one of us

I like to watch the shadows playing in the park built on the old Jewish cemetery in the evenings. I wonder if it's just the trees playing, or if those who have passed away are watching us. Despite the removal of the tombstones decades ago, whether they're still waiting for us, trying to help or harm us. I can't answer that; I haven't experienced anything extraordinary in my life.

Jan was one of us. An ordinary man in a gray coat. Elegant shoes bought at Bata rustled among the dead leaves. He walked slowly, passing benches lulled by the sleepy glow of the streetlamps.

The girl was a picture from another story. She ran up and, blushing, asked,

"Could you help your mother?

" "What happened?

" "Someone beat her; she's lying there, at the intersection of the paths. Behind the tree.

" "How did it happen?

" "I don't know." I ran away and waited for them to leave.

He followed the child. The wind was blowing quite hard. He played with the treetops, so the shadows they cast danced a ghostly dance. It was a full moon.

"Madam!"

He approached the woman. She was half-dressed, her dress and blouse covered in dried blood.

"Madam!

" He looked around. The child was gone. He thought she had hidden upon seeing the woman. That wasn't important now. He knew what to do. He squeezed her finger tightly. The grimace on his face showed he was feeling. He checked her breathing, her pulse. Present. Alive.

The doctor was tired. 18 hours of work was too much. And he still had to survive until morning and perform three surgeries tomorrow. He was exhausted. Two accident victims had drained every last shred of compassion from him. Torn faces and limbs are not a pleasant sight. He was tough, he fought like a lion. But even a lion's hand trembles when they write down two deaths at once.

The phone roused him from his lethargy.

"Doctor, a man has brought in a bloodied woman. Should I call the police?"

"Yes, please do that. I'll be down in a moment."

He asked himself the same questions again. "Why him again? Why doesn't this happen to anyone else? Why do other nurses screw over on night shifts, but he's the one who gets the nightmares?"

The doors creaked the same no matter the time of day, but at night, the screech of unoiled machinery sent shivers down your spine. Then the stairs. He knew them; he could walk them with his eyes closed, even in the dark, pinpointing every crack. Then a long corridor.

"Doctor, please, quickly. Some lunatic raped a woman and tried to butcher her. "

The nurse's face showed no sign of distress. Even this woman, accustomed to all sorts of horrors, couldn't bear the sight.

"You called the police.

" "Doctor, to those lunatics. Before they accept the order, the woman will bleed to death."

He rushed in and began his examination.

"Who are you?"

"She's nothing to her. I found her in the park.

" "When was that?

" "About five minutes ago.

" "Why didn't you call an ambulance?

" "I'm a doctor. I know how it is with ambulances. I thought I could get her there faster in my own car. "

The nurse finished taking her blood pressure and pulse.

"Blood pressure 70 on the undetectable side, pulse 150 per minute.

" "Please insert an IV and connect crystalloids. Take a complete blood count, biochemistry, cross-reactive protein, and order 4 units of blood. Please call the anesthesiologist and the head of the department. He's on call today. You're a surgeon.

" "No, an infectious disease specialist.

" "I need assistance. The woman will be dead before the boss arrives. May I ask for your help?

" "If I could help, I'd be happy to, but I haven't assisted in over 10 years. Most recently, during my postgraduate internship, and even then, not much.

" "Please, come with me."

He's quick, without words. The anesthesiologist intubated him almost instantly. They began the operation. The surgeon had efficient hands. He was a kind man, a professional. He told the infectious disease specialist when to grab, when to let go, and where to hold the hook.

"You work at the Clinic.

" "I worked there for a few years.

" "Excuse me, my name is Roman, I like to talk while they operate; it makes the procedure go faster. Hold here.

" "No problem.

" "You got a better job.

" "My boss fired me because I asked for an internship after eight years of work.

" "Oh, that hurts..." "And now.

" "I spent six months completing my specialization as a volunteer and have been working in England for two.

" "How's it going?

" "It's tough. It's a different country, a different language.

" "You work in the infectious disease ward.

" "I'd like to, but I'm in a private hospital as a surgical resuscitation specialist. It's mainly surgery.

" "You operate.

" "No, I care for patients after procedures. If something happens, I call a consultant. I draw blood, insert intravenous catheters."

The surgeon was stitching up more wounds; they were deep. They talked for quite a while before the head doctor arrived.

"Dr. Kowalski, why did you take this man for surgery

?" He said he was a doctor, but I needed someone to assist. Mr. Head Doctor lives a short distance from the hospital, and the woman needed to be cut open urgently.

"Come on, Kowalski, give it to me. You'll have to leave the table. The police want to talk to you.

" "So, why did you chop up this woman? You like to bully her.

" "That's absurd. I brought her because she needed help.

" "Why were you in the park?

" "When I worked in Poland, I used to walk there in the evenings.

" "So now you're working abroad.

" "Frankly, I'm not working, I'm changing jobs.

" "You're up to something.

" "And do you see anyone here besides me?"

The policeman was playing tough.

"You dude, don't act like you're going to get a real good time. You think that just because you come from abroad, you don't have to speak politely to the authorities.

" "And where do you see her?"

The door opened. The investigator walked in.

"Hi Jan.

" "Hi Darek. Save me from this idiot.

" "No problem."

He met her two days later. She was sitting bandaged up on the bed.

" "I wanted to thank you," she said. "How did you find me there?

" A girl ran up to me. She said someone had beaten her mother.

"That's impossible. I'm not a daughter's mother.

" It was a little girl, about seven years old. She had blonde hair in two pigtails. She was wearing a green jacket.

The woman didn't answer, turned her face away, and started crying. He felt uncomfortable. He left.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm Julia's mother. I wanted to thank you again.

" "Doesn't your daughter have any children?

" "She had a daughter. She died in a car accident." A drunk driver hit her on the side of the road. On the day she died, she looked exactly as you described.

I enjoy night walks. They help me appreciate solitude. Tame it, adapt it to the desires of a lonely heart. With each drop of rain slowly falling on my face, I remember how easy it is to lose everything and how difficult it is to forget everything. The past has a way of playing tricks on us. It catches up with us in the most inaccessible places and at the most unexpected times. And all that's left is to dream that it will bring us even a little happiness.