Extract :
“Who’s the new patient, nurse?” Melanie asked, as the
nurse handed her the medication to be taken at this
hour.
“We have Azul on the other side this curtain.”
The amusement in the nurse’s voice could easily be
heard. “He is one of our most frequent visitors this
year.”
“Really?” Melanie was curious. “What is he
suffering from that brings him here so frequently? Will
he survive the disease?”
The nurse looked around and
lowered her voice to a whis-per. “I’m not supposed to
tell this you know.” The nurse smiled mischievously
before adding, “I think he is sick of life and is
suffering from the drudgery of it. He’s here almost
every other month because he attempts suicide and then
chickens out at the last moment.” The nurse spoke as if
she was talking about someone suffering from frequent
bouts of the common cold.
“What?!” Melanie’s eyes
widened as she looked surprised. Someone attempting
suicide was more difficult for her to swallow than the
six medication pills she just had. “Why would anyone try
to take one’s own life? We get just one life to live,
and rather than living it, here are people who want to
end it?”
