Adrian stood from behind the curtain, his face aglow in alternating shades of orange, red and yellow, changing in ti to the music coming from the loud speakers. Standing at 5’10, with cropped brown hair, he listened into his headset, the matte grey headphones faintly reflecting the spotlights, taking on the sa srizing patterns. A man who, in his early twenties, was surprisingly among the oldest of those backstage with him.
The tension was palpable as the crew watched on, helpless before the main act. No plan survives first contact, and their carefully scripted show was no exception. Months of hard work, long hours and more than a little bit of caffeine had gone into the show – health guidelines be damned. And inevitably, the universe saw fit to mock the struggles that went into production.
He recalled the myriad of late-night phone calls for equipnt, training and marketing the event. Trying his best to reserve a hall for the spectacle, any hall big enough that could accommodate so three thousand guests in the audience section, currently seated with bated breath. Their university’s annual show was a much-anticipated affair in the community and Adrian was this year’s director.
Unbeknownst to spectators, the lights had malfunctioned halfway through, the wrong colours appearing on stage. The change from blue and red to green had been dramatic, to say the least. rcifully, the dancers had continued without pause. With no less than three wardrobe malfunction backstage, Adrian thanked his lucky stars that they had thought to make spares.
The final act had been onstage for four minutes, as both the audience and workers alike took in the spectacle. The blue gown on the woman flared outwards, the rhinestones on the bottom shimring in the spotlights while a man appeared to her left, as if he had always been waiting there to catch her. Coming together, their limbs moved in synchrony as the man grabbed his partner’s hand and brought her into the final pose. Their bodies pressed together as the song reached the end, a beat of silence its final note.
The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity but was no more than the blink of an eye, the audience standing up and roaring thunderously at the marvel they had witnessed.
“Yes! Yes,” he shouted, “That was beautiful, you two!” With large, quick claps, Adrian hollered more congratulations to the pair with smiling eyes. The audience seed to agree, as the applause quickly drowned out anything else he could say. He then felt two quick taps on his shoulder. A girl about a head shorter than him, with blonde hair and worried brown eyes, stood behind him. She motioned for him to co closer so that she could say sothing to him. He quickly turned around and leaned down towards the woman’s cupped hand.
“Adrian,” she shouted, her voice just barely making it over the sound of the applause. “I need to talk to you - now. Co on.” Grabbing a hold of his sleeve, she dragged him over to the inconspicuous door on Adrian’s right. The tiny office inside having served as their go-to dumping ground, it was full of coats and bags, along with the occasional pair of shoes.
It was late autumn now, where the leaves had begun to lose their colours and the rains left cold puddles of water behind. The cold was beginning to creep in, and it showed in the ever-increasing mounds of slightly warm coats and wind breakers strewn about. Ushering him inside, she flicked on the light and shut the door behind her. The pair walked towards the center of the room, one of the few places where the floor could actually be seen.
Elizabeth took a mont to settle her breath before sadly making eye contact. Once she was sure they wouldn’t be overheard, she stamred, “This is hard to say.” She took a pause, trying to find the right words to express herself. “Look, this really isn’t easy for to say,” she continued, her voice slightly shaking.
Adrian looked on at her expectantly. He truly had no idea what might’ve caused whatever it was that was happening now. He was pretty certain it wasn’t so beleaguered form of confession. They had tried that once before, a little over a year ago, and they both agreed that they just weren’t right for each other. Things had ended amicably, and they still stayed in touch.
That being said, the look on her face was cause for concern, as he was finding her rather pale. Dread slowly began to creep in. A tiny, niggling little doubt ford and now that it had made itself known, it refused to leave.
“I was checking the costu rack to make sure we had everything for when the show ends,” she rambled, “when I heard a sound coming from the coat room.” Elizabeth gestured around to what could only be described as a ss, if one were feeling generous. “So I opened the door to check; to see if I was hearing things,” she hastily continued, “and when I opened the door, I heard a phone ringing.”
“It must have just started ringing as I walked by because I was able to find it in ti and I,” she said nervously, “may have picked it up. I know I probably shouldn’t have, but I figured that if sobody was calling during the show, it must be important. Most of the people we know are in the audience tonight, so I couldn’t figure out why soone would be calling and oh god, I’m rambling” she finished.
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth’s face scrunched, full of hesitation. “It was the hospital, Adrian. The call was for you, and I know I answered when I shouldn’t have but…” she trailed off. “Your sister was in a car accident. Her and Matt were pronounced dead at the scene” she said, with tears in her eyes.
Adrian felt his legs go weak and the world fall out from under him. Mutely, he reached to his left and steadied himself on the large, flimsy wooden table. Feeling the table shift under him, he idly wondered which would collapse first – him or the table. Returning his gaze to Elizabeth’s, he felt his eyes grow hot.
His mind flashed to twelve years ago, when his parents died. He rembered the stuffy black suit he’d worn to their funeral while greeting guests and receiving their condolences. It had been overcast that day, the air thick with rain. Dark clouds had slowly ford but were far enough away that all that awaited him was uncomfortable heat and humidity.
Not three days prior he had been seated around the kitchen table, playing a board ga with the family. Annie had misread the rules, resulting in an amicable family squabble about how to place tokens on the board.
Yet now he had found himself acutely aware that such days were gone forever, his weak smile covering the emotions his eyes couldn’t. His sister, Annie, had stood by his side, a stalwart companion as he fumbled his way through the procession.
She had done much over those three days. Being the one to organize the funeral in its entirety, she had not had the ti to properly grieve, as was evident by the tears streaming down her face as she accepted the good wishes from the guests. Her makeup had started to run, but people only saw her for the loss she had incurred and said not a word.
“…an…ian- Adrian” Elizabeth’s voice brought him back to the present. Concern was written all over her face. “Are you alright?” she asked softly.
“How,” he choked, “could I possibly be alright?”
The realization struck him. Matt and Annie were supposed to bring their daughter to co see his show tonight. Adrian’s gut curled and he felt sick.
“What about Lynn?” he asked in a shaking voice. “You said Annie and Matt were pronounced dead, what about Lynn? Is she alive?” Adrian refused to believe that all of his remaining family mbers were dead.
By asking them to co watch, he had gotten his family killed. The thought kept spiraling, the feeling growing. Adrian’s breath hitched, coming out in short, shallow gasps as he began to see dark spots along the corner of his eyes.
A light pressure on his right shoulder helped distract him from his thoughts. His glazed eyes regained their focus, finding Elizabeth’s bright blue ones. He looked down and found her hand outstretched, on his shoulder.
Her touch had a soothing effect on him, calming him down sowhat as his panic attack subsided. His breathing steadier now, Adrian rested his hand on hers.
“Thanks,” he muttered. He found not the strength to raise his voice beyond that of a whisper.
“Anyti,” she said. “Lynn is in critical condition, that’s all I know. They were reluctant to give out details over the phone.”
“So she’s alive?” Adrian asked hopefully.
“Yes, but I really don’t know anything else. I told them to call back later to get a hold of you.” Elizabeth reached into her hoodie pocket and flourished a crinkled post-it note. On it, a hastily scrawled phone number could be seen with the word pediatrics circled underneath.
“They did, however, give a phone number to call so that you could get more information,” she continued, handing Adrian the note. “I think I’ll give you a bit of ti to yourself, but others might co looking for you soon.”
Giving him a long look, she turned around and started for the door behind her, stepping over a pale blue parka that had been left lying on the floor, only to trip on the half-covered bag lying underneath it.
“Dammit,” she swore, “would it kill them to put their things away instead of leaving it on the ground like children?”
Realizing what she just said, she whirled back towards Adrian. “Sorry, that was insensitive of ,” she said sheepishly. Kicking the offending bag out of the way, Elizabeth grabbed the door knob and silently left the room, closing the door behind her.
Adrian stood there, staring at the door while he tried to process the news that he had been given. His parents had died when he was eleven. His mother had been an only child and his father had two brothers.
His grandparents on his mother’s side had died to cancer – both of them – about five years and three years prior. His grandfather had died to lung cancer from having been a heavy smoker during most of his adult life. He couldn’t rember what exactly his grandmother had suffered from, just that it had been cancer. He recalled vividly the scent of smoke that clung to both of them when they visited.
There had been a falling out between his parents and the rest of the family on his father’s side. They hadn’t approved of the relationship between him and his mother. Having co from an affluent household, they didn’t think much of his substantially poorer mother.
The first and last ti he saw his father’s side of the family had been at the funeral. They stayed for the bare minimum amount of ti that was respectable before leaving without so much as a goodbye.
He hadn’t been privy to the details behind the heated discussion between them and Annie at the funeral that day, but the results spoke for themselves. They sent an allowance to both of them to help them get by. The bare minimum, really. But it allowed for them to eat and have a roof over their heads and that was good enough for Adrian.
From that point on, it had been just him and Annie. Being eight years older than him, she beca the sole breadwinner of the family, as Adrian had been too young to work. She had worked hard to put food on the table, often juggling multiple jobs to help pay the bills.
Coupled with their monthly allowance, they had enough – barely – to get by. Annie had given up going to school for a few years to scrape together so savings. Her scholarship had been a godsend, allowing her to enter business school.
Her second year of university was where she t Matt. A mutual acquaintance had introduced the two, playing cupid. The rest was history.
Three years later the two got married. Mysteriously, almost nine months later to the day, little Evelynn graced the world with her presence and beca the center of the family’s universe.
Adrian had done the ntal math and had given his sister an amused look when he discovered she was pregnant, much to her embarrassnt.
With Evelynn the sole survivor of the accident, she was now his only family left. It was his turn to take care of her, much like Annie had done for him.
It was fitting, he thought to himself, that the rest of his family die in a car accident as well. Being unlucky seed to run in the family.
Carefully stepping over the parka that Elizabeth almost tripped on, he made his way towards the door without incident. He took a mont to collect himself before opening the door anew to leave the room, turning off the light as he did so.
On the other side, Adrian found the backstage to be empty. Walking over, he saw that everyone had gathered onstage. All fifty people cramd close together, as the announcer gave congratulations to the perforrs.
He spotted Elizabeth at the back of the throng, near the edge of the curtains. Clearly, she had showed up late to the gathering as well but had managed to secure herself a spot onstage alongside everyone else.
“Aha,” the announcer said, “we’ve found our ever-elusive director at last. Let’s give a round of applause for the man who made tonight possible.”
The perforrs and crew onstage looked towards Adrian eagerly and motioned for him to join them.
“Aww, look at that, he’s shy” the announcer said, eliciting a few chuckles from the audience. “Well let’s add to that, shall we?” Turning her head, the announcer motioned offstage.
“We grace our taskmaster, demon lord of deadlines and coffee, with these honourable sacrifices. The virgins aren’t included.”
Two people ca out from behind the black backdrop curtains. A resounding “Hey!” ca from the one on the left, much to the amusent of everyone present.
The first held a bouquet of flowers, an assortnt vibrant orange, yellow and white flowers, arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner. The second held an expensive bottle of wine. Well, about as expensive as what college kids could afford, that is. Which is to say the fancy version of cheap.
“Really guys, you shouldn’t have,” Adrian said with a forced smile. He wanted nothing more than to be gone and join Lynn in the hospital.
He knew that his presence wouldn’t dictate whether or not Lynn made it out of critical condition, but he couldn’t help but want to be by her side. No five-year-old should have to be alone and in pain, not understanding what was going on around them.
It broke his heart thinking about how he would break the news to her of her parents’ passing. When his parents had died, he was old enough to comprehend the situation. He had no idea how to help such a young child process it in the least damaging way possible.
The two arrived in front of Adrian and presented him their offerings, which he accepted magnanimously. His hands full, he motioned with his head towards the announcer, who ca closer and brought the microphone to his lips.
“Thank you, everyone,” he said into the microphone, raising his voice slightly to reach it. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the crew and the perforrs who made the event so spectacular. Thank you all for coming here tonight. It ans a lot to all of us here that you enjoyed the show. We hope to see you here again next year, when we put on a new one. Have a good night everybody,” he finished, with false cheer.
One generic speech out of the way, he thought sardonically.
After lightly talking with a few more people, Adrian decided that he’d had enough. Peering over the crowd, he spotted Elizabeth and made his way over to her.
She was having a conversation with the woman in the blue gown from the final act. Looking up, she spotted him and turned towards him.
“I think I’ll be heading ho. Well, not ho, but you know where,” Adrian said once he got close enough.
“One sec, Ginny,” she replied and gave Adrian her full attention. “Are you going to be ok on your own?” she asked.
“I should be fine. I’ll grab a cab – it won’t take too long to call one.”
“I can drive you if you need,” she offered.
“No, that’s ok. I’ll be fine on my own. I’d rather not take you away from this,” he gestured.
“Adrian,” Elizabeth started, only to pause. “Alright, if that’s what you want, I’ll leave you to it. You can always call if you need anything.”
Adrian turned around and made his way backstage, towards the storage room where they kept the coats. The sa one he had been in earlier when he received news of the accident.
“What was that?” he heard Ginny asking as he walked away.
“Nothing, just so personal stuff,” Elizabeth replied, the response growing faint as he walked away.
Making it to the storage room without incident nor disruption, Adrian opened the door and turned on the lights. As one of the first people to arrive to help set up the show, his coat was naturally buried under a veritable mountain of jackets and paraphernalia at the back of the room.
Sighing, he began digging through the mound, his hands buried amidst the clothing. After a couple of seconds, he pulled out a black windbreaker with yellow streaks along the shoulders and a brand logo emblazoned in white on the upper left breast.
Putting on the jacket, he left the room, turning the lights off on the way out. Once outside, he fished around in his right pocket for his phone. He dialed the number for the taxi and gave the address of the theatre.
Making his way out of the building, he observed the throng of people that were leaving. Cars were running idle, waiting for the passengers of the few who had thought to leave ahead of the rush.
Making his way to the curb, Adrian kept his eyes peeled for his ride. Keeping to himself, he was content to let others pass him by, having no desire for further interaction. Not five minutes later a bright, yellow car pulled to a stop fifteen feet away from him.
It clearly had trouble navigating the cars that had flooded the front of the theatre. To save the poor cabbie the trouble, Adrian raised his hand and whistled. A high-pitched sound pierced through the murmur of the crowd, causing a mont of silence and confusion.
The mont passed, and Adrian made his way towards the taxi, whose driver had understood that he was to be the passenger.
Entering the cab, Adrian settled in and took stock of what he saw. It was more run down than he was expecting, the car clearly having seen better days. The acrid scent of smoke clung to the interior, overpowering the pine scented air freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror.
“Where to?” the driver asked gruffly with a raspy voice. It was clear that he went through multiple packs of cigarettes per day.
“Take to St Bridgette’s Hospital, please. Just drop close to the doors and I’ll make my way from there.”
The twenty-minute ride to the hospital was agonizing for Adrian. Staring out the window, he could only worry about his niece and in what condition she may be in.
Taking out the slip of paper that Elizabeth had handed him earlier, he called the number that was written down. He wasn’t able to find out much information, the receptionist informing him that yes, they did have a patient from a car accident. Yes, it was a little girl. No, she didn’t know any further details. He thanked her for her ti and hung up.
Upon arriving, he paid the fare and was off like a bullet. Nearly bowling over the older couple in the entrance way, Adrian made haste. Looking around, he found a brightly lit room with white walls and a white ceiling. The harsh fluorescent lighting made for a stark difference between the cold darkness that night had brought.
He turned his head and scanned the room for a receptionist. Fifteen feet to his left, he spotted a tell-tale desk with a single employee stationed behind it. A headset on her head, she spoke into the microphone, clearly on a call.
He went to stand in front of her and recognized the voice as the one he had heard earlier on the phone. Tapping his foot, he waited as patiently as he could for her to finish the call.
The receptionist looked up from her monitor and made eye contact with Adrian. Mouthing what he though was ‘one-minute,’ he leaned onto the dark wooden counter and started drumming his fingers.
The staccato of his fingers droned on for what felt like an eternity until eventually he heard
He looked down and saw the receptionist looking at him expectantly with a sharp smile. It was clear that she held no expectations of him but would humour him anyways.
“May I help you?” she inquired, in a bored tone.
“Yes, I’m Adrian – we spoke on the phone before if you recall”
“No, I don’t” she replied bluntly. “Look, I get a lot of calls, all asking after injured people. You’re going to have to be more specific.”
“My niece was admitted earlier as the victim of a car accident. I was told she was in critical condition. Her na is Evelynn Blackwood,” Adrian said, as patiently as he could.
“Hold on, let check our records.”
Adrian waited helplessly as the receptionist began typing on her keyboard, in no apparent rush to answer his inquiry.
“Ah yes, we’ve identified one Evelynn Blackwood, brought in by ambulance about an hour ago. My file here says that she’s still in surgery.”
“Surgery!?” Adrian exclaid. “What’s wrong with her that they would still be in surgery for?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know. You’ll just have to wait here until the doctor cos out” she said, pointing towards the waiting area. “Is that all?”
“Yes, that’s all for now,” Adrian replied curtly. “Please let know as soon as anything new pops up.”
“Of course sir.”
Turning around, Adrian eyed the waiting area. The seating consisted of uninviting grey plastic chairs that looked rather uncomfortable. The chairs lined two walls in the shape of an L, with an additional row in front.
He counted nine people in the waiting area. The child nearest him looked particularly sick, coughing up a storm without bothering to cover their mouth. Stepping around, Adrian made his way to one of the corner seats along the wall. He settled in for a long wait.
***
Three hours later, Adrian found himself still sitting in the chair, having left only to go to the bathroom and buy a candy bar from a vending machine on the opposite side of the room.
A doctor in a white coat appeared and made his way to the receptionist. Looking up expectantly, Adrian watched with tired eyes as the receptionist pointed towards him.
The doctor made his way towards him, clipboard in hand. Glancing down at his papers briefly, he eventually asked “What is your relationship with Evelynn Blackwood?”
“I’m her uncle”
“I see. Well then in that case, I’ve got so good news and so bad news for you. Which one do you want first?”
“Please, just tell she’s alright,” Adrian begged.
“Good news it is then! Your niece ca to us in a very critical condition. It was touch and go for a while, but she alright for now.”
Adrian heaved a sigh of relief. “So then what’s the bad news?”
“She’s currently in a dically induced coma and she’s still in critical condition.”
“How is that alright!?” Adrian barked. “I apologize; I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
“That’s ok, I get that a lot,” the doctor chuckled dryly. “In all honesty, we’re surprised she’s even alive at all. She ca in with six broken ribs, a broken arm, a fractured leg, and quite a few other injuries, not to ntion the internal bleeding.”
Adrian blanched.
“She required extensive surgery that was very hard on her already injured body. We put her under so we could operate on her painlessly. We haven’t seen fit to wake her up yet,” the doctor continued.
“Doctor,” Adrian started. “You know, I just realized I don’t know your na,” he finished laly.
“It’s Dr. Maniel.”
“Dr. Maniel, right,” Adrian repeated. “Do you know when she’ll wake up? How long will she need to recover?”
“We don’t know when exactly she’ll wake up or if she’ll wake up at all. Mr. Blackwood, you need to be prepared for the worst. If she wakes up, you can expect for her to need to stay in the hospital for weeks, perhaps months until she fully recovers. We haven’t heard word from her parents. Are you in contact with them?”
“Her parents just died in a car accident,” he deadpanned. “The sa one she was in.”
Dr. Maniel’s eyes widened slightly. “I’m sorry for your loss. Does this make you her guardian, or is there soone else to take the role?”
“We have no other family. That makes her guardian now. I guess I’ll have to adopt her once she gets better”
“One more thing, before I bring you to her,” Dr. Maniel hesitated. “Her spine was injured during the accident. She may not be able to walk again, even if she fully recovers from her injuries.”
Adrian felt his heart sink. Lynn was a bundle of energy that loved to run around. Always all over the place, she gave Annie a run for her money. Making her sit still was like pulling teeth. And now she might nothing to do other than sit.
“Can I see her now?”
Dr. Maniel nodded and gestured to follow him. He brought Adrian out of the waiting room and past the receptionist, who couldn’t be bothered to spare him a glance as he walked by, her eyes glued to her computer screen.
They arrived in front of an unremarkable elevator door. The once shiny tal had dulled with age. Entering the elevator, green wallpaper greeted them, with floral patterns that would have been in style forty years ago. The patterns appeared to have been white once, but had noticeably yellowed over ti.
“She’s on the sixth floor and has her own room,” Dr. Maniel said, pushing the button with the sa number.
The elevator doors closed, and they began to ascend with a gentle hum whirring in the background. Focused on seeing Evelynn, Adrian kept quiet, and they fell into an awkward silence.
The seconds dragged on until finally the elevator slowed and ca to a stop, the doors opening. Dr. Maniel exited first, ushering Adrian out as he turned back around.
Upon exiting, Adrian found himself at the end of a short hallway that split off into a T at the end. There were no windows and the artificial lights flickered sporadically overhead. Glancing around, he saw an elderly man in a wheelchair pass by, being pushed by a nurse.
Following the doctor until the end of the hall, they veered left and walked at a brisk pace. Unsure where exactly they were going, Adrian followed mutely. Turning to the right, they continued through the maze of nondescript white stone walls until finally coming to a stop, five doors later.
After glancing at the doctor for confirmation, he opened the door and was imdiately greeted by a dim room and the incessant beeping coming from various screens full of graphs he made no effort to understand.
In the center of the room on the wall left of the door stood a bed with the still form of a little girl. Her auburn hair was ssy and lay sprawled across her pale blue pillow. Two abnormally large bulges could be seen from under the covers. One lay across her chest and the other on one of her legs. Adrian surmised that they were the casts for the broken limbs the doctor had ntioned earlier.
Her peaceful face was at odds with her laboured breathing. On her free arm was a tube that snaked upwards to an IV stand, where a bag of clear liquid hung.
Beside the bed, at the furthest wall, was a single chair. It had wide, large, grey cushions that sat on a worn pale wooden fra. The center cushion had a noticeable indent in it. It had clearly seen heavy use.
Stepping into the room, Adrian made his way towards the bed. He looked softly at the little trooper in front of him and admired how strong she was to have gone through such an ordeal.
He made his way around the bed and gingerly sat down onto the chair. Sinking in considerably, he reached over and gently grabbed Evelynn’s free hand.
Speaking up, Dr. Maniel said “There’s not much more we can do for her right now. A nurse will arrive periodically throughout the night to administer pain killers. Visiting hours are technically over, but I’ll inform them that you can stay as long as you want.”
“Thank you, doctor. And thank you for keeping her alive,” Adrian said heavily, his eyes growing hot, tears beginning to form.
“I’ll leave you to it then. Have a goodnight, Mr. Blackwood. I hope she gets better soon.”
Without fanfare, Dr. Maniel left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Adrian once again settled in for a long wait, this ti no longer alone. He brushed his eyes and continued to stare at Evelynn. He kept his tears for when she would wake.
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