Searching for the meaning of life

Evelyn found the waiting room of St. Thomas Delos to be the perfect place to be.

It was expansive and had a gentle, wooden-laced smell. It was not full; it had a lot of seats, but not so many that it was noisy. It was pleasant to look at. Two rooms, different colors and styles, joined together by a large archway; along one wall was a huge built-in bookcase of wide, deep shelves that reached nearly up to the high ceiling. The shelves were populated with books, and the room had a vague library smell. Another wall had a large window taking up an entire panel and a large painting on it.

Eventually, she got up and wandered around the waiting room looking for something to read.

After some of her coworkers had shown up to check out her progress, she was able to walk with her own two feet again, and began to get a little rest. There were glass windows along the walls that offered a view of the forest and of the ocean beyond. It was a brisk day, and sunlight flowed in at the glass and darted across the floor. She took the seat next to a window and looked outside, laughing quietly to herself. She glanced around to see if anyone was looking, and resisted the urge to rub her wrist. More than an hour had passed since her accident, and in that time, the pain in her right leg had gone away. It was still sore and tender, but less so than the previous day. The cast on her left arm had been removed, and the bruised bones in her left side were starting to heal.

She looked down to see that she had been leaning over to see out the window, and her foot was resting on an airily-abandoned travel brochure. She bent down to pick up the brochure, and as she did so, her right foot rolled slightly in the wrong direction as she was sitting down. She had to stop herself from falling over.

She didn't have long to recover, though; David, her boyfriend, came walking in through the doorway. Suddenly she felt a little weak in the knees. She put the travel brochure down and she shuffled to the nearest chair, near the foot of the stairs, and she sat down.

She hadn't seen David for a few days; he had been busy with work, so she had not seen him for a few days. A couple of people she knew in the hospital had seen him, they had said so. David was the reason she had been in the hospital, at least indirectly. The car that hit her was driven by one of his friends.

"There's my beautiful girl," David said.

David sat down, and reached for Evelyn's hand.

"So? How are you feeling?" David said quietly.

"Oh, pretty good. My leg is still very sore and tender, and the arm of course, but otherwise I'm fine. How was the trip?"

"The trip was good. I went to a conference with a bunch of people. I made connections, and got a lot of good news."

"Really? That's terrific. Good for you. Well, they released me today."

"Well, that's amazing. So where are you going to go? Do you have anyone to take care of you?"

"I have a friend, some friends of mine are coming by later. I don't know. I'll probably just stay around here for a few days, or if I feel better I could go to my hosts'. It's still a little bit sore, but it's not that bad. I can't complain. I was lucky to have avoided serious injury. They have some really good medical staff here, they really do."

"Yeah, they really do. I met some people who came in with stab wounds. One guy I met had been stabbed nine times. I think you got pretty lucky."

They looked at each other for a moment, then David put his hand on Evelyn's thigh.

"Well, that's probably a terrible thing to say, what I just said, I apologize. I'm sure you were scared. I'm sure were you were scared all the time."

"I was. I'm fine, though. My leg is still a little sore. That's all. It'll work out."

"Well, then. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you with everything, if you need me. I'm here to make sure you're alright. I'm here to help you get better."

"Yes. Thank you."

"I really am. I really do want to help you get better. I'm sorry I had to go to that conference, but I'm here now. I always want to help you. You know that."

"I know you do. You're here now, that's what's important."

A few moments of silence passed between them. David leaned over and gave Evelyn a kiss on the cheek.

As David was starting to get up to leave, another doctor came into the waiting room.

"Ah, David Delos. Just the man I wanted to see."

"Doctor Jones. Good afternoon. How are you?"

"Perfectly fine, thank you. Let's put the patient at ease—or, let's try to. Her vitals are kind to the patient. She's doing well."

"Well, we must praise her. Good good."

"Good!"

"Alright then. Come on, Evelyn. Let's check you out and see how you're feeling."

Evelyn followed the doctor out of the room.