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.I was currently unable to express my gratitude, but I would make that up to her later.Alex was the second caller.She had listened to her answering machine and called me back immediately.It was a rare moment when Alex couldn’t find words.Never had I yearned more for her incessant chattering.A couple of minutes later Eva was on the line.She felt terrible she had turned her phone off tonight, of all nights, and said my mother and I were in her thoughts.I was a poor conversationalist for all three, though.My mouth repeated the pittance of information I had, like a tape recorder, and I could hardly remember what any of them had said.Soon we started seeing the first exit signs for Neustadt.My hands clenched tighter.The seconds passed torturously slowly.Ingo’s call, whether of salvation or doom, never came.Elyas looked at me.He was probably wishing I would talk to break the silence.But I couldn’t.Then it happened.The noise I had waited so long to hear: Elyas’s cell phone rang.My heart stopped—and then began racing at twice the speed.Maybe not knowing was better than knowing.I looked at Elyas, whose face remained expressionless as he answered the phone.Unlike me he was able to pull himself together.He cleared his throat and answered.“Yes?”Silence.“Uh-huh.”“Hmm.”“Good.”I hung on his every word, searching for the slightest clue.Even a tiny twitch that might point to good news.But I couldn’t decipher anything.“No, we’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”“OK, thanks.”“Bye.”Elyas hung up.Mom can’t be dead, I chanted as a silent mantra until Elyas started talking.“Your mother made it through surgery, and Ingo sounds very optimistic.”I stared at him.“She.she’s.going.to be OK?” I asked deliriously.“Things look good.She’s going to pull through,” Elyas said, smiling, turning me into the happiest, most stunned human being on earth.I shook my head and smiled.I took several deep breaths, and buried my face with relief in my hands.I was going to see my mother again.I hadn’t lost her.Elyas put his hand on my back, giving final confirmation that I had truly not misheard him.“Ingo will be waiting for you at the main entrance,” he said after a while.When I looked out the windshield, I realized we were driving through the parking lot in front of the hospital.I could see Ingo waiting as promised in front of the main entrance.What had I done to deserve so many people taking such good care of me? I would be eternally grateful.The car slowed to a stop.Ingo ran over and opened my door for me, took my hand, and helped me out of the car.“You must be in total shock, Sweet Pea,” he said, gently holding my cheeks in his hands.“You’ll be wanting to see your mother right away,” he said, letting go and looking keenly in my eyes.I nodded, which is all I was able to do.Ingo leaned through the open car door to talk to Elyas as I looked up at the hospital.What was awaiting me inside? What condition was I about to find my mother in? How severe were her injuries? Would I be able to see them?“Thank you for driving her,” I heard Ingo saying.“Your mother is waiting for you at home; I called her to let her know the good news.She made your old bed for you.You’d better get some sleep before driving back to Berlin.” Ingo smiled at his son, closed the door, and knocked on the roof of the car.Then he put his hand on my back and guided me into the building.I turned around when I heard the roar of the engine behind us.Elyas was already driving off.“Elyas.” I put my hand over my mouth.“I didn’t even thank him.”Ingo took my shoulder and led me in.“Don’t worry about that.He understands.You’ll have a chance to thank him later.”It wasn’t right getting out of the car without saying thanks, not that it would have been sufficient anyway.By the time we reached the elevator, though, a switch had flipped in my head.All I could think about were my parents.The nurses put me into a green surgical gown and green shoe covers before we entered the ICU corridor.The bare walls, sterile floor, smell of disinfectants—they made me queasy.This was a place no one entered who didn’t have to.After we had walked halfway down the corridor, Ingo opened the door to a room.I took a deep breath and followed him in.Then I saw her.My mother.I stared at her for a long time as the penetrating, rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor echoed through the room.It was almost hypnotic.Her body was littered with tubes.Some ended at devices, some in little vessels, some in IV bags [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]