"It's not like they're forgetting me on purpose." Mandy felt compelled to defend the hospital staff, even as another wave of pain radiated through her lower back. "There was a traffic accident… and someone was brought in with gunshot wounds not long ago. And I heard something about a cardiac patient..."
"You are kind to think of others while in such pain yourself." The woman's rings clinked softly against the metal railing. "But that does not make your suffering less important."
Mandy managed a smile for the woman. "They'll get to me eventually. Once they do, it won't take long for the shot to take effect, and I can go home."
"What is your name?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Guilt flooded her at her own lack of manners. This woman… a stranger… had taken the time to stop, to recognize that she was in pain, and Mandy hadn't even introduced herself.
"I'm Mandy."
"It's nice to meet you, Mandy." The woman's soft lips curved into a gentle smile. "Though I wish it were under better circumstances. My name is Jacinth."
"Jacinth?" Momentarily distracted from her pain, Mandy smiled. "What a beautiful name. I've never heard it before."
The woman's smile brightened the stark hospital hallway, radiating a warmth which seemed to soften the harsh fluorescent lighting and sterile white walls. "Thank you. In Persian, it means hyacinth - the flower."
"Persian?" Despite her discomfort, Mandy's writer's brain perked up. "That explains your accent. Though it's very slight."
"You have a good ear. Most people don't notice."
"I used to sing." Mandy winced as another spasm hit her lower back. "Classical training makes you sensitive to vocal nuances."
"Used to?"
"I can't stand up long enough anymore." The admission hurt almost as much as her back. "And breath control is out of reach, when you can't take a deep breath lots of times. But that's ancient history."
Jacinth chuckled. "You're not old enough to have ancient history."
Mandy managed a weak laugh, though it caught in her throat as pain stabbed through her spine. "Oh, I'm plenty old enough. I'm sixty-seven."
"Sixty-seven?" Jacinth's musical voice held a note of amusement. "That's hardly ancient."
"Tell that to my younger self." Mandy shifted minutely, trying to ease the pressure on her lower back. "When I was a kid, I thought anyone over sixty had one foot in the grave. When I was little, I thought my grandmother, who was in her early sixties, was practically ancient."
Jacinth's laughter rang out, drawing curious glances from passing hospital staff. The sound reminded Mandy of wind chimes in a summer breeze.
"Children do have such interesting perspectives on age, don't they?" Jacinth tilted her head, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling, giving her a look for all the world like a mischievous sparrow.
Despite her pain, Mandy found herself grinning. "My mom was thirty-two when I was eight, and I asked her what it felt like being so old."
"And what did she say?"
"She told me to ask her again when she actually got old." The memory brought a genuine smile to Mandy's face. "Of course, by the time I thought to ask again, I was well past thirty myself."
Jacinth's laughter sparkled through the air again, and Mandy found herself smiling despite her pain. The woman's presence had somehow made the stark hospital hallway feel less intimidating, less clinical, and somehow, almost made Mandy forget the shooting pains in her back.
A nurse hurried past with an armload of supplies, and guilt stabbed through Mandy. Here she was, monopolizing this kind stranger's time when surely Jacinth had somewhere else to be.
"I'm sorry." Mandy shifted carefully, trying not to visibly wince at the movement. "Here I am, chattering away, and you must be here to visit someone. I shouldn't keep you."
"Oh?" Jacinth's eyebrows arched delicately. "What makes you think I'm here to visit someone?"
"Well, you're not wearing scrubs or a white coat." Mandy gestured at Jacinth's elegant silk outfit. "And you're way too well dressed to be a patient."
"Quite observant of you." Jacinth's fingers traced patterns on the metal bed rail, her rings catching the light. "But you needn't worry about keeping me from anything. I'm exactly where I need to be right now."
A particularly sharp pain shot through Mandy's lower back, and she couldn't quite suppress a gasp. Jacinth's expression immediately shifted to concern.
