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*****
After a healthy battle with my inner thoughts for the day, I decided to visit my family. I buried the three of them almost together. First was the source of my work: Dad.
"Hey, Dad, I'm going to Richmond," I said. "Have you ever been there before? Well, I haven't, so I'm a little worried that I would get lost, just like I did in Greece. Anyway, watch over me like you always do, and help me out with work. I don't want to overwork myself to exhaustion, no offense. Nah, you're not offended, you want what's best for me so you would get mad if I actually overwork myself. I'll do my best not to. I'm going to Richmond to help save lives, I don't want to lose mine in the process. Thank you as always."
Next was the source of my love: Mom. I didn't actually know her as she died during childbirth, but I had heard various stories. She was a kind woman, loved by all, but a sickle cell patient. I'm lucky Dad was AA. I heard that dad just wanted both of them to live on their own, but she insisted she wanted to give him a child. I'm actually lucky Dad didn't look at me with hate in his eyes.
He saw me as a manifestation of Mom's love.
"Hey, Mom, no luck this year either. In terms of finding true love, that is. I may have already found true love but accidentally locked it out of my life by running away," I said and chuckled at the last part. "I'm going to Richmond. Ben said he worked there… well, he didn't actually say he did; for all I know maybe he meant he grew up there or something. But what if I meet him, and he hates me now? Well, I'd deserve the hate. I disappeared without actually telling him. I just want him to forgive me for two reasons. One, I need the peace of mind and two, I want him to do what he did to me that night. I don't think I'll be able to tell you this in person, though. But help me out with love."
Then my daughter, Sophia. I didn't really attach anything to her. I always felt guilty concerning her case. With my genotype being AS, it was logical that I get married or become sexually involved with an AA patient. But my ex was also AS. Through geno pairing, I thought that my first child would be born AA or AS at worst, but Sophia was born SS.
She was my pride and joy, and I never regretted giving birth to her. Her smile could light up a room. Her laughter was medicine to me, and kept me going to work. But she was always sick.
My unluckiness got to her. The medications I tried weren't working for her as well as for other kids. I started to feel like I was personally cursed. She died, and a nurse like me couldn't save her life. I was always ashamed of myself whenever I went to her grave.
I tightened my fist and took in a deep breath. "Hey Sophia. It's… Mom. I miss you."
Those were all the words I could say to her. Anything more and I'd break. I needed to keep my sanity active in that part. She did tell me not to cry. I can't disappoint her now, can I?
"Alright Richmond, beware my arrival," I said to hype myself up.
****
I double checked my luggage before getting on the plane, and triple checked them as I got down.
My luck always found a way of making me loose important items. In Greece, it was my phone, in France it was my transfer documents, and in Italy, I forgot my toiletries, and my period started on the plane.
I was ready this time. On the plane I held my transfer documents, literally to my chest. My phone was in my pocket, and I had a mini purse with a strap dangling from my wrist holding one or two pads, although my flow had ended the previous week. As I stepped out of the airport, I put on my glasses and took in the sights of Richmond—a lush beautiful place.
So far I had not forgotten anything yet. It was new record that I intended to keep that way. The instructions for the nurses were quite simple and straight to the point. We arrived and told the taxi driver the name of the hospital and they'd take us there.
"Alright, there's no way to get lost on this," I said to myself as I hailed a taxi.
I told the driver where I was going.
"Ah the Sullivan brothers," he said. "I know Ethan's hospital."
"Okay," I smiled.
Sullivan brothers had a nice ring to it.
*****
We arrived at the hospital. I checked to make sure I still had everything with me. So far, I hadn't lost anything. I had arrived at the hospital on time, but something wasn't right. Things didn't go this well whenever I visited a new country. Was I unconsciously overusing my good luck?
I shook off the thought. Maybe because I had spent time with my family before leaving; that's why I still had my luck. There was no need to worry about anything. I made my way into the hospital. It was big and bustling with a lot of activity.
"Okay, who do I have to hump to find out about the exchange program?" I asked myself as I looked around.
There was a roll-up flex vanner. It had images of nurses working and tagline that said, Nurses exchange program.
"That was easy," I said to myself.
It still felt unreal that nothing bad had happened yet.
"Hey there," I greeted the lady who sat there, attending to people.
