"Mr Baristan, do you understand?" The caller asked.
Nelson was afraid to speak for he feared for the worst.
"Mr Baristan, can you hear me?" The caller asked again.
Nelson scolded himself for having such negative thoughts. "Yes, I can hear you".
"Alright. You've been asked to return to the hospital by the doctor in charge of your mother. He says it's urgent as it has to do with your mother," the caller said.
"I'll be there soon," Nelson replied and then the call ended.
His body ached all over from the beating he had just recieved, and he groaned loudly while he got up. His groans attracted stares from passerbys but he ignored them. Finally able to get on his feet, he walked towards the nearest bus stop to get a bus. While waiting with other commuters, he felt his pockets for any extra money he had. He was disappointed to find them empty, realizing that he had spent all the money he had in trying to locate Troy all day.
Deciding that he would have to walk all the way to the hospital, he calculated the time it would take to be up to an hour. At that moment, there a flash of lightning across the sky. He knew he had no time to lose and so, he took off running.
Half way through, the pitter-patters of rain started. It began first as light drizzles and within minutes, Nelson could barely see where he was going but he couldn't stop now, he was so close to getting to his mother, he had to push on and so, he did. Because of how heavy the rain was, he couldn't see the little obstruction on the road and he tripped over a trashcan causing him to fall face first, unto the pavement.
At this point, Nelson felt like the entire world was against him and he cried out loudly. Hadn't he suffered enough in life? In just one day, he had lost one of his greatest joys and now, he feared he was also about to lose his greatest treasure as well.
The rain began to lessen and he felt it was a sign. Despite the pains he felt in his now completely drenched body, he remembered he was still a little distance away from the hospital and the thought of his mother was the final push he needed to get going.
When he finally got to the hospital, he was looking like a mad man in his completely soaked outfit, and out of breath. He collapsed immediately he saw the doctor.
"Is he stable now?" He heard someone ask.
"Yes, he is," another replied. "The poor boy has been through a lot in just one day. I feel so sad for him."
"Doctor, I think he's regaining consciousness." This time, he heard the voice more clearly.
"Quick, check his vitals," the doctor instructed.
He tried to open his eyes but they felt so heavy and he couldn't move his limbs as well.
"Water," he said. His throat felt like scrubbing metal against sandpaper. It hurt.
Someone took a cup to his lips and he sucked its content gratefully through the straw attached. After a while, he was able to carefully open his eyes fully.
"What happend?" He asked.
"Son, you passed out. It's a good thing you got here at the time you did as well. Your condition could have worsened," the doctor replied.
He tried to think about what had happened but he felt so tired, like an invincible weight was upon him.
The next time he woke up, he heard the sound of thunder across the sky. The rain had continued from where it seemed to have left off. Next to him, he heard the steady beeping sounds of monitors. Getting his eyes fully adjusted to the semi dark room, he realized he was on a bed and in hospital robes. His arms felt heavy and looking down, he saw bandages on the injuries he must have sustained from the fall and beatings the bouncers at the clubhouse gave him.
Beatings… clubhouse… fall… it was all coming back to him. The memory of the worst day of his life. Evelyn, his mother, it was all coming back. The sudden memory recollection gave him a migraine and he decided to settle on them one at a time. The most important at the moment was his mother. He needed to know how she was.
Just at that moment, the door to his room swung open and a nurse came in. Noticing he was awake, she went and called a doctor. It was the same doctor he had spoken to earlier.
"Glad to see you're awake, Mr Baristan. How do feel?" The doctor asked.
Nelson dismissed his question and asked his instead. "What about my mother, how is she?"
The doctor nodded his head and replied, "while you were away, your mother muttered a few words and I managed to get them on paper." He handed him a small piece of paper. "I think you'll find it useful."
The paper the doctor handed to Nelson contained a phone number with an instruction to Nelson to call the number and identify himself.
"Thank you," Nelson said. "Can I see my mother now?"
"Of course you can, but after calling the number. Your mother said it was important you did so as soon as you got back," the doctor encouraged.
Nelson was confused because he had never seen that number before and didn't know whom it belonged to. That, plus the instruction was a strange one as well. He picked his phone from his bedside table and dialed the number. The call was answered immediately at the first ring.
"Hello, who is this?" The owner of the number answered.
The voice sounded like it belonged to an aged man and Nelson thought to himself that he had never heard it before. However, he replied to the man on the other end of the line. "Hello," he checked his phone's screen and the time read 5:30am. He must have passed out for a long time, he thought. His mother didn't have much time and he had already wasted so much. He didn't want to waste more by spending too much time on this call.
"Good morning," he continued, "my name is Nelson Baristan, and I am the son of Victoria Baristan. I was given your number by my mum and instructed to call you."
"Your mother?" The man asked. "Where is she? Where are you right now?"
Hearing the emotions attached to the man's voice, he knew the man must care about his mother and thought of him as a close and trusted friend to her. His mother never had any friends and so he wondered how they had met. Thinking the man might be able to offer them some help, he wasted no time in telling him about their current situation and where they were. The man told him he would soon be there and as their call ended, he felt a spark of hope in him. His mother would be saved.
The doctor explained to Nelson that before he would be allowed to see his mother, they had to run a few health checks on him as well. He tried to protest but the doctor insisted, saying he had to be in the best shape before being allowed to see his mother. Having no other argument, he asked for his clothes and the doctor had a nurse bring it to him. His clothes were freshly laundered and dry. He was grateful.
He tried to stand but fell as he did. Luckily, the doctor was there to stop his fall in time. His legs felt heavy. The doctor then explained to him that it was a result of over straining his legs muscles and the falls he had, assuring him he would be fine after a few days of rest. He was given a wheelchair after changing into his own clothes.
Outside the hospital, an entourage of luxurious cars had appeared. Out of one stepped out an elderly looking man in his mid sixties, wearing a well tailored, expensive looking suit. Holding the door open for him was a much younger looking man in an equally expensive looking suit and as they approached the hospital doors, they were flanked by a security team. Bystanders took pictures discreetly as they walked.
The hospital doors was opened for them by their security team and the younger man went to the receptionist desk. "Hello, I am Jonathan Douglas and we're here for Mr Nelson Baristan," he said, gesturing to himself and the elderly looking man.
The receptionist was awe struck. She knew who the man speaking to her was and she also knew who the elderly looking man was. Noticing she had stared for too long, she quickly regained her composure. "Nelson Baristan, second floor, right corridor."
"Thank you," the man said then went back to meet the older man. Together with their security team, they headed in the direction of the receptionist's description.
On getting there, they found a young boy in a wheelchair talking with a doctor.
Nelson had been arguing with the doctor about going to see his mother while the doctor told him to wait for the man he had called earlier.
"Oh, look. They're here already,'' the doctor said, noticing the presence of the men around.
Nelson was shocked at the people he saw. He noticed the older looking man and assumed it was him he had called. The man looked powerful and Nelson wondered the relationship he might have with his mother for the man looked old enough to be grandfather.
"Are you Nelson Baristan?" The man asked, looking at Nelson kindly.
Nelson simply nodded at him. Now that he was here, he would save his questions for later. He needed to see his mother first.
"Welcome, Mr Baristan," the doctor addressed the elderly man.
"How is my daughter, doctor?" The man asked.
At the man's words, Nelson turned. Before he could speak, the doctor replied.
"I'm sorry, sir," he said to the man, then turned to Nelson and added, "Victoria Baristan's last words were to give you that note," he said. Giving Nelson a look of sympathy he added, " she didn't make it through yesterday."