Magic Carpet

• Erica Baker, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2013

We wheeled her in on the gurney; what used to be clean stainless steel now filthy with her dried, crusted blood. We pushed her through a pair of squeaky doors and were greeted by a mass of yelling voices. We turned a corner and entered the operating theatre. What was left of the Girl was moaning and crying in pain as nurses moved her onto the operating table. They inserted a drip and started monitoring her heart rate. She’s a mess; several limbs are bent at very unnatural angles, her whole body is a bruise from the impact, and the amount of blood lost is horrific; if we weighed her she couldn’t have been more than 40 kilos. The doctors and I exchanged glances, all of us thinking the same thought, the same question: Could we save her?
The feeling of movement wakes me, as if I am floating on a magic carpet. The yelling of numerous people is next, shouting over each other to be heard, but ultimately turning into gibberish. And then the pain, oh, it welcomes me with open arms, causing me to start the waterworks. A white ceiling races past me and I momentarily feel like a race car driver, seeing just a blur of movements, motions. The magic carpet Holts, and I feel my body being shifted, causing another wave of pain. Behind the pain I barely feeling the poking and prodding of needles. That is when I realise I’m in a Hospital. But what is wrong with me? I look down to find a bruised and bloodied me, and I shriek out of my sore throat. I look like I’ve been run over by a tractor, then been put through the meat grinder a few times. The pain is so overwhelming I faint, but not before hearing the words: She’s not going to make it.
Her heart rate is now dramatically low, and she fainted moments ago. My thoughts were voiced by another nurse, she won’t make it. But we had to try. We operated on her, but the internal bleeding was too great. There was no bone, muscle, organ or tendon had been spared. Her heart flat lined and we raced for the defibrillator, but it was to late, there was nothing that we could do. We stopped the blood transfusion, and sat there watching this once beautiful girl. Later we would have to tell her family, that there was nothing we could do, and later again we had to try to convince ourselves.
The dream came and left quickly. I saw my family, my friends, even my dog; but whoever said you had a flashback of your life right before death had lied; no flashback came. But I was glad; my life had been heart-wrenchingly difficult, and filled with sorrow. But I knew this was the end. I said goodbye to all my friends and family; and then finally to myself; then I was whisked away on an actual magic carpet.