Flashing lights roamed the neighborhood like red ghosts. Emergency vehicles blocked the street. Thick drizzle made for a messy rescue. The crackle of radios, men yelling orders, and the quick appearance of neighbors staring from their porches and standing in their front yards made Javier Ávila think he was watching a movie. But when the emergency technicians placed a mask over his friend’s face, Javier knew he wasn’t looking at a screen with carefully edited images for dramatic effect. This crisis was in-your-face reality.
“Why don’t you open your eyes? Can’t you hear all the noise?” Javier whispered. He stood a few feet away, living the surreal experience of watching an EMT pressing his fingers against pulse points, his friend lying in the wet grass, unresponsive.
Someone tugged Javier’s arm. A young policewoman tried to pull him toward the ambulance. He jerked his arm out of her grip. “No,” he told her. “I want to stay—” He started coughing and gasping for air. His raw throat, the throbbing in his head; he bent over, gripping his hands on his knees, hoping he wouldn’t pass out again.
The woman took advantage of his weak moment and pulled Javier firmly across the yard. Too miserable to fight her, he stumbled toward the ambulance. He looked over his shoulder one last time. Two men were lifting his friend onto a stretcher.
A thin black man wearing an EMT uniform helped Javier climb into the ambulance and gently placed him on a side bench. In moments, Javier was wearing a plastic mask over his mouth and was told, “Breathe easy. Relax.” The technician went on to check his pulse and blood pressure.
Javier saw the old woman sitting across from him, her face streaked with black, her dirty nightgown ragged at the hem. Someone had wrapped her in a blanket and given her slippers that looked way too big for her feet. When she saw him looking, her brown eyes filled with tears. Tears trickled down her weathered dark face. She made the sign of the cross over herself and prayed, “El Señor es mi luz y mi salvación.”
Witnessing this act of faith made Javier’s breathing easier. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. God, please help my friend.