He walks up to her, in dire need of medical attention. She, a young mother, is already feeling overwhelmed. But after she reaches out to this person in need, there is no turning back.
My friend’s street is so traumatically narrow and steep that drivers, upon discovering it’s a dead end, have to back down the hill because there’s no place to turn around. I know because that happened to me once, which is why I walked here today.
I see a man approaching, and I think, Oh, great. Now what?
“Por favor. Call 911,” the man says. “Finger. Cut.” He holds up his blood streaked forearm. With his left hand, he is clenching a wad of handkerchiefs around his right pinkie.
“No. Have. Phone,” I say, as if English is also my second language.
“Have phone,” he says, and dips his chin toward his front pants pocket. I don’t want to stick my hand in there, but the blood does look real. In his pocket, I find a flip phone. I slip it out and step back out of arm’s reach, then call 911.
The operator answers, and after I give her the address, I say, “I’m here with this guy, and he says he cut his finger.”
“Is it bad?” the operator asks.
“Is it bad?” I ask him.
“Sí.” “It’s bad,” I tell her. “Did he cut it off?” Now, there’s a question I hadn’t thought of. “Did you cut it off?”
“Sí.” He sighs, relieved someone finally understands the gravity of his situation.
“Yes. He cut it off.”
This story is from the May 2018 edition of Reader's Digest US.
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This story is from the May 2018 edition of Reader's Digest US.
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