Alarm was ringing continuously.
After one hour, she woke up and looked at the time on her wristwatch. "Ahhhhhhh… Nancyyyyyy? Nancy?" she yelled at her roommate. "Why did you turn it off? Look, I got late because of you."
Nancy was in the kitchen; she was not interested in her at all. She walked slowly toward her room and peeked through the door.
"Why? What happened, Elena? What happened?"
"You're asking me? Why did you turn off my alarm? I got late for school."
"Elena, you know I don't like noise in the morning, and I've told you this so many times. But you listen through one ear and let it go out the other. And yes, I turned it off. Instead of checking on me now, get up and get ready. The last bus will pass the stop in 15 minutes; after that, it will leave only in the evening."
"What?"
She hurriedly came out of bed and instantly looked in the mirror. She was tall and lean, with milky white skin, honey hazel eyes, and light brown curly hair framing her round face.
"Eh… you look ugly, Elena," she said to herself and went to get ready.
Elena was not in a normal school. She was in medical school and in the final month before becoming a nurse. Her dream had been to become a heart surgeon, but things had not gone the way she wanted, so anyway.
Elena Petrova was practicing at Moscow General Hospital. Her days were filled with the routine of saving lives, and her nights with the longing for something more. She was known for her unwavering dedication, a calm presence in the often chaotic world of emergency medicine. Her work gave her a sense of purpose, but it also left her feeling isolated. She had little time for a personal life, and the fleeting connections she made rarely lasted.
She thought that after becoming a completely qualified nurse, she would not be that busy anymore, but who knows anything before everything happens.
Loud noises came from the hallway of the hospital… "Make a way." Suddenly, the environment changed into chaos.
Elena was scrolling on her phone, but as she heard the panic and shouting, she rushed to the scene. It was midnight and half of the staff had gone off duty. Elena was on duty. She was not qualified, but in skill she was more than qualified for her profession.
"Okay, calm down everyone. Give me a brief monitoring of the patient," said Elena in her bold voice. "Age 25, blood pressure 162 systolic and 100 diastolic, and blackout in the middle of the street," the ambulance guy said.
"Okay, then move, move, move!" she said loudly and ran with the stretcher to the monitoring room with another male nurse.
"Harry, call the duty doctor of tonight. Tell him to come for an emergency."
"Alright, Elena," he said.
After some hours, they managed to keep the patient alive.
"Everyone, good work," said Zane, the duty doctor, and raised his hands to clap. "Mash mash, let's go."
Everybody smiled after the exhausting treatment.
While walking outside, he put a hand on Elena's shoulder. "Proud of you, Ely," Zane
"Proud of you, Ely," Zane said to Elena. He had given her that pet name. They were neighbours and colleagues and had known each other for a very long time.
Elena took his hand off and glanced at him. "I told you many times, don't be clingy in front of the staff. They will misunderstand us."
"Oh, come on, Ely. You just think too much. Nobody has that much time to think like you, so just chill," he said, giving her a pat on the back.
"Want some coffee?" he asked her with a smile.
She rolled her eyes and pushed him forward. "Walk, walk," she said.
She was off work late and had to return early in the morning. While walking on the streets on her way home, she thought of visiting a 24/7 store to buy some snacks or breakfast.
The morning was cool, and a light haze hung across the sky.
The cold air bit at her cheeks as she hurried inside, the warmth of the store a welcome relief. She moved through the aisles, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of that patient. As she reached for a carton of milk, her hand brushed against someone else's. She looked up, meeting the striking blue eyes of a tall man in uniform.
It was Emrys Volkov. He was a seasoned police officer, much taller than her, with a wide chest and broader shoulders. He had blue eyes and black shiny hair, which was covered by a police cap. His hands were big.
"Ah!" He looked at her for a second and locked his gaze onto hers. Instantly, he moved back to give her space. "I'm really sorry. I didn't realize. I was just blindly picking it. It was unintentional, okay?" he said.
"Ah... ah, okay... it's okay," she said to him, stunned by his physique.
"You can have it if you want," she said.
He looked at her wearing a white coat. He thought she was a doctor.
"No, please," he said, giving a hand gesture forward. "Doctor first."....
"In a world full of chaos, you are my calm," he said, his voice carrying a sincerity that took her by surprise. Elena blinked, caught off guard by the intensity of his gaze. For a moment, the bustling store faded away, leaving just the two of them in a bubble of unexpected connection.
Elena managed a smile. "That's quite the line for a grocery store."
Sergei chuckled, the sound warm and genuine. "It's not a line, I promise. It's just… something about you."
They exchanged names, and Elena learned that Sergei was a police officer, a detail that made sense given his authoritative presence. They talked for a few more minutes, the conversation easy and comfortable. When they parted ways, Elena felt a strange sense of anticipation, as if their meeting had set something in motion.
In the bustling heart of Moscow, where the streets never sleep and the cold never truly fades, two lives were about to intersect in the most unexpected of ways.