Pregnancy Nightmare #16: NYC Health Crisis

The streets of NYC have never been so empty. It was a depressing sight. Garbage was lying around even more than usual, all of the cars were broken into and abandoned, and there were almost no people anywhere in sight. If you actually met someone, he was looking the other way and quickly changed direction. The city was gray. The sky was even grayer. It was raining. Again. You could not even remember the last time you saw sunshine… or someone smiling.

As you saw a stranger passing by, you decided to follow him. It was an old man with almost no hair. He had a black hat and both his hands were hidden in the pockets of his long, brown coat. You followed him hastily as he looked down on his feet and disappeared around the corner. There it was - a big, dilapidated building with a big red cross and a sign: health services. There were dozens, maybe hundreds of people silently standing in the line in front of the building. They did not talk, they did not even look at each other. They ignored you as you approached them - like if you weren’t even there.

You went inside. The building was dark, damp, and dirty. People in white coats were hurrying down the corridors, carrying cases with files and syringes. You could hear only the dull sounds of their fast footsteps echoing the hallways. You could hear just the steps, the clinging of the instruments, and the water dropping from the ceiling… no voices, no people.

Then you saw a little girl in a red dress hiding something under her shirt. You didn’t get a good glimpse. It could have been anything. And before you had a chance to look closer, she noticed you. She looked up at you with her sad, empty dark eyes and left.

You noticed a nurse was coming your way. She was carrying a tray with sharp medical instruments and some glass bottles with a clear liquid. You tried to talk to her but she didn’t pay any attention. You grabbed her arm. Her skin was soft and unnaturally cold. She stopped and looked at you like you were the first person who has ever touched her.

You tried to ask her what was going on. You could see the disbelief in her eyes… how come you don’t know? How come you don’t have the same problem as everybody else? How come your body is not experiencing any changes? Everybody’s was… People had different problems – anatomical abnormalities, skin anomalies, you name it… and they all wanted a cure – at first. Then they started to settle for different ways of masking the symptoms. And now? Now, they just wanted to feel someone did not loath them. So, the nurses gave them placebos and bandages and sent them on their way. Every day. The next day, they were back. There was nothing else left to do. It was not a disease, it was a natural process of change. But people chose to ignore that fact and kept hoping for a cure. She looked at you one more time and disappeared in one of the hallways behind you. You never felt so alone. You stood in the dark hallway and the only thing you could do was to listen to the drops of water coming down behind you. Drop. Drop. Drop.