The Unlucky Turn by Mark Twain 57

Leilani continued to observe the girl’s condition. Perhaps due to the pill, the girl’s breathing had stabilized slightly, but the rash had not subsided.

Leilani pulled silver needles from her bag and carefully inserted them into the girl’s pressure points to stimulate her energy pathways and alleviate the allergic reaction.

About ten minutes later, the ambulance arrived. When the emergency doctor rushed in, the girl’s breathing was much more stable.

As the girl was lifted into the ambulance, Leilani hesitated for a moment but eventually followed them. Since she had started helping, she might as well see it through. Besides, the. girl had taken her antidote pill; if anything went wrong, Leilani would be implicated.

At the hospital, in the ward.

Leilani sat by the girl’s bed, looking down at her sweat-stained sleeve and sighing softly. She hadn’t bought the new dress but had inexplicably ended up at the hospital instead.

“Um… hello. Where am I?”

A weak voice spoke up. Leilani looked up. The girl who had gone into shock was awake. Her face was still pale, and she looked around in confusion. She only remembered fainting while shopping, but occasionally she had heard a cool female voice, calm and reassuring.

Upon waking, she was in the hospital. Piecing it together, the girl realized Leilani, sitting by her bed, was clearly her savior. That cool voice belonged to her! The girl looked at Leilani with bright, grateful eyes. “Thank you!”

Just then, the attending physician entered to check on her After explaining the sequence of events, the girl looked at Leilani even more adoringly.

“The doctor said if it had been a few minutes later, I might have suffocated. Thank you for saving me,” the girl said softly. “I’m Judie Fulton.”

Leilani nodded faintly, indicating it was just a courageous act, and told the girl to watch her diet in the future. After all, if Judie hadn’t met her today, she really might have died from laryngeal edema.

Judie looked aggrieved. “Actually… I know I’m allergic to nuts. But the shop said they were giving away a free sample of a new drink. I didn’t know the free one had nuts in it… If I had known, I wouldn’t have drunk it even for free!”

Leilani looked at her but didn’t speak.

Judie’s eyes suddenly lit up. “By the way, I heard the doctor say you gave me a pill and used acupuncture. That’s amazing! Are you a doctor?”

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“Yes.”

“Which hospital do you work at? I want to come and thank you properly! Should I send a thank-you plaque? I heard doctors like those.”

Seeing Judie was out of danger, Leilani stood up and grabbed her bag. “No need. It was just a helping hand.”

She turned to leave, but Judie struggled up from the bed. “Wait! At least tell me your name! And your contact info so I can reach you later.”

Leilani paused and looked back. “My name is Leilani Sloan.”

Judie froze. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it. By the time she snapped- back to reality, Leilani had disappeared down the corridor.

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