Chasing Angels In The Dark

Chapter 19, Part 1: Pause

"When you can't look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark" - Alice in Wonderland

New Jersey, 2021

The phone was ringing. And these days, the phone ringing was never a good thing.

Diletta's gaze snapped in its direction, pinning down the wailing banshee, that harbinger of doom. Yet she sprinted towards it, her heart missing a beat, several beats, then speeding up and out of control as she picked up the receiver, as the shadows crept closer.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon. I am calling from Newark University Hospital."

She solidified at once, every muscle in her body morphing into unflinching marble.

"May I speak to Miss Hayden?"

Her hands threatened to let go, the receiver nearly slipping from her sweaty palms even though her grip was fierce - as if her life depended on it.

All things considered, it did. "This is she."

A pause from the other end of the line. These days, pauses were never a good thing. These days, pauses were pregnant with impending dread.

"I am afraid I have some bad news, sweetie. Your aunt's condition is deteriorating."

The words landed like punches, the world around her dimmed. "What do you mean?"

There had to be an explanation. An explanation-way out.

Instead, there was another pause.

"Her lungs grew stiffer, and her other organs are beginning to fail."

Denial gave way to fury. This woman wasn't making any sense. She might as well have spoken in Chinese, trying to confuse her with all that medical gibberish.

English, lady! "Yes, but what does that mean?"

This time, the woman didn't pause. No considerate hesitation, no compassionate lingering. This time, she fired the words straight into her heart.

This time, no escape.

"She is going to die. I am so sorry."

Diletta froze in place, the receiver weighing a ton in her hand; the room around her started spinning, her ears started buzzing, her lungs emptied like her aunt's, deprived of that invaluable, essential breath.

"Miss Hayden? Are you still there?"

Someone mumbled a yes. Her mouth of its own accord.

"We should schedule a video call. So that you can say goodbye. Keep her company until she passes."

The spinning and the ringing became worse as the nurse's words drifted away, faint murmurs whispered by passing ghosts. Inside Diletta's mind, a thousand thoughts were flashing all at once, slamming against each other, wrestling one another as the merciless verdict spread like hot pain in her chest.

And then, shutters down. Her mind went blank, except for one thought that neon-signed - an intrusion sharp and ruthless, leaving no room for bargaining.

"Miss Hayden?"

Mary was going to die.

"Miss Hayden, are you alright?"

Alone, in a hospital bed, surrounded by strangers.

"Please talk to me."

Mary was going to die alone.