1 Traversal Part 1

Hello there! I'm currently in a dilemma. what should I wish for?

FLASHBACK

I was a freshly hired doctor at a city's government hospital. Nothing sort of a genius but nothing like a good for nothing either. I was a good student, got good grades, got admission in a good medical institute, graduated with good grades, did my internship at a good hospital, worked to get a good level of skill as well as money and finally got myself a good enough job. Not very high paying, but a good enough amount of money to be earned. I did my duties as a doctor should, and worked like a normal human, not a saint but not a leech either. Everything was normal. I spent my days at my job and free time with my family and watching anime. Anime had been my refuge after a harsh rejection at my first love. Not wanting to repeat that experience I have up on finding love by myself and let my parents do that for me. I wasn't a socially withdrawn person but I stopped chasing after girls. I did have great friends who'd be ready to help me in time of need. Being a person who lived with his family and loved it, I left some of my life decisions which required help to my parents and believed that they'd be better at judging people due to their experience. Well, all in all it was a happy family with my parents and sibling and we enjoyed our family as well as private time.

But, a villian arrived in our life: Corona virus. Being a doctor I was called upon by the hospital as the hospital and it's surrounding areas turned into a corona quarantine and treatment centre. At times like these some people crumble under the pressure to perform but those who persevere and have the emotional support find the pride of their profession. I discovered it too, being needed by the people and getting to live the oath ask doctors take. The hospital was our battlefield, monitoring all infected people and taking care of their health. The relief on the faces of those treated brought the sense of pride and finally an understanding of how a soldier feels when a skirmish is won. This brought out the better of us and enabled us as doctors to come to terms with the fact that we can't meet our families until this battle is over. We'd have our meals sitting at the gate of our houses and live at the hospitals, drenched in sweat due to the protective clothing in the months of June and July. It wasn't easy though. I had to contend with setting my family from 10 feet away and eating my mom's cooking in a disposable platter to remove the chances of infection spreading to my family. My younger sibling who often told me about his achievements first and get a hug from me before telling my parents together to give them a surprise, had to watch me stay away from him, to protect him. My senior, who had an adorable five year old daughter had his meals sitting on the park bench watching his daughter from a small distance but unable to touch her head, pet her and spoil her. Sometimes we got into thinking,"is it really worth it to do so much?", but the government support and the support by the masses got us out of such situations. Getting applauded when returning to hospitals, seeing the people shedding tears on seeing our plight and public statements by National figures idolizing our work kept our motivation going. We were able to do a good job.

However, corona had something against me, not being able to infect me directly, it affected me indirectly. From a young age I was sensitive to heat, not overly sensitive but I would become uncomfortable at temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. It wasn't much apart from being a bit uncomfortable but the working as a doctor in our suites made matters worse. The suits were made for protection so they asked us in a close environment with ventilation however, the weather at the time rendered the ventilation systems obsolete and temperatures inside would often reach 45 degrees. It was uncomfortable but we persevered. I was also able to work but I could tell that the degree of uneasiness had been increasing. I took a break of one day and felt that it'd be okay. I couldn't be more wrong. Working my way through my shift I started feeling uneasy on a big scale and started to move out of the patient area but before I could reach the door I saw rainbows in front of me and I fell.

Coming to my senses a while later I felt myself sitting on a soft fluffy bed and looked around. To my surprise I saw myself sitting on cotton, but I was puzzled wondering why would the authorities waste so much cotton for me to sit on.

"You ain't sitting on cotton kid!"

I felt a deep voice and turned to see someone who shocked the daylights outta me.

A tall muscular hoso-macho in all black with moustaches big and dense enough for kids to swing on and a crown of ox horns carrying a mace. The moment I saw him only one thought came to my mind

' I'm dead'