NYSC
The spot
..
There is a place at The Hospital. A special place for me. I spend my break times here simply watching the flow of the place. Listening to its sounds. I like to think of the spot as the heart of The Hospital. There are paths leading to all the various sections from this spot. Like the center of a spider web. It is an ideal observation spot.
I sit on one of the stone benches there sometimes and watch the patients and other medical staff. Then there are the auxiliaries. For this spot you can watch their comings and goings. Their interactions. The bustle and the hustle that make for a working hospital.
Sometimes the scenes are beautiful. Family members crowding around a wheel chair either visiting a patient or about to take them home. An 11-month toddler with the energy of a hurricane (plus more!!) running around, squealing and giggling at anything and everything. I found myself feeling envious of that pure innocence.
There are depressing scenes too. The sight of a mother fighting back tears as she wipes the sweaty forehead of her sick child and rigorously fans him to keep his fever down. The sight of another woman breaking down unabashed with her hands on her head, as she wails out for the loss of her husband... But for every painful scene, there were two happy ones to match it. Or maybe that's only what I like to believe.
Take for instance, the joy on the faces of strangers at the sound of new life being brought to the world. Their happiness so infectious I had feel joy too even though I'd probably never see this already beloved child. I felt privileged to have just witnessed the sight of their euphoria.
I've heard people say countless times that a hospital wasn't a place they could stand to be in. Myself? I've never really had an opinion. A hospital was a workplace to me. Nothing else. But watching when I watch, I've learnt that a hospital is alive. Breathing and kicking. We just don't care enough to look.
My break time is probably over now.
Juicy Raindrops!!
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