Obliviously Yours

“Doc! Are you okay?”, one of the interns asked Narda as her blurry visions start to clear.

“Huh? I’m so sorry. I just felt the most intense pain in my chest right now. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”, Narda said as she held her chest tightly.

“Do you need water? Anything?”, her fellow doctor, Mara, asked her.

“No. I think I just need to sit down. It’s not me.”, Narda sighed at the realization before worry hits her.

“Your soulmate?”, asked Dr. Mara once again.

“I think so? I’d get an ECG to be sure later. The pain is still here though, but not as intense as earlier.”, Narda said as she sat on one of the couches in the attending’s lounge.

“Let’s do it now.”, Mara said before pulling Narda to the ECG room together with the intern.

As Narda laid down, the intern’s pager started beeping instructing them to go to the Emergency Room without further details.

“God, I hope it’s not a cardio case because you need to rest, Narda.”, Dr. Mara, a general surgeon, said to her cardiothoracic surgeon friend.

Narda chuckled, “Well, if duty calls I have no choice. I literally am the only Cardio surgeon on call right now. The only exception would be if it’s a family member of mine. Not even a friend.”

“Well, your ECG is normal, Nards. Looks like your heart is good, but be sure to rest. Get some more tests.”, Mara told her.

“I know, but it might also be a soulmate thing. Which is worrying on its own. I mean, how ironic. I’m a cardiothoracic surgeon feeling intense chest pain coming from my soulmate and I can’t do anything about it”, Narda bitterly said.

“Try not to worry about it for now? You’re not losing any color on your vision right now, are you?”, Mara asked.

“I don’t think so, no.”, Narda replied.

“Well, that’s good. Let’s go back to the attending’s lounge”, Mara once again said.

However, before the pair could enter the attending’s lounge, Narda’s pager beeped for the OR. She smiled tiredly as she looks at Mara.

“Go,” Mara said.

Narda then ran to the OR despite just feeling the most intense pain in her chest. As she runs through the hall, Narda noticed that the colors around her are not as bright as before. “Shit,” she whispered to herself before she entered the scrubbing area where she saw ER Doctor, Noah, scrubbing in already.

She knows she has to stop worrying about her soulmate as a patient’s life is about to be on her hands right now. As they scrubbed in, Narda asked Noah about the case.

“Noah, fill me in. What are we dealing with?”, Narda asked.

“Doc, gunshot wounds to the chest. Three to be exact. Two of which missed her heart. An apparent ambush,” Noah replied.

“Shit. Once you’re done, prep her immediately and open immediately. I’ll follow you. We can’t risk her losing more blood. Call blood bank too”, Narda replied.

“Copy, doc,” Noah tells the Cardiothoracic head before he goes inside the OR.

As Narda continues to wash her hands, she heard the OR door open, suggesting that the patient is being transported from the ER now. She saw the medical staff prepare the OR. Once she’s done, she finally enters the Operating Room.

While being helped to wear the appropriate gear prior to the operation, Narda once again noticed that the colors around her lost more brightness. Before she can lose her focus, she once again asked Noah.

“Noah, update?”, Narda said.

“Opening her, doc. More blood on the way,” she heard the head of ER say.

Once done with wearing everything she needs to have, Narda approaches the operating table but froze once she saw who was on it.

“Regina…” Narda whispered.

“Doc?”, Noah asked.

“Our patient with a gunshot wound is Regina Vanguardia?”, Narda asked.

“Yes, doc. I’m sorry. There are no other doctors available”, Noah replied.

Truth be told, Narda wouldn’t want any other surgeon to treat Regina. Before her emotions can rule, Narda hurriedly continued to approach the operating table, nudging Noah out of the way.

“Fucking hell, Regina. Don’t your dare die on me.”, Narda loudly said as she operated on her best friend.

If Narda, up to this point, didn’t realize the significance of the situation to the whole soulmates thing, the Universe gave her oblivious mind one last push as she takes out the bullet in Regina’s heart.

“V-fib!”, Noah shouted.

“Shit! Regina! Run the code. Start chest compressions. Give me the paddle.”, Narda said as she massages Regina’s heart.

As Narda, reaches the paddle, she noticed her vision losing more color at a fast rate, slowly turning her world black and white. She froze for two seconds before she snaps out of it at Noah’s loud voice.

“Narda! We’re really losing her!”, she heard Noah.

And at that, Narda moved. As she runs the code for Regina, Narda started shouting phrases like:

“You are not dying on me, Regina! I swear to God!”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Regina Valentina Vanguardia!”

“Fuck! Fuck!”

“I find out now and you die on me?!”

“Do you want me to slap you?!”

The people in the OR and those watching from the gallery were stunned to see the ever-coolheaded and calm cardiothoracic doctor screaming for her best friend’s life. It made sense, but to some extent, it also didn’t. She was losing her best friend, a tough pill to swallow. But she’s also a doctor who’s incredibly capable. It wasn’t until Narda shouted one last sentence that the people finally understood the gravity of the situation.

“You’re my soulmate, Regina! Don’t die on me!”

As if listening to her best friend-slash-soulmate's words, Regina’s heart started pumping again without a hitch, allowing Narda to finish her surgery.

After hearing Narda’s words, Mara scrubbed in to support her closest friend, allowing Noah to scrub out and go back to the ER. Mara spoke as Narda started closing up.

“So soulmates, huh?” Mara teasingly asked Narda.

“Yeah. Apparently so.”, Narda weakly responded.

“You didn’t know until now?”, Mara asked

“Honestly? No. Not until I reached for the paddles and I noticed the orange tip of it go gray quickly. Am I that oblivious?”, Narda answered as she staples Regina’s chest.

“Maybe. But the Universe heard you, you know.” Mara said.

“Huh?”, the ever-oblivious Narda replied.

“You said earlier that your soulmate was in pain in their chest and you, a cardiothoracic surgeon, can’t help.”, Mara pointedly said.

“Jeez, I mean. What a way to know.”, Narda said before giving instructions to the team to take Regina to the ICU for observation before squeezing Regina's hand as she goes to scrub out.

Narda watches from afar as the people wheel Regina out of the OR. She looks at her now shaking hands as she washes them on the sink together with Mara. She then let out a humorless laugh resulting in Mara looking at her.

“Shit. This will hurt me too once the anesthesia wears off.”