Renunciation

Again, I feel this is not my best but I am open to suggestions

A

car horn, a scream, a burning light and a smash. These were the images that appeared in Tony’s mind as he came round. In front of his already-blurred vision was the pale face of a girl, a girl who was not in his Jeep but was trapped in the piece of metal that had folded around it. She would have been so pretty had it not been for the bleeding gash in her head, her almost-backward arm and her loosely open jaw, head lolling on a part of the wreckage that once had been a steering wheel. He heard sirens and, for the first time, noticed the bottle by his feet as flashing lights appeared and he fell unconscious.

As a floating sensation lifted Sophie upwards, thoughts began drifting through her mind. Where was she going? Why? How? In the back of her mind, something seemed... not right. Yet, something else told her this was absolutely right, that there was something that needed to be done and she wouldn't be able to rest until it had been done. There was a bright white light right in front of her and she heard a voice from behind faintly saying, “No! Sophie!” But she realised that no-one was behind her and decided something was most definitely wrong. The only way for her to go now was through the light so she took the final step – then plummeted into darkness. Sophie heard a clock strike. Thirteen chimes. Then the light came back and, although it seemed relatively normal, it felt almost as if the brightness had been turned up just a little too much. 'How odd,' Sophie thought. At that moment she was lifted, carried away on a gust of wind into a little park with a slide and swing set.

The paramedics did everything they could for the girl, whose driver’s licence identified her as Sophie Thorn, and had tried many times to resuscitate her, but to no avail. She was effectively dead on arrival at Goldfield General Hospital, realised Dr Manfred Jackson, a close colleague of her husband. When Dr Jackson saw her arrive he had rushed to make sure Dr Thorn wasn’t called to declare his own wife brain-dead, but once Manfred had done the job Nathan Thorn was immediately paged to be at his wife’s side by the life support machine. There was nothing more they could do for her.

Nathan was angry, so angry, at the drunken mongrel who had done this to her and was now in a ward less than fifty metres away. He should have been the one to die, not her. According to the receipts in his wallet, all Tony Sage did was go out drinking every night with his mates yet in the accident all he had suffered was more damage to his already-punished liver. Death just wasn’t fair.

“Dr Thorn?” Karen, one of his favourite nurses, popped her head round the door. “I know this probably isn’t something you want to think about right now, but-”

Nathan sighed, he knew this was coming. Karen continued with caution, “Sophie’s driver’s licence…”

“No,” he started softly at first. “No. You can’t have them.”

“But there’s a man who’s just come in, desperately needs a transplant. He was in a horrific crash…”

“No. He can’t have her organs, they belong to her. No-one can have them.” He slowly stood up and walked to the door. “You, don’t touch her. Leave her. She’s mine.” As he pushed past the nurse, her clipboard fell – the clipboard on which the name of the man who needed the liver was written.

TONY SAGE

* * * * * * * * * * *

The man who had killed her. They dared ask him if he would let his wife’s organs go to the reckless, drunken savage that had killed her? No way. Not until hell froze over would he let that happen.

“Do you know who this man is, Karen?”

“No, all I know is that he needs a liver – Sophie’s liver.” At this, Nathan turned to face her with a menacing look. How dare she be so ignorant?

“This man. He’s a drunken fool. The drunken fool. The one that smashed into her car at 120 kilometres an hour and killed her. And here you are asking me to give him her liver, when he destroyed his own going out boozing every night? Not happening. There’s not a chance.” Karen looked shocked and immediately her tone changed. Sophie had always been cheerful and friendly to her and didn’t deserve to die at the hands of a reckless drunk. It just wasn’t right.

“I’m sorry, Nathan. I didn’t know. I agree – he doesn’t deserve it. But we have a duty of care. We have to try and save him, no matter how we feel. What about your Hippocratic Oath? And Sophie is the only one who can save him. Since it says ‘Donor’ on her licence, we have to respect those wishes. Her wishes.”

“Like hell.” He had had enough of this charade. There was no way her organs were going to that… that… that monster. He walked slowly back to his wife’s bedside, gave her a kiss and flicked the switch before Karen could do anything about it. She ran out of the room to get help and as she was on her way back, Nathan pushed past her.

“I would have done it too,” she whispered, a small gift to a man who had just lost everything.

Reviews

[Rhan F. Sydney]

Please continue. I am absolutely facinated. The tonal quality is good, there are bits that sit funnily in places, but over all very well done.