Chapter 7

As Rosalie makes her way up the stairs, she bumps into the shy girl from earlier. Rosalie waves as she follows up regarding the shift.

"Hey, how are things for you so far?"

"They're not as bad as I thought. Most of the patients are very nice."

"Yeah, sounds about right. Are you going to the east wing for second wave?"

The girl nods in accordance.

"Great, then we can walk there together!" The girls smiles as she walks alongside Rosalie to the east side of the facility. The rooms on this side are surprisingly a bit different from the wings on the west side. The lights are lower, and the atmosphere is quieter. The shy girl grows nervous as she takes note of the difference in temperament. As Rosalie makes way to her first door, she is greeted by an older man who stands near a plant with a watering kettle.

"Ah, come in dear." He utters.

Rosalie works her way indoors and closes the door behind her. The man continues to water the plant in silence before working his way on to a couch. He pats the area next to him indicating the Rosalie could have a seat. She approaches hesitantly before sitting down in agreement.

"So, what's your name?"

"Rosalie" She utters nervously.

"Pretty name." The man pauses to reflect. I knew a Rosalie when I was over in Korea. Pretty Asian woman. Not sure if it was her real name or not. The man pauses. Now, I get to know two pretty women names Rosalie." He gloats.

Rosalie smiles before offering gratitude. "Thank you."

"For what?" The old man inquires.

"Well, for complimenting me, but also, for not emphasizing my race."

"What's that now? Why would I emphasize your race?"

"Well, because you mentioned the Asian woman."

"Because I was talking about an entirely different country!" The man teases. I mentioned her ethnicity to indicate that she wasn't American." The man pauses to reflect for a moment. "I did 3 tours during my time in Korea. The highlight of my trip were the beautiful women who brought softness into my life. I had no time to focus on anything else. That remains the same til this day."

Rosalie grows shy, afraid that she's opened up a can of worms. "What, you don't trust that I can truly enjoy your company without malice? Where that's where you'll be wrong."

The old man folds his leg while resting his arms along the rim of the chair. "I have been with many woman in my lifetime. Learned something valuable from each of them."

Rosalie listens intently. "Dated this black girl in the 70's, she was a gorgeous dancer. We went out non stop. Couldn't get enough of each other. Some would say, she matched my jive. Hah!" The old man smirks as he begins to reminisce. Rosalie begins to grow comfortable enough to engage again.

"What was your most memorable experience?"

The man stops to reflect upon the question for a moment. Thinking back intently. After a moment of reflection, he answers.

"Most memorable would have to be in high school. I had this neighbor. She was a mystery really. Never saw her come or go. But at times, I would be mowing the lawn for my pops, and I would see her on her patio talking to blades of grass! Could you believe it?"

Rosalie's eyes widen as she listens carefully to the story. The man continues.

"When I saw her the first time, I was intrigued. By the second time, I was hooked. Third time? I was obsessed. I made it my mission to figure out what her deal was."

He pauses to reflect a bit more before continuing.

"I moved that lawn for 12 straight weeks before I found a way to talk to her. A peep hole in the fence. I was able to slide a note through it and check up on her. I won't even lie to her, the day I dropped that note on her lawn, I thought she was gonna tell her dad and have him tell mine. I was prepared for my butt to be ripe! But to my surprise, she took the note and hid it."

Rosalie continues to study the man with fixation, curious as to what he will say next.

"After that, I didn't see her again for a long while. She didn't come outside and talk to the grass anymore. It wasn't until fall that she finally resurfaced. I did my best to hide my fixation with her, so not to scare her off again. She came outside one day while I was in the shed, dropped a note through the peep hole, and disappeared before I could notice. Almost ate it up with my lawn edger. Luckily I saw it before I could. The note read: 'Please, send help.' I kid you not. That night, I debated on calling the police, or going over to handle it myself. Pride got the best of me and I decided to go myself. Took my hatchet from my Boy Scout's kit and paid the family a visit. Something told me not to ring the doorbell. So I went through the back. I knocked gently on the glass, when a little boy ran up to the window. He had these big sad eyes. I asked him to get his sister, but he was too afraid to leave my side. I asked him to open the door, and he did. When I want inside, it was a sight to behold. Several, large cages had been lined up along the living room. Inside the cages, several children in chains. With newspaper on the ground the catch feces."

Rosalie clasps her hands against her mouth in shock. The old man pauses for a moment to allow the tension to settle.

"Eventually, I realized it was bigger than me, bigger than her even, and finally called it in. Turns out, the girl was a hostage with more privileges than the rest of the captives. She was allowed to go as far as the backyard, so long as she didn't speak to strangers. He had those kids under such tight mental control. It nearly broke me to see inside that living room like that."

The old man pauses once more before concluding. "It was all over the news. Biggest trafficking Bust in the state of Montana." Before Rosalie could respond, the manager can be heard yelling "Switch!" Rosalie thanks the man for sharing his story. To which he leaves her with a final segment.

"Be thankful for your life kid. And pray for those who don't have the same rite of passage as you." He states firmly before pulling out his phone as he waits for the next Liaison.

Rosalie struggles to walk away from the man. Thought the connection was slow to get off the ground, he's managed to make the greatest impact on her. Rosalie continues to meet with patients throughout the shift, and eventually works her way to her final patient in room 1. Disappointed that she didn't get the experience she was hoping for with room 15, she hopes this final room can lead to redemption. As she knocks on the door, she enters the room that's laden with silence.

Rosalie works her way towards the bed that's covered with a privacy curtain. As she pokes her head around, she is shocked to find a young girl in the bed. The young girl is surrounded by both of her parents, who hold her hand encouragingly. As Rosalie locks eyes with the girl, her heart beat grows faint as her hands turn clammy. She then makes eye contact with the parents, who look at her with lifeless spirits. Rosalie's pulse begins to increase as she struggles to find the words. In bed, the little girls lies frail. With two coiled pigtails serving as a reminder of her youth and innocence. She gazes up at Roselie, barely able to speak.

"Story time?" The little girl manages to utter. The parents nod along to encourage Rosalie to try to engage. Rosalie lets out a large gulp before reassuring the child.

"Yes, story time."

Rosalie walks over to a counter to grab from a selection of books. A book titled "The light within you" catches her attention. She grabs it as she manages to take a seat beside the parents. Still nervous, Rosalie struggles to make out the words. She goes straight into reading, unable to muster up any formalities. The parents hold one another as they take turns applying a warm compress to the daughter's head.

"A light within you." Rosalie begins to read. She manages to utter the first sentence before she is hit by a violent flashback. She has a vision of her sister on life support. The heart monitor flashes as nurses rush in to take Erma into emergency surgery.

"No!" Rosalie can be seen screaming as she reaches for her sister who is just out of reach. Her parents do her best to hold her back, as Rosalie fights to break free from their grasp.

"Miss?" The mother of the child does her best to redirect Rosalie's attention.

"Uh, yes?" Rosalie attempts to redeem herself.

"Did you still want to read a story to our daughter."

Rosalie looks down at the girl, who looks to her hopefully, before looking down at the book in frustration. She pauses before closing the book. And finding a new found sense of strength.

"Yes, but if you don't mind, I'd like to share a selection I have off memory."

The parents look to one another before shrugging in agreement.

"She could use a change of scenery. We've been reading the same 10 stories to her already. I'm sure she'll enjoy it."

Rosalie nods and clears her throat before beginning. She notices the name tag on the child's bracelet. It reads "Emma".

"Hi Emma, I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to find a story. I'm Rosalie. And I have a bit of a tale for you."

"It's okay." Emma struggles to utter.

Rosalie begins to tell the story.

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl, who came from a land not too far away."

The parents look at each other and arch their eyebrows before sitting down to hear the story too.

"The little girl was brave, and kind. She would befriend Ferrets and Salamanders. She saw value in every life, every breath."

The parents smile as they reach to embrace their daughter.

"Sounds like you baby." The mother whispers. The girl returns a faint smile.

Rosalie continues. "The girl was the pride and joy of her family. Every rooms she enter, she lit up with love and laughter. But one day, an unexpected villain moved next door to her. The villain was stealthy. First, he took her vitality. The little girl could no longer focus on school. Causing her to stay home more and more. Then, he took her strength. The little girl found it hard to get more than a few steps in after doing brief exercise. And last, he took her hope. The little girl, usually full of dreams and aspirations, suddenly found herself unable to dream."

The parents look to one another, knowingly, aware of where the story was going. Their eyes fill with tears as they continue to listen along. The girl's family, desperate to defeat the villain, did everything in their power to find a way to stop him. They traveled to villages far and wide, asking some of the best super heroes for help. But no matter how willing, no one could find a way to defeat the villain. Then, one day the villain came with plans to take the little girl away from her family. But the little girl was smart. She came up with a strategy to outsmart the villain. She left behind a piece of her heart before agreeing to leave with the villain. And through this piece of her heart, her family would always be able to feel her, no matter how far the villain tried to take her. "

Rosalie pauses, as she begins to choke up. The little girl looks to Rosalie, fully invested in the story.

"What happens next?" She inquires weakly.

Rosalie clears her throat before summarizing her story.

"In the end, the villain thought he won, since he was able to take that little girl away. But in the end she won, because she managed to change her family forever. Because of her brave sacrifice, she taught her family to leave a piece of their hearts wherever they go now. Especially her little sister."

"Woah, she sounds brave!" The little girl does her best to exclaim.

"You are Erma." Rosalie accidentally utters before catching herself. Tears fall to her eyes as she attempts to correct herself. "I mean, Emma." The parents look onto Rosalie with compassion, understanding that she has been through her own personal war in regard to health complications. The mother stands to hug Rosalie, catching her off guard.

"Thank you." She whispers. Hiding her tears within the sleeve of Rosalie's shirt. "And Erma sounded incredibly brave." The mother added, before returning to support her husband and daughter. The manager enters the room carefully to check on Rosalie, only to find her eyes puffy.

"Yeah, this room will do that to you." He whispers. "Ready to go kiddo?" Rosalie nods as she joins her coworkers in the hallway. The manager waits for everyone to join closely together before providing closing instructions.

"Okay everyone, great job! The patient's are surprisingly pleased with today's group. We will gladly escort you all to your lockers after you update a brief progress note for all of your cases today. When you're finished, line against the wall so I know who's ready to go."

Rosalie finds her way to a kiosk station and proceeds to enter notes. Memories of her final visit infiltrate her mind. She somehow finds a way to finish in a timely manner before standing against the wall with several others. The manager approaches the group.

"Alright, you guys will be the first to be released. Follow me."

He leads the group down the stairs as the other employees finish their progress notes. Rosalie passes by the shy girl who gives her a demure glance before looking down bashfully. Rosalie pats her on the shoulder. "This goes for today, forward too. Keep making her proud."

The girl smiles as Rosalie makes her way out of the hallway. She follows the small group into the locker room, where Rodrigo can be seen waiting. He immediately stands and grins widely. She suddenly remembers the agreement she made to him, and grows anxious trying to keep her word. To her surprise, Rodrigo already has a hunch of what's got her down.

"How was room 1?" He inquires. Rosalie turns around in shock. You, you know about Emma?"

"Shh, keep your voice down." He whispers gently before looking around and pulling her to the side.

"Emma is everyone's baby. We all know about her. And don't worry, she gets the best of all of us. When my grandma died, I found myself visiting her room a lot more often. I wasn't fully clear to do Liaison work yet. So instead, I would keep going in the room every lunch break and offer her family snacks and refreshments. They got tired of seeing my face after a while. But I couldn't help it. I missed my nonnie too much."

Rosalie's eyes soften towards Rodrigo as she experiences new found empathy towards him. She turns to unlock her locker before attempting to keep her promise.

"So, did you still want my number?" She utters, with her back turned. Rodrigo's eyes light up as he quickly pulls out his phone.