It was a quiet night at the hospital, she was at the ward where they kept all their critically ill patients. She didn’t mind this part of the job really, mostly they were all ready to go. They had been in pain for so long or just in so much pain for the time they had been ill that the idea of death was a relief.
She was young the first girl of the night, barely in her late twenties, but she had been fighting cancer since she was only eight. She was a miracle child several times over, but now, now her body simply didn’t have anything else to fight with.
“It’s you..”
“Like I promised, all those years ago.”
“It is time, isn’t it?”
“Yes, you have fought so hard, but there is no more fight left to do now.”
“That’s okay, I am good to go.”
Nat smiled, putting her hand on her forehead.
“Then, you can let go, and I’ll show you the way.”
There was one last breath from the female, before the monitor’s started to beep, the lines going flat.
“So, where do I go now.”
“Now, you get to see what comes after and I promise you it is nothing to worry about.”
“I’m not worried, I not felt this good since I was five.”
Nat smiled, she had always liked her and they had so many meetings over the years, that it felt like meeting a friend. As she watched her cross over, she gave her a wave, knowing at some point, their paths would probably cross once more.
“And now young lady.. it is you and me.”
“What did you do to the other lady?”
“I helped her cross over.”
“Oh.. she died?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Are you an angel?”
“Well some would call me that, but I am not what you would call an angel.”
“Oh..”
“So, how about you and I go sit outside this stuffy old room, and we can talk.”
“I’m dead aren’t I?”
“Dying, yes.”
“Okay..”
She took the young girl out from the room with her, not letting her look at the bed where her body was lying. With children, their souls could sometimes leave before a heart stopped beating.
“Can I go back?”
“No.”
“So… I am dead?”
“Almost.”
“Is it scary?”
“No, and I will follow you where we are going.”
“How about my parents?”
“They will miss you, but you shouldn’t stay for them.”
“I can stay?”
“Yes, but you would be a ghost, like the stories.”
“Oh.. a good ghost?”
“For a while maybe, but in the end, you would become one of those ghosts you hear about in the media.”
“Oh..”
She could probably have said many things, but if there was one thing Nat had learned over the years, it was that being honest helped people far more than anything else.
“So, I have to leave them?”
“You can stay, but it wouldn’t help them or you.”
“What happens if I go with you.”
“Then you get to move on, see and try new things.”
“Okay, and you will go with me?”
“Every step of the way.”
“Okay, let’s go then.”
Nat pulled the little girl up, and swung her over her shoulders.
“Off we go then little lady!”
Her ears where filled with cheerful laughter as they exited the hospital and vanished from this realm. Nat keeping her word to follow her all the way. Her father would scowl at her of course, but she had long ago made it clear that she would do this job her way. And meetings like the two she had today, just made that choice worth it.
As she returned home for the evening, she knew she would have to travel soon, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Still she knew what would happen if she didn’t so she would go, like so many times before.
“Round.. ehm”
She chuckled, she had finally lost count of how many times it had been.