Power Outage in the PICU

The cold air from the air conditioner jolted me awake.

"Mom, the power's out! What do we do? I don't know how to fix it!"

My son, Shawn Giddey, asked anxiously.

I calmly turned on the flashlight on my phone.

Shawn had just graduated from medical school and was interning at the hospital where I worked.

In my previous life, when the power went out, he went to report to the hospital higher-ups, and I stayed behind to connect to the backup power.

But even after I got into trouble, he never came back.

"Mom!" When he saw that I wasn't moving, he stomped his feet anxiously.

"Why are you just sitting there? If the kids die, we're done for!"

Clearly, he understood the gravity of the situation. Then why didn't he come back in my previous life?

Several babies sensed the change in temperature and started to wail.

The children on ventilators began to turn pale, their lips turning blue.

Although my heart ached, I knew that nothing would happen in the short term, so I feigned indifference.

Shawn became even more agitated. He yelled at me, "You're the head of pediatrics, how can you be so cold-blooded?!"

If it were before, I would have gone to check the children's conditions and argued back.

But having gone through the experiences of my previous life, my mindset had long changed.

After I calmed down, I noticed that, although he looked anxious on the surface, there was a hint of cunning and triumph in his eyes.

Could he really be involved in setting me up?

I shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "What do you want me to do? There are over 100 children here. Do you want me to push the incubators out one by one?"

Shawn looked unhappy, and his tone grew more impatient.

"You're the head of pediatrics, who will save them if you don't? You can't just watch them die!"

I helplessly pointed to the crying children, raised my eyebrows, and looked at him.

"It would take a long time to push all those children out. Maybe after we saved a few, the rest would be dead. Tell me, who should I save first and who should I save last? Rather than being caught in that dilemma, I might as well let all of them die, then wait for the parents to beat me to death."

Before he could react, I pulled him down to sit with me and showed him a calm smile.

"At least I get to die with my son."

Shawn stood up and shook off my hand violently.

"You're insane. I can't believe you want me to die with you. You don't deserve to be my mother!"

With that, he ran away so fast it was as if a ghost was chasing him.

As I watched him open the door and run away in panic, a chill spread throughout my body.

I had loved him for over twenty years, but he abandoned me to escape by himself, yet he had the gall to say that I did not deserve to be his mother.

More and more children started crying. Their cries grew louder and louder, engulfing the ICU like a flood.

Yet, I merely stared at the tightly shut door while smiling serenely.