Whispers from Beyond

I had a patient flatline three times in one shift and each time she came back she whispered

the same name. Not her husband's name. Not her kids. A name none of us

recognized. The third time her heart stopped I was alone in the room doing compressions

and I swear I felt the temperature drop. She came back gasping and grabbed my wrist

so hard it left marks. She looked terrified and said that man keeps telling her

it's not her time yet but she has to deliver a message. Then she told me something about

my own life that nobody could have known. Something I never told anyone at work.

My hands were shaking for the rest of my shift. She was discharged two days later and