After Story: Compassion

Chapter Thirty-Two: Hospital Visit

"Sakamoto, dear."

"Please help Sakamoto-san with her injuries. Help her to recover quickly so she can be with her family again. Help her to be calm and...and...let her feel your love and care for her." Where had that come from? I shook my head as I gave her hand a squeeze.

"Thank you, dear," she said, and when I looked at her I suddenly felt a...swelling in my chest; I loved her as though she was family.

"Y-You're welcome," I managed to say as I tried to process what had just happened. "C-Call me again if you need me, okay?"

"All right. Now go on; there are others who need you right now," she said as she settled back in to her pillow.

Her words stuck in my head as I made my way to the next bed. Need me? When had I ever been needed? It felt good to hear it, but it also felt...weird.

Rather than file the thought away for later, I carried it with me as I approached the next bed holding a man with a bloodied head and neck whose eyes were closed. I had to resist the urge to walk past him, and I stopped by his bedside. "H-Hello, sir; I'm O-Okazaki Tomoya. How are you feeling?"

He cracked one eye open; the other eye was swelled shut. "How do you think I'm feeling, idiot?" he wheezed. "My damn bus driver tried to beat a train, and I lost!"

I took a step back in surprise, but tried to persevere. "I-I'm sorry... Have the doctors looked at you yet? D-Do you know...how you're hurt?"

He looked toward the ceiling. "I was at the back of the damned bus, so both of my legs are broken, I can't feel my left arm, my head got hit as you can see, and they think that some of my vertebrae are cracked. Happy now?"

My temper flared, and I wanted to snap back at him, but...he was hurting...and I realized that this man had people who loved him; a family, maybe a wife and children, or maybe he was still with his parents, any of whom would be waiting outside, worried about their daddy, husband, son...the thought nearly brought tears to my eyes. "I-I'm really sorry..."

"It's not your fault, kid," he grumped. "Just not the way I wanted to start my day."

"C-Can I pray for you?" I asked before I thought.

He eyed me warily, or at least it looked like it. Finally he closed his eye. "Fine. Do whatever you want; just don't make things worse."

"Do you mind if I touch you?" I asked. "Is there any place that would be okay?"

"My right shoulder's fine," he grunted. "Probably the only place that is."

I reached out and carefully laid my hand on the man's shoulder. "What's your name, sir?"

"Watanabe."

I closed my eyes again, and this time I felt a peace come over me, which seemed strange considering the chaos all around. "God? Watanabe-san's a mess right now, and it's not his fault. Please help him to find...to find...peace in this situation. Let him know that you haven't forgotten him, and give the doctors who treat him the knowledge to help him get back to normal."

"Or as normal as possible," Watanabe grunted.

I smiled at the addition as I gave his shoulder a very gentle squeeze. "I wish I could do more for you."

"You've done plenty, kid. Thanks."

"I'm glad I could help," I said. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Yeah," he grunted again, this time in obvious pain. "What's your name?"

I had told him already, but... "Okazaki Tomoya, sir."

"Okazaki-san? If you see my wife and kids in the waiting room, tell them I feel like crap but I'm doing okay."

"Got it."

"You're a good kid. Now get out of here; we're both busy, right?"

"Yes, sir," I replied with a smile as I headed to the next patient.

I caught glimpses of Ryou at work, hustling from bed to bed, giving shots and holding hands, washing wounds and, in some cases, pulling sheets over...I cringed as I felt a trickle down my cheek.

But there were others who needed someone there for them, to care and, in surprisingly many cases, to pray for them. And I did my best, however clumsy my words may have been, no matter how much I was snapped at, no matter how tired or drained I felt.

It felt good.

***

I slumped in a chair in the hallway just outside the emergency room. I had cared for so many people, including finding the Watanabe family to give them the message, but it still seemed like I hadn't done a thing.

"Here you go, young man." I looked up to find Attractive Girl smiling down at me, holding a steaming mug. "It's tea."

"Thanks." I accepted the cup and took several sips from it, mainly to wet my parched throat; I must have done a lot of talking. "I'm beat."

"Is this your first time doing this?" she asked as she sat down next to me.

I nodded tiredly. "Yeah. I wouldn't have done it at all except Pastor Jeff was sick."

She giggled softly. "So he really was unavailable."

"Yes, ma'am." I put two and two together and... "Wait...Are you the one who called?"

"I am!" she replied brightly.

"I'm sorry, I can't remember your name."

"Tanaka. Tanaka Trina. My mom named me...she's British," she explained before I could ask. "It's nice to meet you, Okazaki Tomoya."

"Nice to meet you too, Tanaka Trina," I replied, tripping over her first name. "Sorry."

"Tomoya-kun!" I looked up to see Ryou hurrying toward me. "Come with me, please!"

She seemed panicked, so I quickly gave Tanaka my mug and got to my feet. "What's going on?"

She spoke quickly as we half-ran. "One of the patients has asked for a priest."

My pace faltered as I realized what that meant: Someone was close to death.