Shaccid’s Strength

Chapter 1

Mizael had come home on Thursday, June 26^th at 10:30 pm and had found his wife lying on a couch, curled up in a fetal position, experiencing excruciating pain on her chest and upper back. Her pale complexion and sunken eyes reveled many sleepless nights. When she saw Mizael walk in the door her first reaction was to look at his hands in search of the bottle of beer. When she confirmed her suspicions her gaze dropped with disappointment. Would he ever change? Does he even care that I am sick? Why does he always have to show up after work drunk?

Mizael had become a heavy drinker almost right after they had eloped ten years before. His excuse was that everyone at work drank beer to relax after a long day of intensive labor. So his rational was that there was nothing wrong with drinking some beers, plus he didn’t want to be left behind. Everyone always drank at work and their wives never had any problem. Why did his wife always have to argue about the same thing over and over? He was often to busy drinking with his buddies that he seldom had time for Shaccid anymore. As years past by the drinking became a big problem and there was many arguments over Mizael’s drinking habits. But, none of this mattered because Shaccid loved this man and she was going to make it work no matter what.

“What’s the matter my love?” a worried look came over Mizael as he came close to Shaccid. The smell of liquor and smoke penetrated his body. Suddenly, the buzz went away when something within told him things didn’t seem the same. His wife’s fragile body and teary eyes said more than words could ever.

“My left side is hurting really bad”, Shaccid said placing her hand over her left side and rubbed it in a circular motion. Shaccid was taking big breaths because she felt as though an elephant was sitting on her chest. She had spent her afternoon in front of the air cooler hoping this would help her breath. A typical heavy smoker she had not smoked all week because every time she tried to give a puff the chest pain became so intense that it would bring tears to her eyes.

Mizael looked intently at the floor while moving his feet back and forth as if moving some object out of his way. He seemed to be numb as his gaze was stern as he thought of what he needed to be done next. Finally after a long pause he said “Do you want to go to the hospital?” with a breeze of panic in his voice.

But, Mizael didn’t want to start another argument. Shaccid and Mizael had had many disagreements when it came to going to the hospital or even the doctor for that fact. Shaccid was an illegal immigrant from Mexico with no health insurance. And even when she decided to go to the local health care facilities they didn’t always give the best care. There was no way she could travel to the city to see the doctor because there was boarder patrol check points that would prevent her from coming home and this obstacle alone made her skin crawl. Every time she scheduled an appointment to see the doctor it was very expensive and even though Mizael made good money. She always worried about the cost of the appointment and medication.

“No, no. I just want to go to bed. I’m very exhausted. The girls have been acting up all week and all I need is some peace and quiet”. They stood up from the couch and headed towards the bedroom. Shaccid sat on the edge of the bed and took more deep breaths. She didn’t want her husband to worry so she decided to lay by his side.

As soon as she knew that he had fallen asleep she propped her pillow and sat up. This had been the only way she could breathe for the past week. She had spent many nights sitting on the living room couch with a pillow on her lap using occasionally when her body was too exhausted to fight the pain or sleep.

She gradually got up from the bed and grabbed her pillow then walked to the living room where she sat down on her favorite couch. She placed he pillow in her lap positioning her head on the pillow. Shaccid had been coughing up blood sense Wednesday but didn’t want to tell anyone; knowing that her family especially her husband would become worried and take her to the hospital. Honestly she was afraid of ending up in the hospital and not having money to pay her medical bills.

She also silently feared what the doctors had to say or what they might find. She had just traveled to Mexico the summer before when her father died; being with him until he gave his last breath as lung cancer claimed his life. It had taken the funeral home four hours to arrive and the entire family had taken it hard, especially because the smell of the corpse had become overpowering. Shaccid had taken it hard knowing that she had to return to the U.S. and leave her elderly mother by herself.

The night seemed eternal as she watched the clock move in slow motion. At one o’clock she looked up from her pillow. Shaccid had felt a presence but never a feeling of alarm. Who is it? What do they want? Shaccid quickly sat up. Her eyes widened as she saw her father’s face that had died almost a year ago and silently wondered, “Is this real”. His death had been very difficult to cope with but his presence was there. His sweat face and the warm sensation of her father’s presence was inviting, inviting her to come with him. All night Pedro had called his daughter to join him. His hands moved forward and back slowly motioning her to follow him. She desperately wanted to join him. Life had been so overwhelming and all she wanted was the pain to go away. His presence was so soothing and all she sought was eternal harmony. Never once did fear dominate her thoughts, not even the thought of death. Shaccid was ready to join her father in eternal peace. The thought of her children and husband came to her mind as she tensed. Then she reassured herself that everything would be okay. Her husband and children would take care of each other if she was ever to die.

Chapter 2

On Friday, June 27^th Shaccid’s pain became so intense that leaving her home seemed impossible. Every Friday Mizael would take Shaccid and the girl’s grocery shopping at the local market and to any appointment she might have scheduled. But, today was different. Shaccid didn’t want to leave her home. She was feeling miserable from the pain, the last thing she wanted to do was grocery shopping or anything else for that matter.

Early that morning that telephone rang. “Hello” answered Shaccid. She had woken up early to make herself a cup of tea even though she wasn’t feeling good. Her mother-in-law, Rut had always recommended bay leave tea for the pain caused by indigestion. Rut believed that Shaccid may be suffering from chronic indigestion and that the homeopathic remedy of bay leave tea would solve the problem. After a moment of thought she refocused on the call. On the other side of the line was her daughter squeaky voice.

“Mommy, I want to come home” Sujey responded in a teary voice to her mothers greeting. Sujey had called Shaccid because she wanted to come home immediately from a trip to Mexico. Sujey was five years old and had decided that she was going on a vacation with her cousins America, Zoraida and Sajid the week before. Her cousins had been in Mexico for over seven weeks and had called to invite Sujey for a week of fun and adventure. But, the week had turned into a nightmare because Zoraida had been teasing Sujey. Zoraida told Sujey numerous times that her mother was going to die. Sujey was so hurt that all she could do was cry uncontrollably. There was no changing her mind once she dialed her mommy’s phone number and she was to arrive on Sunday.

After hanging up the telephone Shaccid plopped down on the couch. Boy, the entire week had been from hell. What else was going to happen? What else could possibly go wrong? As short tempered as she was, anger crept up quickly and Shaccid decided to give her sister-in-law, Iadara a call. Just to let her know how her children were misbehaving and that something better be done about this. Shaccid knew that the damage was done but, Zoraida couldn’t get away with it.

It took her several minutes to locate the telephone. She searched everywhere and did not find the phone; most of it was her frustration of the events that had taken place during the week. Shaccid finally gave up the search and decided to call from the bedroom phone, it rang and rang. After what seemed as an eternity she found the cordless telephone under her favorite couch. Maybe she had placed the phone there without realizing it. Well it didn’t really matter anymore because she was calling using the bedroom telephone. She finally gave up on the old phone hanging up and switching phones.

Again, without hesitation, Shaccid marked the telephone number she knew by heart. Ring, ring, ring, ring after the fourth time Iadara answered the phone “Bueno”.

“Listen Iadara, I just got a call from Sujey. She is really upset. Apparently, Zoraida has been giving her a hard time. She is saying that I am going to die”, without any greeting whatsoever.

Speechless Iadara was not sure what to respond. Forget the greetings thought Iadara. She thought for a couple of seconds before replying. Shaccid sounded very upset and she personally did not want to rock her boat. “Well, I am sorry to hear that. I will call my sister-in-law, Margarita and have her scold Zoraida. I don’t know where she came up with all of this. I am deeply sorry. I will take care of this immediately.”

Iadara hung up the phone. The more she thought about it the angrier she became. Zoraida’s behavior was not acceptable. She was in deep shit with mom and dad when she got back. What the hell was she thinking when she said all that shit?

Iadara searched for a calling card. When she came upon one she picked up the telephone and marked the toll free number followed by international number 0115214712893. The phone began to ring. Iadara was growing inpatient because she had little tolerance for mischievous children. There was nothing she hated the most than kiddoes that were spiteful. In her point of view, this was a perfect example of a “malicious” child. She was determined to get to the bottom of the problem before it swung out of control.

“Hola” the voice on the other end of the line answered. It was Margarita.

“Hey, Margarita, I would really like to speak to my precious daughter Zoraida” with a sarcastic tone of voice.

Without hesitation Margarita answered “Okay”. Margarita had known Iadara for fourteen years. The no nonsense straightforward tone of voice said it all. She knew exactly why Iadara was calling. She put the phone down and yelled out “Zoraida, your mom wants to talk to you”.

Zoraida was in the bedroom playing cards with her cousin when aunt Margarita called her to the kitchen. Her aunt’s intonation was serious so she quickly jumped off the bed and headed towards the kitchen where her aunt was holding the phone. She had already been scolded all day and knew who wanted to speak to her on the telephone.

Fearful, Zoraida took the telephone from Aunt Margarita’s hand. “Hello”, she replied with caution.

“What the hell were you thinking when you told Sujey her mom was going to die”, Iadara shouted without a moment to lose.

“I don’t know mommy. I was just playing….” Her voice trailed off. “I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. I was just teasing”.

“Well, let me tell you something young lady. You are never to do this again. I personally don’t think this is funny at all and I just got a call from your Aunt Shaccid and she did not appreciate your comment either. When you get home you are in deep trouble. You hear me? ”, Iadara’s voice was stern.

“I’m sorry mommy. I didn’t mean it”. After Iadara had vented and part of the rage had departed she hung up the phone. She silently hoped and praying no more incidents would come up. The rest of Friday passed with no incidents. Thank God!

Chapter 3

It was Saturday afternoon when a vehicle drove up to the driveway. It was Mizael and Shaccid’s green pickup truck. Shaccid had finally decided that her illness was not going to dominate her life. So, she had gotten into the pickup and said to Mizael “Let’s go visit Iadara. I haven’t seen her this weekend and would like to spend some time with her before you go to work. Maybe she won’t be too busy with her homework”.

Iadara could recognize the sound of the truck and knew immediately who it was. As always she was profoundly involved with a school project that was due on Monday. She turned towards the door when she heard the sound of the doorknob slowly turning. Mizael and Shaccid had never knocked before entering. Depending on Iadara’s mod sometimes she became agitated while other times it did not faze her. Today she was not thrilled because she wanted to finish up an assignment that was due and when company came over nothing got done.

Before Shaccid walked into the door Iadara knew who it was because she was wearing a light blue summer blouse she had bought at ALCO’s several weeks before. It was her favorite blouse. Her pants hung loose in the waist from all the weight she had lost throughout the year. Her ill, washed out look was so obvious that everywhere she went friends and family always asked what was wrong with her. “Hey, what are you doing?” Shaccid said as she entered the door.

“Not much. Just trying to finish an assignment that is due on Monday”.

Shaccid found her way towards the couch and plopped down. The pain became so extreme she had to sit down and take several deep breaths. She massaged her chest hoping this would relive the pain. Mizael and Iadara just looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and began to talk ignoring Shaccid. I was not done intentionally; it was just that they became so used to hearing her complain that it became second nature.

Shaccid was used to being ignored but her feelings got hurt. She was aware of the fact that crying wolf all the time always would follow being ignored. But, her “pain” was real, even if her family didn’t believe it. If they only knew how real it was. She became lost in thought and her gaze became fixated at an unknown object, she was lost in space. Her eyes were watery and her complexion appeared ashy. She could hear her husband and sister-in-law talking but couldn’t distinguish the conversation, everything became a blur.

Suddenly, Shaccid stood up and walked towards Iadara who was leaning on the kitchen counter. Shaccid stood right in front of Iadara and looked up, searching for eye contact. When Iadara looked down Shaccid moved closer and gave a warm hug to her sister-in-law. All Shaccid wanted to do was hold Iadara in her arms as long as she could. She had done this many times before but never as intense as today. Never in her wildest dreams did Iadara think that this would be the last hug Shaccid would ever give to her. Her unexpected words will never be forgotten. Out of the blue, Shaccid said, “I love you Rovalcaba”

“What’s up with you? Iadara asked with a puzzled look.

Without any response Shaccid walked away. She sat in the same spot as before and was lost in thought again. After a few minutes she stood up and timidly said “Let’s go Mizael. I don’t feel good.”

When Mizael and Shaccid had already gone home, Iadara kept hearing the “I love you Rovalcaba” over and over. Finally after giving it a lot of thought she said to herself, it’s just the way that crazy Shaccid expresses her feelings. She’s so funny one moment she acts like a wild animal and suddenly she acts like a tender puppy.

Chapter 4

Shaccid had been invited to a Home Interiors party on Sunday at her sister-in-laws place but she did not feel like attending. This week had been the pits and all she wanted was peace and quiet plus Sujey was expected to arrive sometime late that morning. She decided to give Iadara a call and let her know what was going on.

When Iadara found out that Shaccid was not coming, she became disappointed and shocked because she had become accustomed to her always being with her. What shocked her most was the main reason for Shaccid staying home was because Sujey was coming home. This had never stopped her before. Maybe she was not feeling well and didn’t want to say or maybe she was still very upset because of the incident earlier that week when Zoraida had said to Sujey about her mom dieing.

Iadara became involved in her thoughts and lost track of time trying to remember all the things she needed to prepare for the guests. After going through her pantry she realized that she didn’t have and plastic cups so, she decided to call Shaccid one more time before the party started. She picked up the cordless telephone and dialed the number. On the other line an inaudible greeting was not heard, “Hello, hello”.

“Hi”, Shaccid whispered. This morning had been challenging and she had finally got up at about 10 am when the pain had become calmed down; the pain had been so intense the previous night that sleeping became impossible. When she managed to get out of bed she headed to the kitchen to make herself a home remedy of bay leaves.

“Hey, have you changed your mind about coming over today?” Iadara asked with caution.

“Probably not, like I told you before Sujey are coming home anytime soon and I would like to spend time with her”. She leaned forward holding her chest. The pain was so piercing that Shaccid didn’t feel like small talk.

“Well, I need cups. Do you think Misael would mind bringing me some over from the store?”

“I’ll ask him when he comes in. He’s changing the oil on the truck.” Nothing more was left to say and so they hung up the telephone.

The Home Interiors Party was not as Iadara expected. Only three people showed up. Of the three only one wanted to spend money. There was not much of a profit. Iadara silently wished for Shaccid to be there. She was one of her best clients because she loved to spend money on Home Interiors, sometimes spending up to $300 an order.

All afternoon Iadara wanted the day to end. She had tons of homework; but, there was one thing that had eaten at her all day, and that was that Shaccid had not come over. What is up with her? She privately hoped that her guests went home early. She wanted to give Shaccid one last call. But, the evening did not allow for such a thing. The company left late and like always Iadara had assignments due the following day and cleaning that needed to be done before Monday rolled around. She ended up staying up until 11 pm completing homework. Not her idea of a fun and exciting weekend.

Chapter 5

It was early Monday morning on June 30 when Iadara received a phone call. She automatically knew who it was because it was an everyday occurrence that had been taking place for about ten years. Sometimes, Iadara became irritated because she silently thought to herself, “Isn’t there anything better to do than just talk on the phone.” At first she was reluctant about answering the telephone and contemplated ignoring the shrilling ring because she was running late and wanted to get the dishes done before leaving to class. “Hello”, Iadara cautiously answered wanting to avoid a conversation.

The piercing pain on her upper back was so overwhelming that even a simple conversation was a task. Tripping on a Barbie doll on the floor and kicking it out of her way she sat on the nearest couch and took a deep breath before responding. “What are you doing”, Shaccid asked mumbling under her breath.

“Not much. I’m getting ready to wash the dishes and go to class. How bout you?” An agitated edge could be heard through the phone line followed by an awkward silence. The rattling of dishes and running water echoed through the phone line, making the conversation inaudible.

“I was calling because I haven’t been feeling well and wanted to know if you could take me to an appointment I plan to schedule this morning”.

Shaccid had been ill for the past two years, seeing Dr. Echerivel ever sense the beginning of January 2001. She began with a pain in the left side of her upper back which would travel to the chest on the same side. Dr. Echerivel had tried every avenue, conducting countless tests and labs with no negative results. His final conclusion was depression because she had all the symptoms; chronic fatigue, sudden weight loss, loss of appetite and aches and pains that could not be explained any other way. He had placed her on antidepressants but Shaccid did not feel any better and thought the doctor was ignoring her symptoms of something more serious. Her medical visits became more and more frequent and Dr. Echerivel became worried but did not know what else he could do to help ease the pain. Early on in his diagnosis, he disregarded her notion that her “heart hurt” and was convinced that her condition was psychological. He even chuckled when Shaccid said “my heart hurts Dr. Echerivel”. He quickly responded “Hearts doing hurt Shaccid”.

“I can’t take you to the appointment because I have class all day today” responded Iadara. Why don’t you ask Juaquine? He can take you.” Iadara hung up immediately after the conversation. Her behavior was rude and Shaccid just wanted to break down and cry. She felt helpless. She didn’t know how to drive and always depended on other to do her the “favor” of taking her anywhere. These were the moments she wished she knew how to drive.

Iadara had already been late to class three times and wanted to avoid a fourth. She cursed under her breath and blamed Shaccid for helping her be late. Her professor, also a coworker, had little or no sympathy for late arrivals and would become irritated when class had begun and students were interrupting by walking in late. The professor always gave that look of disapproval. Oh well to bad.

Iadara gathered her homework placing it in her backpack running out the door before she was late for class, again. During her drive up to San Miguel she absorbed the hot sun and took in several profound breaths trying to relax her tense muscles. Iadara knew this was going to be a long one, she could feel it in her bones. When she arrived at the University she automatically looked at her watch. Oh, she was on time. Her watch read 8:55 a.m. Letting a sigh of relief, she grinned happily because she was not late for class. She was going to survive this one!

Iadara walked inside the classroom and found that the other girl were already there. She walked over to her favorite spot and sat down next to the window. She could not concentrate on homework because she felt flustered and didn’t know why. She had acted like a bitch to Shaccid and was not proud of her behavior.

While sitting in class she lost track of time going deep into a trance. Professor Velez explained the importance of the “sense of belonging” to the group, but Iadara had managed to tune her out like she had many times before, only hearing low mumbling sounds. The sense of belonging to a group, gives us an identity of who we are. Iadara’s mind profoundly lost in thought. Iadara felt shame for her earlier behavior and feelings of guilt came over her as she fooled around with the pencil in her hand, knowing that she was the only one Shaccid had; everyone else was in Mexico. She thought to herself “why didn’t I take Shaccid to her appointment? Why was I being such a bitch? ”

In recollecting the past few days she tried placing the pieces to the jigsaw puzzle but was astonished when she realized nothing made sense. Shaccid had been feeling very sick all weekend and had not come to visit Iadara that weekend. What was going on? When the class finally ended Iadara had not taken any notes nor did she know what the next assignment was but, she didn’t care either. When Professor Velez announced that the class was over Iadara jumped up and grabbed her books and walked outside.

Iadara looked around and found a spot to sit. For a couple of minutes she stared at the leaves as they rustled with the breeze. A chill ran Iadaras back as the breeze was felt in the shade. She looked at her watch again and noticed that it was five after one o’clock. Time has elapsed so quickly that she didn’t even realize over an hour had passed before she woke up from her day dream. The other girls had ignored her and had sat in a table close by and worked on the assignment for the next class. They didn’t even bother to talk to her; they knew that when Iadara was not in a talking mood there was no sense in trying.

When the English teacher did not come to class Iadara was relieved and thought to herself I will immediately call Shaccid at home and let her know that she was going to take her to the appointment. She wanted to make up for her earlier behavior and maybe Shaccid would not hate her forever if she took her to the appointment.

Chapter 6

Iadara searched for her cell phone and quickly dialed Shaccid’s home phone number. The telephone rang a couple of times before Shaccid answered. “Hello”.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Iadara anxiously asked.

“I was just getting ready to leave. My father-in-law was going to take me to the appointment”.

“No, no. I’m here in town now and will be home in 30 minutes. Why don’t you come over and I will take you. By the time you get to the house I will be home”. When Shaccid arrived at Iadara’s house she walked in the door with slow calculating steps because the pain was stabbing her on her back. Iadara could see Shaccid’s pail face and the expression that overrode the anguish and pain.

“Are you okay? Have you eaten?” Iadara asked with worried look .

“No I haven’t” Shaccid squeak. Nothing more was said. Iadara got busy and made Shaccid, Sujey and Alondra a sandwich. They sat at the kitchen table; slowly eating. It was noticeable the Shaccid was forcing herself to eat. When they were done they cleaned the kitchen table. Quickly and without a spoken word they walked outside where the truck was already running and ready to go.

While driving up to San Miguel, Iadara could tell that Shaccid was far from feeling good. A joyful talkative person, Shaccid was quiet and did not say a single word through the entire trip. She looked out the window as if lost in though. A song playing in Spanish over and over again “En la estación, te vi partir, se fue mi amor, sentí morir, en la estación, te esperare, y rosas blanca, te cantare”.

The trip to the Dr. Echerivel’s office seemed longer than usual. Time passed in slow motion as the anxiety intensified and Iadara realize Shaccid was very ill. From the corner of her eye, she could see Shaccid fidget from pain. Stepping on the accelerator Iadara became suddenly irate and with a sigh she asked “Uh, Shaccid, why did you wait so long to go to the doctor? Why didn’t you go to the hospital right away?” Shaccids eyes became watery and her only response was a shrug.

Finding a parking spot was far from being easy. Apparently many people needed to see the doctor. When Iadara had given up on a parking spot close by she decided to drive up the office door and drop Shaccid so she could sign in because she didn’t want her to be late and miss the appointment. Dr. Echerivel was famous for rescheduling appointments if a patient was 15 minutes late even though he would have his patients sit there for up to an hour before seeing them. Although Shaccid was experiencing tremendous pain she hopped out of the truck and quickly walked inside the building. Iadara continued to search for a parking spot and ended up finding a space at the far end of the lot on top of a hill. She grabbed Sujey and Alondra by the hands and trotted towards the entrance without a moment to loose.

Chapter 7

As Iadara, Sujey and Alondra walked into Dr. Ecehrivel’s office they were greeted by an enthusiastic receptionist. Seconds later the receptionist asked, “Mrs. Rovalcaba can you please sign”, pointing at the chart.

They looked around trying to find a place to sit in the waiting area. Out of desperation and nervousness Iadara grabbed a magazine off the table while trying to pretend to be busily reading an article. She flipped though pages and glanced at the pictures.

Iadaras emotions were overshadowing; she could not understand why her pulse and blood pressure was rapidly elevating. Feelings of insecurity of a negative outcome were so trenchant. She tried to overcome them but the more she thought the more forceful the feelings became.

The door swung open and a beautiful young nurse with a grin came out to greet Shaccid. “Mrs. Ruvalcaba can you please come in” Mercedes chipper with enthusiasm. “Come on in bro! Now tell me why you are here today?” the voices slowly disappeared into the other room. Mercedes and Shaccid had become acquainted 10 years ago when Shaccid had married Mizael. So, the “bro” was commonly used amongst them.

Not even two minutes had escaped when the door swung open again but this time the face of Mercedes was of puzzlement. In the doorway stood a dismayed Mercedes with a grave look on her face that words alone could express. Mercedes looked into her sister eyes and by the movement of her mouth said “I need to take Shaccid to the ER. Something is very wrong. She is very sick. Sis I can’t find her blood pressure but her pulse is 157.”

Mystified with dismay Iadara asked “Why? What’s the matter? Is she okay?” in a loud tone of voice not realizing how loud she was. They patients in the waiting area just turned to look at them.

Mercedes asked “Do you want a wheelchair ride to the ER?” No response came out of Shaccid; her only response was a nod of her head saying NO.

They swiftly moved towards the glass door. Iadara snatched Sujey and Alondra by the hand and walked as quickly as she could but could not catch up to Mercedes and Shaccid. The long corridor curved twice before they arrived at the elevators where they went down to the ground floor but Shaccid was in such a hurry that it almost seemed as though she had no pain. The small steps were gone and replaced by huge steps. It almost seemed as though she was late for the train.

When they finally arrived to the ER the nurses were waiting. Dr. Echerivel called immediately after they left the office. He had warned the ER nurse that a patient by the name of Shaccid Rovalcaba was going to arrive and they needed to stabilize her heart. He let the nurse know that the patient had come in complaining of chest pain. Nurse Mercedes had checked for blood pressure and had found none but her pulse was very high.

Once they arrived to the ER Iadara was asked to wait in the waiting area which was located right across the ER’s swinging doors. Several minutes had passed by and the ER became very busy. Nurses were walking in and out and everything was a huge world wind. After a short time in the ER the nurses were no longer walking but running in and out. Something major was taking place and Iadara felt helpless as she waited with anxiety to hear news.

Iadara was stunned, she felt as though she was having an outer body experience. Her stomach began to turn inside out and she was so nervous that she started to chew on her nails. She had the impulse to call Jaciel. Suddenly, with a shaky hand she pulled out the cell and called Jaciel. She walked out to the hallway where the girls could not hear her and said in a low tone of voice when Jaciel answered “Shaccid is dead”.

Jaciel was shocked “What are you saying? Who told you that?”

“No one honey. I don’t know what I am saying. All I know is that Shaccid is very sick. She was admitted to the ER and nurses keep running in and out. They don’t let me in and they won’t tell me anything. I don’t know what is going on. I think they might not let me in because I have the girls with me.”

“Why don’t you take the girls over to Aidé, Shaccids cousin?”

“O.K” Iadara answered with a sigh.

“Please keep me posted.” Jaciel replied with panic.

Iadara hung up the phone and walked over to the waiting area, picked up the phone on the far end of the room and called Aidé. After a short conversation along with an explanation of what was taking place, Aidé agreed to take care of the Sujey and Alondra. Iadara hurried the girls out to the other side of the building. She silently cursed under her breath because the stupid truck was far away. No words were exchanged as they jumped on the truck and headed towards aunt Aidé’s house. Once Iadara drove up, she left the engine running and ran to the other side to open the door. The girls climbed down and walked to the front door. As soon as Iadara saw Aide she walked away, mumbling “I will call you later and let you know how Shaccid is doing”.

Once again she was she headed towards the Santa Rosalia Hospital. This time she parked the truck close to the ER. She swung the door open to the entrance and walked towards the nurse’s desk. Before she could say another word she turned to her left side and saw Shaccid lying in a hospital bed. She had an oxygen machine over her mouth and a couple of IV’s, one in each arm. Iadara could see tears rolling down her face as she motioned with her left hand to come over.

“Excuse me miss. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave the room. We will let you know when you can come in to see Shaccid” the nurse said with a sturdy voice.

Without arguing Iadara walked out and sat in the waiting room again. She was so taken back that she stared at the wall. Her eyes welled up with tears; fear and anxiety were creeping up. Her body began to uncontrollably tremble so she had to stand up again. The ER waiting area was very quiet as people whispered then she could hear Shaccid crying and coughing. Her crying was that of excruciating pain and it echoed though out the hospital.

Shaccids pain could be felt all the way to the waiting room as patients turned to look around and see what was happening. By then there were two doctors and seven nurses all running in and out. For over 30 minutes the shocks could be heard through the walls as they tried to bring her back. Iadara knew the doctors were trying to resuscitate Shaccid, she had gone into cardiac arrest. But why was it taking so long? How long the shocks could be going on? The waiting was enough to almost drive her crazy. Why hadn’t anyone come to talk to her about what was going on behind closed doors?

After what seemed as an eternity the doctor came out with a gloomy look on his face. He slowly walked into the waiting room and said “Robalcaba family”.

With trembling in her entire body Iadara stood up and said “Here I am”.

“Can you walk with me into the hallway we need to discuss Ms. Robalcaba?”

Without any other comments they both walked out in silence. Iadara knew exactly what was going to happen next. “I’m sorry to report that Ms. Robalcaba has passed away. We tried our very best but we could not bring her back. We tried for over 30 minutes because we knew she had the two girls. I’m very sorry.”

Iadara was in shock. She could hear what was being said but everything was a daze. She wanted to cry but no tears came to her eyes. Her earlier behavior was present and guilt and helplessness could not allow her to respond. The doctor went on to explain that Shaccid had gone into cardiac arrest and they were not sure of the cause.

Shaccid was 28 years old when she was called up to heaven. The autopsy later revealed a rare heart disease that is prevalent in young oriental women. Her family is still trying to cope with the loss of a mother, daughter, wife and friend.