1 DON'T LEAVE..

Her phone kept ringing in her sling bag, but she was busy running around the hospital to complete the documentation because she wanted to get the treatment for her aunt, to begin as soon as possible.

Lyrical couldn't care less about who has been calling whilst she was busy taking care of her aunt. Her aunt was diabetic and also suffered from other ailments. And right now her health was Lyrical's priority.

Aunt Marissa and her husband were like her own parents. And so at that moment nothing else mattered to her.

Ever since Lyrical's mom passed away, she has lived and grew up with her aunt's family. She had promised her (cousin) brother Norman, she would take care of his mom while he was away.

Her uncle Mr. Simon Dike was out of town since Wednesday, to attend a three-day conference meet and would be back not before Sunday. They had planned to have dinner together that evening once he was back home.

Hell! Just one day before he was scheduled to arrive, all of a sudden Lyrical's aunt started complaining of uneasiness and restlessness. She was feeling dizzy and had palpitation since early that morning, so Lyrical made an appointment with the family doctor and made sure to call her boss Mr. Parker asking for leave.

Soon after she ended the call with her boss and turned around, she saw her aunt lying on the floor in the midst of having a convulsion. Dread washed over Lyrical, and her entire body froze for a few seconds.

She rushed towards her aunt and re-dialed her boss' phone number in panic and cried for help. Tears threatned to blur her vision, her mind did not know what else to do and her body was shaking. If only she knew what to do and how could she help her aunt. As soon as her boss answered the call, he assured her everything would be fine, but she should calm down first.

Instead of panicking she must put her focus on performing first aid by observing her aunt and roll her over to one side. Meanwhile, he would call for emergency help, an ambulance would soon be on it's way to take her aunt to the hospital.

Aunt Marissa was like her mom and it was expected of Lyrical to be scared of losing her mother for the second time in her life.

But, she pulled herself together because Lyrical knew she has to take control of the situation. She slowly and carefully rolled over her aunt to face on one side and put a soft towel below her neck. She held her aunt's hand between hers and kept praying that help would arrive, before Aunt Marissa' condition worsened.

Lyrical sat observing her aunt and the pattern of her seizures, just in case the doctor wanted for any information in detail. Although the seizures were mild, but Lyrical did not let go of the hand and stayed beside her aunt until the help arrived. Aunt Marissa' hands were getting cold to touch, but Lyrical held onto her aunt, refusing to lose hope.

Atleast trying her best to be hopefully, and positive.

On the way to the hospital, Lyrical managed to call up her aunt's doctor to inform him about the emergency, and soon after, she called her uncle.

Since Uncle Simon was inside the conference hall, he couldn't answer his phone at that very moment. Lyrical frantically kept trying his number, but every time it went to his voice mail.

By the time Uncle Simon saw those missed calls and was able to call back, the ambulance had already reached the hospital.

Aunt Marissa was taken inside the emergency room for a thorough check-up. While doctors were busy examining her aunt, she impatiently waited outside. Lyrical did not dare to answer her phone when her uncle called back. She was counting every minute, every second, her aunt was inside that room.

Only once the doctor confirmed that her aunt's diabites had worsen her condition and so did her hypertension which is what led to the seizures that happened. Nevertheless, her aunt's condition was better at the moment, did Lyrical let out the breath she had been holding. They also told her, it could have been fatal if there would have been a further delay in her treatment and medication. Her legs gave away as she took short breaths, only then did she call Uncle Simon and immediately broke down into tears.

"Aunt Marissa--Sorry Uncle.. aunt--it happened so suddenly. Sorry, Uncle Simon... I.. ", is what Lyrical managed to say between her sobs.

Her uncle could hardly comprehend any of those incoherent words that came out of her mouth and all he heard was her nervousness and stammering in her voice and the way she was sobbing so badly, he couldn't help but began to worry.

Mr. Parker came just at the right time, took away the phone from her and narrated the incident, and explained everything to Uncle Simon. He also assured him that he will take care of both Aunt Marissa and Lyrical until Uncle Simon is back from his business trip.

Lyrical has been working for Mr. Parker for the last five years, so everyone in this family knew him well and trusted him too. Nevertheless, Uncle Simon was still worried and concerned about his wife's health. He was further restless because Lyrical was alone. It did not matter if Mr. Parker was beside her, Lyrical would still worry. And needed him.

This incident had happened so suddenly and right now his son also was not around. Moreover, Uncle Simon was well aware of how worried sick Lyrical must be for her aunt. So, he had to make sure to reach the hospital anyhow by early morning tomorrow, before she panics and the news reaches his son, Norman.

Even if that means he had to spend the entire night travelling, he was willing to do so. Lyrical and his wife Marissa needed him right now.

He completed his conference for that day, spoke to one of the key member who had invited him for the event to pardon him for leaving early, and packed his luggage to leave by the late night train.

Whereas on the other end, Mr. Parker guided Lyrical with all the paperwork, her uncle wired in some money to her that she submitted at the admission counter. Mr. Parker had already made arrangements to cover Lyrical's shift for the next few days, as soon as Lyrical had told him about her aunt in the morning itself. He also made some monetary arrangements to help cover the medical expenses, rushed back and forth to get all the test reports of her aunt.

Her office teammates came by to support her but were not allowed inside, since Lyrical's aunt was still in the emergency unit and several tests still needed to be performed on her aunt. Lyrical did not want to leave her aunt's side, so her teammates went back after meeting Mr. Parker, but promising to come back again, the following day.

By the time Mr. Parker could collect all the reports from the lab and finally came back to be by her side, he found Lyrical sitting outside the Intensive care unit looking miserable and alone.

Post depositing the amount that her uncle had given, while Mr. Parker was trying to complete the rest of the formalities, Lyrical was there by her aunt's side the entire time. Aunt Marissa was still in a muddled state or was it that the sedation had not worn out still.

She constantly kept asking about Norman, cried, and demanded to leave. Lyrical kept a brave face, hiding her tears she tried her best to calm her aunt down and told her, that Norman and Uncle Simon would be here in some time and they both would be hurt to see her crying and sick. However, it went in vain and her aunt did not calm down. Given the situation, doctors had no better choice but to tie Aunt Marissa to the bed and sedate her a little more.

Lyrical sat beside her boss and her shoulder was slouched, tears were welled up in her eyes. She looked at Mr. Parker, trying her best to hold herself together, but failed.

"Is it really happening to me again? Am I going to lose my mother? Why me again?" Lyrical questioned while she wept.

"Why can't I go inside and just be there with her, I don't want to leave her alone. Please help me?" she continued to sob and kept pleading to her boss.

Her aunt was taken to Intensive care to be kept under observation, but Lyrical couldn't help but worry.

Her aunt's doctor came out to personally see Lyrical and assured her that doctors need to closely monitor her aunt for one night.

"The reports are not looking very good, but then there is nothing to worry about either. Your Aunt Marissa is a strong woman and so are you", said the doctor, assuringly.

"Don't worry child. She is in good hands and we will take the best care of her, for you. I will see you again tomorrow morning. We are hoping, she would respond positively to all her medications, then we can shift her soon." The doctor patted her shoulder and went back into the ICU unit again.

"It's just for one night, Lyrical. She will be monitored and hopefully will be shifted tomorrow so you can be with her.", her boss tried his best to assure her positively.

Lyrical prayed all night for her aunt, and barely ate anything the entire time.

Even when her boss said, "No matter how much you starve, your aunt needs to be kept in there, at least for a night. On the other hand, your aunt will definitely be hurt and disappointed when she realizes, that you did not take care of herself", Lyrical did not budge.

All Lyrical wanted was to see her Aunt Marissa, hold her hand and watch her as she slowly breathes. Until then, food was the last thing on her mind.

Calling Norman and her father did cross her mind many a times in the entire night. But, she knew it will only make them worried. And since they both stayed far away and won't be able to reach here tonight. Knowing about the incident will simply make them panic.

Lyrical was exhausted from all the scurrying around, but she was still not sleepy. She pulled out her phone from her sling bag to check the calls that she might have missed in the entire day, only to realize the battery had drained out and she had not carried the charger along when she left her home this morning.

She went to the nurse's counter nearby and requested a charger for her phone. While her phone was getting charged, she left it there with the nurse at the counter and went to grab something to drink. Mr. Parker and Lyrical sat in the cafeteria to drink coffee. The night seemed long and they needed a drink or two to get through the night. For now, coffee would do.

Lyrical was sincerely thankful towards her boss for being there beside her and also taking care of her aunt. She wouldn't have been able to go through all this alone.

But she also apologized to him for troubling and disturbing his busy schedule.

"You don't have to thank me.. I did what I had to and would do this for anyone. I know how it feels to lose a family member, after all, I too have one. Also, all the employees working with me are like my family.. always remember that."