and increased the speed of his car. He couldn't think of anything other than his mother. She annoyed him at every opportunity she got, but he loved her. He loved his mother deeply. 

The thought of something bad happening to her made his heart race. "Hang in there, mother," He mouthed to himself.

Martin drove into the hospital building. He didn't wait to park his car properly before rushing into the hospital. He soon found Herald standing with his hands resting on both sides of his waist. He ran over to him.

"Where's mother?" He asked his brother, panting slightly. "She's in here. Her condition is stable now," Herald informed him. 

"Why isn't she in the VIP ward?" Martin asked angrily. "The hospital is occupied. There were three ghastly accidents, and more than fifty people are severely injured," Herald answered. "Mother is sharing a room with someone, matter of fact," He added. 

Martin cast his brother a disdainful stare before storming into the ward his mother was in. Herald followed him immediately. He was very much aware of what his brother could do to the patient sharing a ward with their mother. 

Martin caught the face of the lady sharing a room with his mother and paused. His eyes immediately became dark. He tightened his fists. "What is she doing here?"