To My Dearest Roseanne- Chapter 35
Raindrops kept hitting against the window. Cho was lying in bed, motionless from exhaustion. Her head was splitting with pain, her stomach was empty after violent rounds of vomiting. The skin did retain elasticity, but it was white and dry, with occasional bloody spots popping up on the arms, legs, and face.
Doctor Molly Champignon, head of the Neurosurgery Department in the Asclepius Health Center, transferred Cho to a separate room after the examination. Molly wanted to notify Roseanne's parents, but Cho refused to give any contact details. Then, Molly tried calling the school, but it was already closed. At the moment, the woman was hanging on the phone trying to contact the police, so they could locate the parents.
Cho was stalling for time, for Roseanne's sake, because she didn't want the secret to be uncovered. Yet, she knew it was a fool's errand. Everyone is going to find out about her and Roseanne eventually.
The rain outside made Cho recall the incident that transported her away to this reality. Maybe it wasn't destiny or cosmic kindness, but just a quirk of nature? Perhaps that's why she was suffering right now because she crossed over to a world that was not her own. Each and every molecule of her body began to slowly rot away the moment she arrived here.
It was just a theory, but there was one more thing that kept bothering Cho: that horrendous pulsation she kept hearing. She felt really bad as soon as she heard it for the first time, and the dog that attacked her must have heard it too. Was it a calling? Was it a warning? Or even worse: a foreshadowing of Cho's inevitable death?
The more Cho focused on the sound, the more vivid the images from the previous day became. Children shouting "Haru!" to her face, the monster-like woman scolding her, the ceiling pool devouring her body. All the negative flares of the life she left behind were seeping into her consciousness like water through cracks in the wall.
Maybe the universe was telling her to go back?
What if it's the only option? What if I have to go back? To that miserable existence of mine. Cho thought.
Of course, Cho didn't want to go back to that place, to that lifeless shell on the Korean peninsula. But then again, she didn't want to die either. There was also Roseanne she had to take into account. The moment Cho landed in a hospital, things got out of control. Even if the return wouldn't save her, Roseanne's life would certainly get back to normal. Nobody would have ever found out about Cho's existence.
She had to try.
***
The doors opened slowly and Emily peeked inside with a shy look on her face.
"May I?" she asked.
Cho nodded in her bed.
"I'm sorry it all turned out like that. I shouldn't have taken you to a hospital."
"Don't say things like that, Emily." Cho's voice was hoarse from vomiting. "I'm really sick and you did the right thing."
"I don't know myself anymore. My mom is now hellbent on finding your parents... I mean Roseanne's parents." Emily covered her face with hands. "Shit, am I gonna get it this time."
Cho reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Em, please, keep it together. I think I can still fix this, but I need you to help me one more time. I'm not asking for much."
***
Having followed Cho's instructions, Emily toured the emergency department and snatched a t-shirt, some trousers, and a raincoat when nobody was watching. She then returned to Cho's room where the girl changed clothes, leaving her military uniform behind. She also made sure to let her hair down, so that Emily's mother wouldn't spot her braid in the corridor.
"Taxi is already waiting by the front, just like you told me. Are you sure you want to do this?" Emily asked.
"Yes, it's the only way." She passed her friend the uniform and a slip of paper. "Give these back to Roseanne."
Emily hid the stuff in her backpack and peeked through the door to check if the coast was clear. Then, she halted for a moment.
"You aren't going to die, are you?"
Cho could barely stand on her feet, but she mustered up a little bit of strength to stand tall and look Emily in the eyes.
"I don't know. But for sure as hell I'm not dying right here. Let's do this."
The room was located on the first floor, but Cho couldn't jump outside because windows on each level were secured by bars to prevent unstable patients from committing suicide. Therefore, Cho had to get down to the ground floor.
Emily went out first. She approached the reception desk where her mother was at and began chatting to get her attention.
Cho observed them from across the hall, and when she made sure that Molly wasn't looking in the direction of her room, she squatted and tiptoed away like a duckling until she reached the staircase. Next, she sprinted down the steps, but her stomach was so painful that she would nearly trip and collapse if she didn't cling to the railing.
On the ground floor, she desperately swayed through many turns and long corridor connectors, looking for an exit. She eventually found one used by the ambulance crews, but a security guard was on the watch.
Shit! Cho thought to herself and lowered her head. She decided to go for it.
As calmly as possible, she walked past the guard, but the man noticed Cho and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Excuse, miss! Are you lost? The exit for visitors is at the opposite of the building."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I have a car parked nearby, so I wanted to use this exit."
Cho tried not to look at the guard, but even with loose hair, her pale face peppered with red spots shined through.
"Are you a patient or a visitor?"
"A visitor"
"Let me consult with the check-in desk," he said, reaching for his phone.
Then, Molly showed up in the distance, running towards them.
"Stop that girl! She's trying to escape!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Cho pointed at Molly and the guard looked away.
Cho seized the moment and ran away. She made her way through the exit, jumped to the open side of an ambulance, and quickly dashed off the back door.
"Hey!" shouted the confused driver as he was releasing his foot off the clutch.
When the ambulance suddenly moved, the guard couldn't evade it and got hit by the front bumper. He bounced back and tumbled down the parkway.
"Somebody stop her! Call the police!" Molly screamed, chasing after Cho.
Cho felt out of breath, but she didn't slow down. It's unfortunate the things turned out the way they did, but it was too late now. She felt sorry for Emily's mom who wanted to help her, but nobody would understand what was going on.
She circled the building and spotted a taxi parked at the main entrance. Cho tried to increase her pace, but the muscles in her legs were hurting. Molly wasn't too far behind.
The sound of a starting engine hit Cho's ears. Then, she saw the taxi headlights. It was driving away!
"No! No! Don't drive away. I'm right here," Cho uttered.
The taxi passed the car park and disappeared in the vehicle jungle. Cho stopped, her only chance of getting away was gone.
"Stop! Stop there!" Molly was running from behind the corner.
Unwilling to give up, Cho acted on impulse and leaped to a small gutter hole underneath the stairs to the main entrance.
"Roseanne Juzynski, get out of there right now!"
Molly made it to the gutter, but the opening was too small for her to fit in.
"Please, someone help! We have a girl trapped inside!"
***
It took Cho's eyes a few moments to adjust to darkness under the stairs. The ground was muddy, filled with trash like empty bottles and packets of crisps. The smell of leaves and rotten food hit her nostrils. Only a few minutes went by and the car park got packed with patrol cars and fire trucks. Molly was struggling with the hole.
"Here! Here! The girl's inside," she was saying to the servicemen.
Perhaps it was again a coincidence or dumb luck, but Cho noticed an open basement window in the darkness. Without hesitation, she went right in.
The girl found herself in some sort of a dilapidated laundry room. There were sheets, pillows, but also stacks of used medical equipment. Washing machines were roaring at full speed like monster trucks.
Suddenly, the door opened. To hide herself, Cho jumped to a nearby cart with ironed blankets and buried herself under the layers.
Oblivious to anything, the hospital janitor wearing AirPods pushed the cart and loaded it onto a truck. Even though she didn't achieve it the way she wanted, Cho made it out of the hospital.
Comments
Post a Comment