Chapter 4

“Move!” I pushed past the people who had gathered around to witness the commotion.

When I finally got to the center of the crowd, an old man lay sprawled on the ground, his body twisted unnaturally with one hand desperately clutching his chest.

His face was grayish blue, and. His breathing came in short panicked bursts.

His shirt was soaked in sweat and his lips trembled as he tried desperately but failed to pull in air.

His eyes were clouded with nothing but absolute souls crushing fear.

My own heart slammed against my ribs and it felt like I was going to have a heart attack of my own.

But I didn’t let it intimidate me or scare me away.

My foot moved before my scared brain could register it.

“How long has he been like this?” I asked the woman next to him as I dropped to my knees beside the old man.

The woman scrambled back immediately, sobbing, as her hands shook uselessly around the air.

“Answer me!” I yelled at her, shocking my own self.

“”N-Not long….long.” She stuttered.

I hovered over the old man for half a second.

What if I was wrong? What if I make a mistake and it ends his life right here and now?

My hands trembled as I pressed my fingers against his neck.

This pulse was very weak.

“Sir,” I said, leaning closer, forcing my voice to stay calm. “Can you hear me? Look at me if you can.”

His eyes fluttered but his gaze landed on me.

That’s a good sign.

“Call emergency services..,..” I ordered the woman without looking up.

She was still sobbing and shaking.

“Now!” I yelled.

I positioned him flat, loosened his expensive looking shirt—that was now smudged in spit and dirt—and began compressions while counting under my breath.

I counted and compressed without stopping.

Not even when my arms and shoulders began to ache or when my knees began to hurt from kneeling on sharp gravel.

“1..2..3…4” I compressed.

“1..2..3..4…” again.

“Stay with me,” I whispered, more to myself than to him. “Please….just stay with me.”

I could hear the sirens wailing faintly from a distance.

I still didn’t stop.

I refused–absolutely refused–to let this man die here, not like this, not in front of all these people. And not by my hands.

“Come on,” I pleaded softly. “Not here!”

The professionals eventually caught up with us and began to perform CPR and Defibrillation.

It’s not until I was given a thick blanket to put over my body did I realize that it was raining heavily and I was shaking like a mad dog.

“Does he have any relatives to go with us to the hospital?” One of the medical personnel asked.

I turned to the woman who had been with him when I arrived but she only shook her head.

“No, I was only passing by when he collapsed.” She sniffled.

Every other person who had stood to watch nodded in agreement.

“Okay then,” the doctor nodded. “We’ll be taking to the hospital now–”

“Wait!” I called out. “I’ll go with him.” I whispered softly.

“Are you a family member or friend?” The doctor asked.

“No.” I shook my head. “But I’ll stand for him.”

The doctor simply smiled. “Okay then, let’s go.”

I stood up and immediately followed after him.

I waited for them to roll the old man into the ambulance before I got into it and sat beside him.

The old man who was barely conscious looked at me through tear stained eyes and stretched out his hand.

I nervously grabbed his wrinkled hand and he squeezed mine like his life depended on it.

I didn’t pull away or wince. I just let him hold me, because frankly I needed it too.

I didn’t even know it yet, but this moment–this choice I had just made–would change my life forever.