The Light

“Hello, Eric. This is Dr. Shell. We need you to come to the ho-pi-ta-…Can you hear me? Hello?”

There’s noise in the background and Eric sounded distracted. It’s a Saturday night and he didn’t recognize the number when he looked at his screen, but he answered anyway.

“Hello! Sorry, let me step out of here. Who is this?”

“Eric! It’s Dr. Shell. Please come down to Goodwill, there’s been an accident and your parents are in surgery. I’ll be waiting for you at the reception son, just come down soon as you can, okay?” Dr. Shell sounded concerned and Eric’s knees felt like they’d just been placed in ice buckets. He let his phone fall to the grassy ground outside his friend’s house, suddenly feeling nauseous. Screams from inside the house gave him a fright and he rushed back in to grab the keys to his parents’ car.

The music and chaos now were just a distant distraction and the kitchen was closer than it was when he’d walked in three hours ago. He slithered his way through the sweaty bodies of teenagers and the mixture of sweet and manly colognes in the air was almost suffocating. He was about to leave when Ryan ran up from behind, pulling him by his bag pack.

“Bro, what’s going on? Rachel calling you home so soon?” Ryan chuckled and lightly punched his friend’s arm.

Eric could barely smile at that and looked up at Ryan with teary eyes.

“No, it’s Mom and Dad. Shell just called me, they’re in the hospital man. I gotta go. Now!” Eric exclaimed and walked past his childhood friend who stood frozen just feet away from the front door. Eric’s parents were like parents to him as well, and many other boys in their neighborhood. They’re a well-respected couple who serve not only in their professions but also in the church community. They also bother themselves with making sure the boys keep their grades up even though he and Eric are well on their way to getting tertiary sponsorships for their sporting talents.

Ryan decided to grab one of the unopened bottles of whiskey and ran after his friend, leaving the unwarranted party he’d hosted.

“Wait! I’m coming with you.”

On their way, Ryan was sipping whiskey while Eric connected his phone to the car’s Bluetooth and called Rachel. The smell of recently smoked pot was still lingering in the interior of the silver S-Class S 580. That’s something to take care of later, Eric thought to himself.

“Hey, love. Are you okay?” Rachel sounded low and groggy. It was well after midnight so he knew he was waking her with this call.

“Baby! Mom and Dad are at the hospital. Shell called me to go down there. Can you come with me? I…I need you. Please.”

He and Ryan could hear her kicking off her blankets and running about. Eric nearly ran a red-light paying attention to her shuffling on the other end of the line and then she finally spoke.

“I’ll be outside in two minutes”, Rachel ended the phone call and tried to manage her breathing.

This was not the time for fear and anxiety, she needed to exercise her faith. She grabbed her black Adidas bag, her bible and her coffee cup, which was empty but she didn’t go anywhere without it. She stepped into her brown slides by her bedroom door and looked in her mirror to make sure she looked decent. The grey sweatpants were old and the lint made that obvious, but considering the situation, she decided that the olive-green sweater would make up for them.

She stepped out of her room quietly and reached for a pen in her bag to leave a note on the display unit against the wall, that stood between her room and her baby brother’s, so her parents wouldn’t worry. She walked carefully toward the staircase and peeped into Jack’s room. He was fast asleep. She smiled in the dark and continued down the stairs toward the front door. Eric had just arrived and Rachel rushed into the vehicle.

“Hey guys”, she placed her left hand on Eric’s shoulder and kept it there until they arrived at the hospital.

The parking lot was lonely and carless, with just an ambulance parked toward the end of the building and a security guard stood near it smoking a cigarette. Eric parked the car and immediately turned to properly acknowledge Rachel. She gave him a warm smile as tears rolled down her face. She squeezed the hand with which he’d cupped her face and signaled that they should go in. As Eric and Ryan stepped outside, Rachel placed her cup and bible in her bag and lifted her eyes to the car roof.

“It shall be well with Eric and his household, in Your name Lord”, she whispered as she stepped out of the car.

When they stepped inside the hospital, it was almost too quiet and Dr. Shell was leaning over the counter, speaking to a nurse who looked sleepy. She was glued to her screen as she typed too fast on her keyboard. Ryan murmured a ‘woah’ and Rachel pushed him playfully as a warning.

“Eric. Hey. They’re still in surgery but nothing has gone wrong so far. Fortunately, they were hit just around the corner down the road so they hadn’t lost too much blood. Your mother flew out of the passenger’s seat and landed on the grass over the guardrail but…”

Eric looked up at the doctor when he stopped talking.

“And Dad?” tears were streaming down the young man’s face as Rachel held onto his right arm.

The doctor ushered him away from the nurse as if she wasn’t allowed to hear what he would say next. The kids followed him with anticipation.

“Doc, you said they’re both alive still. How’s Dad?”

“He’s the one whose condition is tricky. There was a part of the car that rammed into his groin, and it got real close to his hip bone. But like I said, they got here quick enough. The trauma team was alert so we’ll just wait for the surgeons to give us an update. I’m sorry Eric. I’m glad you have your people with you. I’ll be back to check on you, I need to go back in in case they need anything from the supply room.”

The doctor gave all three, young adults a reassuring look before he left them. Rachel fell on her knees beside Eric, who had taken a seat and was staring at one place. Ryan took the car keys from Eric and ran back to the car.

“I’m so sorry, babe. I’m sorry”, Rachel whispered and embraced him. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and felt grateful that she was there. She carried a warmth that had instigated their friendship and later inspired their romantic relationship. She operated with a calmness he couldn’t explain but knew he needed, and unforeseen circumstances such as this one confirmed that for him.

“Rach, what would I do without them? Like, I’m not even sure I can handle going to college in a different state. They’re my whole life, I can’t...” he sniffled and Rachel embraced him again. She began to pray over him in that moment and Eric kept his eyes closed. Usually, when she prayed he’d get lost in the smell of her perfume or the apple flavored shampoo she used on her hair, but today he listened. Every word she spoke, he latched onto and in minutes he was on the ground with her. On their knees, in the reception area, they prayed.

Rachel let him go and raised both her hands as she prayed on and Eric lay on his stomach. The nurse joined them a few minutes later and Rachel gave her a smile as she continued. The sound of their voices filled the room and overpowered the vending machines and beeping monitors in the distance.

Eric slowly rose from the ground as Ryan walked in. Eric’s eyes were open and he summoned his friend. As Ryan walked to him he suddenly stopped, locking eyes with Eric and then began to cry. Eric paced to him and caught Ryan, and they sank to the floor, wailing. Eric began to pray over Ryan and placed both of his hands on his friend’s face. Rachel stood behind Ryan with her arms still outstretched and continued praying. Eric gained courage and began to speak out…

“We need You Jesus! We need You! Please help us!”

Dr. Shell and another doctor who had on scrubs walked out of the operating room and could hear the youngsters. They assumed the noise meant one of the kids was in trouble or another emergency case had just arrived so they ran down the rest of the hallway toward the reception area. When Dr. Shell spotted Eric and Rachel with their tearful faces, pacing the reception floors, he smiled in admiration and ran to embrace his friend’s son.

“They’re gonna be just fine, son. Both of them”, he murmured and held onto the boy.