Josh and Alynna

"I don't have a wife. Well, at least not yet."

Josh smiled as he remembered what he said to the woman he knew as Amanda. He was at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive. He had thought of taking the subway but it wasn't as late and the bus was still available. And besides that, the bus has fewer people on board — it gives him a couple of minutes of solitude. He liked to clear his mind of what happened during the day and the bus was the perfect place to do it.

The bus finally came. Josh hopped in and took the seat at the back. He noticed there were only 4 people riding and he smiled. This is the very reason he loved taking the bus going home. And the bus takes longer to get home compared to the subway. More "alone time" for him.

He took out his earphones and put those in his ears. He connected the earphones to his mobile phone and started listening to music. He loved the music of the 90's. His mom played all sorts of genre from that decade and he grew up liking the music. He turned up the volume, leaned back and looked outside the window. He began to enjoy the ride home.

The streets they were passing was almost empty. Some had beggars preparing a place to sleep for the night. Some had street vendors selling all sorts of stuff — from food to clothes. There were many bystanders, people talking in groups, some were alone. Josh guessed they might be waiting for someone. Many restaurants were still open. Josh wished he would be able to eat in some of them. If only he had more money, maybe life would be easier. He closed his eyes.

Josh remembered what happened with Lee earlier in the day. He opened his eyes and shook his head vigorously, hoping it will go away but it didn't.

Lee. They had been friends since college. Unfortunately, he let a woman get in the way of their friendship. He would regret it at times. Lee had been good to him and his family. He never thought a woman would be the reason they would part ways.

The bus stopped and a woman hopped in. Josh watched her make her way to the back. She had a large bag and she was also carrying a small box. Josh tried to guess what was inside. The woman stopped and seated herself just a little after the middle row of the bus.

Josh looked outside again. There were cars driving by. Josh guessed they might be going home to their families, too. Or maybe they are going to a bar or a party. He noticed the bus was near the area where Alynna used to live.

Josh felt pain in his heart.

"Alynna," he whispered to himself. The woman in front of him looked at him, as if she heard what he said.

Josh tried to remember what happened that day when Lee and Alynna went out for dinner. He had been home that night. He was having dinner with his family when his phone rang. It was from an unknown number.

"Hello?" Josh said as he answered his phone.

"Hello. May I speak with Josh Mackenzie please?"

"This is he," Josh replied. He felt nervous all of a sudden. "Who is this?"

"This is Officer Bernadette Hank from the police department. We found your contact number from Miss Alynna Fields' mobile phone. Do you know her?"

"Yes, I do." Josh's heart raced. "Is she alright?"

"I have to ask you to come over, Sir. Miss Fields has been admitted to The St. Joseph Community Hospital. The doctors will explain to you what happened as soon as you get here."

"I'll be right there." Josh quickly hang up the phone. It was a good thing he hadn't changed to his house clothes yet. He grabbed his jacket that he had hung by the door.

"Mom, Dad, I'm just going over to the community hospital, ok? Alynna's been admitted there. Don't wait up for me."

"Is she okay?" His mom asked but he was already out the door.

The ride to the Community Hospital seemed to take forever. When Josh finally got there, he went straight to the Emergency Room and asked for her.

"Are you related to Miss Alynna?" The nurse behind the desk asked him.

"I'm her friend. The police called me earlier to say that she has been admitted here. My name is Josh Mackenzie."

"Oh, you're Mr. Mackenzie. Right this way please." The nurse got up from her chair and escorted Josh to where Alynna was lying down.

"Here she is. The doctors will be with you in a moment." The nurse opened the curtain slowly. Josh held his breath.

There on the bed, was Alynna. Her face was beaten and bruised. There was a bandage on her head. She also had cuts on her face. Her arms were bruised as well. They had changed her clothes to a hospital gown so he could see her legs. Her right leg was bandaged from the knee all the way to her feet.

"My goodness, what happened to her?" Josh asked the nurse.

"I'll get the doctor, Sir. He will explain everything to you." The nurse left him with Alynna.

Josh touched Alynna's hand. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had a lot of questions on his mind. He touched her cheek ever so gently, afraid he might hurt her.

"Who did this to you, Alynna?"

"Mr. Mackenzie? I'm Dr. Rogers." Josh hadn't noticed the doctor come from behind him. He extended his hand to shake the doctor's.

"What happened to her?"

"She was brought in here after they met an accident."

" 'They'?" Josh repeated.

"The police said she was with a man. They were driving when they hit another vehicle." The doctor explained to Josh without having any expression on his face.

"And the guy she was with? Where is he now?"

"He was taken to a different hospital. But I don't know what happened to him."

"Have you contacted her family?"

"No, not yet. She was unconscious when they brought her in. The police got your number from her mobile phone. It was the last number listed on her recent calls. Usually we only tell the family about the condition of the patient but since you were the one that we were able to call…"

"I'll call her parents, then." Josh told the doctor.

"Or you can give their number to the nurse and they will be the ones to call her parents. It's not easy to be the bearer of bad news." The doctor sounded sympathetic this time. He put his hand on Josh's shoulder.

"Okay, I understand. I'll give the nurse her parents' numbers."

The doctor nodded. "I will have the nurse call me as soon as her parents arrive."

The doctor then went to check on the other patients. Josh went to the nurses' station to give them Alynna's parents' numbers.

Suddenly, Josh's phone rang. It was an unknown number again.

"Hello," Josh answered.

"This is Officer Roy Daanil of the police department. Is this Josh Mackenzie?"

"This is he. How may I help you?"

"Mr. Lee Peters gave us your contact number. Do you know him?"

"Yes, I do, Sir."

"Mr. Peters has been in an accident and is currently admitted to the Grace Medical Center. Will you be able to come to him?"

"I'm so sorry, Officer but I am here with the woman he was with in the car. I cannot come." Josh wanted to go to Lee but he felt that Alynna needed him more.

"Okay then, we will inform Mr. Lee. Thank you for taking the call."

Josh went back to where Alynna was. She was in bad shape. He wanted to know more about her condition but he had to wait for her family to get to the hospital. He approached the nurse.

"Pardon me, have you contacted Alynna's family?"

"Yes, we did, Sir," answered the nurse. "They are on their way here. You may stay in the waiting area across the ER." The nurse then picked up some clip boards and went away.

Josh walked to the waiting area. There were some people seated in the front row so he walked all the way to the back where the seats were empty and sat there. There was a TV mounted on the wall. It was on but the sound was muted. It was showing the late night news about some crime that had happened in the city. He looked around and saw a water dispenser. He stood up and went there, got a paper cup and filled it with water. He went back to his seat and prayed that Alynna's family will arrive. The air-conditioning was too cold, he thought. Even with his jacket on, he still felt cold.

"Or maybe it was the cold water I just drank," he said to himself.

"Mr. Josh Mackenzie?" A police officer was looking down at Josh.

"Yes, may I help you?"

"Actually, Sir, we just want to ask how you are related to Miss Alynna Fields?"

"I'm her friend."

"Very well. Do you have any of her family's contact number?"

"Yeah, I gave that nurse her parents' mobile numbers. They should be here any moment." Josh said as he nodded in the direction of the nurses' station.

"Alright. We will just talk to the family, then." The police officer then walked away, went to the nurse and talked to her.

Josh tried to watch TV to get his mind relaxed but it didn't work. He just can't sit still knowing Alynna was still unconscious.

"Hey buddy!" Josh jolted back to reality when he heard the bus driver's voice. "I said this is the last stop. Where are you headed?" The bus driver was looking at him. The bus had reached the end of the line and Josh didn't even notice it.

"Yeah, sorry. This is my stop." Josh got off the bus. It was already past 9PM. He started to walk to his house which was a few blocks from the bus stop. He walked this route everyday. But tonight, it felt a little different and he wasn't sure why.