Anton's Ideas

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/advantage-of-foresight/”>Advantage of Foresight</a>

a foresight prompt

A DAY OR TWO AGO                                

“Gemma Mary Skolanski. You sure that’s right?” the nurse looked at the consultant and smiled. “Why not? I’m black. Fifteen years ago I wouldn’t have been in this job. And nobody with a name like that could have afforded a hospital and a doctor like you.” He smiled back. “True cuddles, it’s a changed world. Let’s get on with this ward round.”

In the room they were about to enter was a bed and beautifully decorated walls and curtains. Flowers were not allowed or they would have been there too you can be sure. Lying in the prim, hygenic bed lay sixteen year old, well you’ve heard it, “Gemma Mary Skolanski. She was combing out her golden curls hoping to look her best for Wesley Ford, the most desirable boy fifteen months above her and she couldn’t believe he’d picked her. Not for her money, he was very rich too. His dad was a senator and his mom an attorney. Gemma’s considerable wealth came from the court’s award of five million dollars  against a delivery company whose van had killed her sister and parents two years ago. The money meant nothing. She just thought of Wesley and suddenly her dreams meant everything. Why couldn’t these medics get on with it?” she said petulantly to herself. “Get this medical report over and then Wesley can come visit with me. I wonder what he’ll bring me today?”

While waiting she picked up that day’s newspaper by her bed and saw a silly little story about someone who was offered a chance to know something really important that was going to happen  the next day, but to know it the person given the gift or foresight had to live one day less than God had planned.

‘What rubbish,’ she laughed to herself. ‘Do they really pay people to think up stuff  like this?” then the medical team came in. Five of them altogether, and they looked rather serious.

“Hi young lady”, greeted the doctor. “Feeling any better than yesterday?”

She shook her head. My stomache pains are still annoying, but maybe I ate too much at my sixteenth birthday party yesterday!” And she smiled really cutely. It was her smile that changed her face. She was really pretty when she was looking happy as well. “It ‘s not so much a knife like pain as I described a few days ago, but has changed to a more regular feeling of sickness most of the day.” The doctor looked really worried at this. Then he took a deep breath and as the senior nurse stared rather pityingly at Gemma he said,

“You know those tests you had a few days ago, well they ain’t so good Gemma. I don’t want to worry or frighten you, but it looks like you could have bowel cancer. But it’s incredible what they can do nowadays. Have you any friends or relations you’d like us to ask to come visit with you?” She just shook her head and said her boyfriend, Wesley, was coming in soon and he was all she wanted. The doctor smiled and said he hoped everything would soon improve for her.

While waiting for her boyfriend she picked up the paper again and just to pass the time tried to imagine what future event she would really like to be able to see before it happened. There were so many. The first and obvious was her wedding to Wesley. Who woul  give her away? Probably Uncle Cass. Nice, but a bit too loud mouthed. And the best man. No way would Wesley pick anyone but Peter and he could never make a speech. But Wesley had known him since they were very small kids and Gemma could not see anyone else. But apart from the wedding she started to think of other world developments. 

Would the terrorists start a proper war and would Wesley be called up?. That was an awful thought. Then on home ground would the Pirates win the world series? That really mattered to her and she could well see herself sacrificing a day of her life to know the answer to that question. But then she thought that maybe she wouldn’t want to know the result in advance, well if the Pirates won she’d want to live the event and join in the real celebrations, not just watch the video of a game knowing how it ended. It was all getting both difficult and frankly boring. Suddenly she thought that Wes was a bit late and the doctor came in again to tll her that the later medical test results had shown that she did not have cancer and should be able to be discharged in a day or two.

This only cheered her up a bit and then came the real shock. A visitor arrived, but it wasn’t Wesley. “Peter. Where’s Wes. I have such good news for him.” Peter screwed up a scarfe in his hands.

“Oh, Gem we didn’t know how to tell you. Two days ago he collapsed whiled playing tennis and although the hospital did all it could , he died. I’m so sorrow for you. It was so unexpected it was on the front page of the paper. But you wouldn’t have seen that yet, they deliver the local papers a day later here at the hospital.

AWE