Where the Sun Sets Read Free

anger.
Anger as he watched Josephine brush Antonia aside, without so much
as a glance to see if she was OK. Then an overwhelming sense of
fear that came with seeing the amount of blood that was coming from
Antonia. He looked up, angrily in Josephine’s direction.
    “Josephine is just fine. You saved her life.”
He was cut off as Antonia squeezed his hand hard. Antonia moved her
free hand to her abdomen.
    “It hurts... It hurts real bad.” Antonia
whispered.
    “I know honey, but it will be OK, everything
is going to be OK.”
    Antonia tried once again, “Where...the…
hell...was...Billy? Joe...Jo.” Her hand fell to her side. Darkness
overcame her.
    The boat on the water sat empty now, faintly
rocking side to side, barely causing a ripple. The fishing pole,
still extended fought to stay in the boat as the fish on its hook
tried desperately to escape his fate. The tackle box, still open,
was now abandoned. There was no sign of the man with the video
camera. No sign of the camera. No sign of Billy.
    Everything was happening so fast. The
ambulance arrived, followed by a single police vehicle. People were
pushing and shoving to escape any residual danger.
    “Go on Josephine, we’ll take care of
everything here.” ‘Who said that?’ Someone was grabbing Josephine’s
elbow. ‘Who?’ She couldn’t seem to find a face. She scanned the
yard with her eyes. Searching for what, she had no clue. She felt
nothing. All she heard were mumbles, people talking but she
couldn’t understand what they were saying. She strained her eyes,
looking to hear better but she knew that wouldn’t help at all.
    She stepped up into the ambulance with the
help of a steady hand. It was dark inside. She was escorted towards
the front to sit away from the doors. ‘What is happening?’ Slam.
The doors slammed shut. She suddenly felt crowded as the siren
wailed. ‘Oh my God, that hurts.’ she thought to herself. Covering
her ears with her hands, she tucked her chin to her chest. ‘What
the hell is happening?’ Josephine was losing control and she could
feel it tightening around her chest.
    “Miss.” Someone was talking to her. “Miss,
here.” They placed oxygen in front of her face. She bent her head
back and let it rest on the wall of the ambulance. She breathed
deeply and slowly filling each fiber of her lungs with the much
needed oxygen. As she finally felt herself coming back, she lifted
her head back up and removed the mask.
    And then she saw her. She saw Antonia laying
not even two feet in front of her. Blood. There was so much blood.
‘What the hell happened?’ She couldn’t remember. There were two
people standing between her and Antonia. They were working
frantically. ‘Why? What was wrong?’
    “Anthony...” Joe called out in little more
than a whisper.
    The ambulance pulled into the hospital
parking lot.
    “Anthony…” This time a bit louder, as
Josephine tried to stand a hand grabbed her arm.
    “Sit down miss. Miss, you need to sit down.”
she dutifully responded as the ambulance came to a stop and its
doors were thrust open.
    “Wait. Where are you taking her?” she asked
desperately as Antonia was whisked away. Through the doors, the
hand came again and gingerly helped her down out of the
ambulance.
    “Come miss. Miss, you need to see a doctor.”
There was no response as Josephine dutifully followed the
stranger’s lead. Her eyes were searching frantically for Antonia.
‘What the hell happened?’ She thought as she struggled to make
sense of the manic scene playing in her mind. The stranger led
Josephine into a waiting cubical in the emergency room of St.
Bartholomew Hospital. With the exception of a few employees, this
part of the hospital seemed vacant. With the majority of the staff
running to the aide of Antonia, Josephine was seen by the local
pediatric doctor, who happened to be in the hospital checking
patients.
    “Hello...Ms. Ferrero, isn’t it?” The good
doctor inquired, nervously.
    “Am