The Unexpected Visitor

Tasha kept repeating the same thing since early this morning. She typed, then backspaced and on she went. Apparently, the proposal that was due the end of this week was only done halfway, though she had been doing it for days. Still not much improvement seen ever since the last day she stopped. She knew she had to gear up. However, her brain was not functioning as efficient as she had expected it to be, it was, sadly blocked. So she dragged her lethargic body out of the mundane workroom, out to get some fresh air and a short yet tense-relieving walk. As she had been walking down the same path for countless times, she was pretty much familiar with the surroundings, the neatly-designed detached houses and also the owners inside each of them. Before she returned home from the stroll each time, she would walk passed a beige-coloured simple-designed detached house. She stopped there for quite a minute.

Tasha was not left out by the tradition of her family, that is, to have inherited heart rhythmic disturbance. She was very unfortunate as she had to suffer from Long QT Syndrome, which its sudden attack and fatal effects are unpredictable. She might lose control of her motion as her heart would palpitate or she might even faint and never wake up again. These could happen anytime, anywhere or perhaps right now. Because of that, Tasha always lived her life to the max. She will always do her best in everything so that she would not regret for it her whole life. Her days at The Meredith were always hectic and she barely had the time to gasp for air when she began her daily routine. One day, she went to find few past files that were vital to aid her in the finishing of her proposal at the confined file archive, few stairs down her work cubicle. She began with her usual scanning and right after was to collect them and put them into her bag. She had managed to find most of them but as she tried to reach out to get the last file located right at the top of the rack, she suddenly felt her heart beating abnormally then it went all black.

Tasha was rather lucky as she had informed her colleague beforehand that she would be at the file archive. Hence, when Mr Winton was searching for her as she was handling the crucial documents for the 3 o’clock meeting later that afternoon, he found her there, lying on the carpeted floor. He immediately called the ambulance and it came about ten minutes later to send Tasha to the nearby Boston Hospital. Doctors at the emergency unit tried their very best to rectify the problem and they tried to jolt her out of the faint. They managed to bring her back, conscious. Tasha was sent to ICU straight away after she was treated. The person in-charged tried to call her parents which later they found out that her mom was no longer alive. It had been three days since she was here in this hospital, unpleasantly, no one came to see her, she did not receive any calls nor did she receive any parcels or letters. It seemed as though no one cared about her. But she knew she was a well trained lone ranger after all. The next morning when she was brought to her daily check-up, the doctor told her that her heart problem had worsen, the faint had actually appeared to be a sign of ... “You don’t have to tell me further, I knew it would be...” Tasha said, interrupted the doctor’s words. She knew this day would come, but she did not expect it to come round so early, she was only 21. She still has a bright future not done explored. But life was always so harsh. She could bear no more so she called the nurse to push her back to her room. The squeaky sound produced by the wheels of the wheelchair that she was sitting on had made Tasha even sadder as she remembered her last day with her mom. The day when her mom left her, Tasha heard the exact same sound produced by the wheelchair her mom was sitting on. She was sad as she has to undergo the problem her mom had once gone through.

Tasha was writing her hopes and wishes onto a piece of paper so that the doctors could help her pass it to her father although she knew he would never care for her ever since her parents divorced, when her mom was officially declared to have inherited the same heart defect from Tasha’s grandmother. Her tears rolled down her pale cheeks relentlessly as she wrote down her will. Then a familiar voice filled the empty yet solemn room. “You alright?” he said. Tasha nodded. Her tears just kept flowing and she could not control it. “Didn’t you always smile? Where’s the cheerful Tasha? Her dazzling smile?” Tasha cried even harder when he came closer. His hands held onto hers. “You must be strong, you hear me? Smile always and never forget me. Let me be in your heart. Take care, Tasha, take care...” He said as he patted her hands. He left a reassuring smile and left the room. He did not turn back despite being called by Tasha a few times. She still could not believe that she would die soon. She was haunted by her fears, her thoughts and her dreams that very night. Then early next morning, she was called to meet her cardiac surgeon. “Are you ready for a heart transplant? There’s a heart donor that had donated his heart. So do you think you are ready for it?” Tasha was delighted. She was filled with new hopes. “You mean I don’t have to die?” The doctor nodded and continued “No doubt.” “Yes! Sure...Thank god...” So Tasha prepared for her heart transplant surgery and everything went fine. The surgery was better than expected.

A week later, she was ready to get home. She checked-out of the hospital at noon. At the counter, the nurse gave Tasha a parcel together with a letter. “It’s for you, but it says here that ‘to be opened only after checking out’. That is why I gave it to you now.” Tasha replied with a smile. Then she held the parcel tightly in her arms and went to her car. She read the letter first.

Dear Tasha,
Happy Birthday! I hope this would be your best birthday ever although I could not see you smile right now, I can sense it. Don’t find me there at my house, I’ll not be there, it’ll soon be a geriatric home for the elderly. If you ever need me, I’ll be with you always, in your heart. I have no one to care for me till you passed by my house with a smile two years ago. It meant everything to me. Thank you for all of it. Enjoy your life, OK? Smile always, Tasha. I love you.
I’ll be in your heart,
Uncle Smith.

Tasha could not hold in her tears, it fell off again. She did not know who this heart belonged to, if she did, she would not have taken it. She felt happy, sad and exited all at the same time. She was confused but she went on opening the parcel. In the parcel, there was nothing much but it all meant too much to Tasha. It contained a bunch of keys, pictures, and a wish list. She grabbed both the parcel and the letter as tight as possible and that was all. She believed that she had Uncle Smith in her forever and that she was the unexpected visitor that came by when she was helpless. He was her guardian angel. So she was determined to fulfil his wishes.

Tasha smiled as she looked at the beige-coloured simple-designed detached house tactfully. She smiled, held her hand near her chest and uttered thank you.