Beginning with Forever by Lan LLP Read Free Book Online Page B

REM state. My body enjoys the peaceful sleep coma, until the sensation of wet fingers gripping my right ankle alarms me. Where’s the moan coming from? Am I dreaming? My exhaustion paired with the heat has completely overtaken my depleted mind. I’m so tired that I can’t even differentiate between reality and dream. I force my heavy lids to open, squinting and blinking against the glaring sunlight until I could focus my burning, watery eyes. “Oh my god! Oh my god!” I scream hysterically out loud. There’s an unconscious man lying face down with his right hand attached to my ankle. I can’t see his face or chest to determine if he’s still breathing or not. I’m hoping and praying that he’s not…dead. I quickly pull my quivering right leg away from him and hug both my legs tightly against my chest. My shaking body is rocking back and forth. My mind runs for its wits, but my body remains fixed and dumfounded. I know I should be calm, but I just can’t help it. I’ve only had six months of patient care, and I’ve never had to resuscitate a real person, only CPR Annie, the dummy.
    Calm down Lily , I coach myself. I then take a deep breath, exhale and immediately crawl to his side to assess his condition. Flipping him over onto his back, I then remove his lifejacket to release his body from its confines. His perfectly carved face is covered with sand, so I gently stroke it off his cheeks and forehead. I can’t believe I’m mentally noting how attractive his features are at a time like this. What a weirdo. I shake my head several times to brush off this craziness. I lift my blanket off the ground, shake the sand loose and prop his head up with it. I exert all my might to roll his heavy body into a recovery position and then obtain his pulse rate and vital signs. Thank god, he’s alive, I celebrate silently.
    At this point, I can only visually assess that he’s suffering from sunburn and some minor scrapes on his hands and elbows, possibly from the sharp corals. I’ll check for bodily injuries as soon as his suit is removed. I quickly make a call to my assigned hospital for an ambulance while maintaining a vigil over his weakened body. My hands are still shaky, and my heart hasn’t stopped hammering since I first encounter this stranger. I need to pull myself together because this unfortunate man needs my professional care, and this is what I’m training to do.
    After about fifteen minutes, the paramedics arrive with their emergency kit. They lay his unconscious body on the stretcher and quickly start an IV. They transport him into the ambulance and insist that I ride in the back with them to the hospital. I’ve never ridden in one before, so this will be an interesting experience for me. It’s jerky, which I expected, due to the horrible road conditions as well as fighting with the incoming traffic. Several times I almost fall forward because of hasty stops they have to make for reckless drivers and crazy pedestrians. How will I ever get this continuous, loud, blaring siren out of my head? I’m sure I’ll have this ringing in my ears for days to come.
    His sun-chapped lips beg for my attention as I stare at him. I pour my water bottle over the corner of a sheet and dab his dry mouth with it, peeling his lips apart. He responds to it by lightly licking the moistened path with his tongue. I hear him mumble something softly under his breath, but it’s incoherent. Is he trying to tell me something? Regardless of the condition of his blistering lips, it doesn’t diminish how perfectly shaped they are. Why can’t I help myself from finding this man so attractive, even in this condition?
    We inspect all his pockets thoroughly for any form of identification. There’s nothing but the initials C.B. on his platinum cufflinks that potentially identify him. His costly designer suit is perfectly tailored to conform to his lean body. He must’ve lost his jacket somewhere in the water. His dampened, ocean-scented,