I had no idea how long that black Belgian malinois dragged me across the streets, but it finally stopped in front of a packed crowd by the roadside.
I was panting so hard I could barely breathe, leaning against a nearby license plate sign just to keep myself upright. My face felt as if it were burning like a sunset cloud had wrapped around my cheeks.
I bent over, knocked hard on the dog's head, and hissed,
"Becgie, where exactly did you drag me to?"
The dog just lolled its tongue out and barked once toward the crowd as if saying, "Hurry up and go see something fun!"
I looked over and saw people crammed together shoulder-to-shoulder. Someone was definitely in trouble. I could hear faint crying and worse the sound of someone calling for help.
The moment I heard that, my instinct reacted first:
Someone's sick.
I tightened my grip on the little cloth pouch I always carried inside were modern first-aid supplies, then pulled Becgie along and tried squeezing through the bodies.
"Excuse me, please let me through…"
No one budged. I was too small to force my way in.
"Woof!"
Becgie couldn't see what was happening and barked loudly, the kind of fierce bark that made people flinch.
People started instinctively moving aside.
I seized the chance, tugged the leash, and finally pushed myself forward enough to see what was happening.
An elderly man with silver hair was lying on the ground, face contorted in pain, one hand clutching the fabric over his chest right above the heart. He'd fainted from the pain.
Just one glance, and I recognized the signs:
A heart attack.
Delaying even a few minutes could cost his life.
Next to him, an elderly woman knelt on the pavement, holding him while crying uncontrollably.
"My dear… please wake up… please…"
"Why isn't the ambulance here yet?"
"You can't leave me… don't leave me…"
Her grief was so raw that even people in the crowd looked teary-eyed.
Someone murmured, "It's been twenty minutes… why isn't EMS here yet…?"
I didn't hesitate.
I knelt beside the man, pulling Becgie with me, and immediately checked his pulse and breathing.
"What are you doing, young lady?"
The old woman looked at me through red, swollen eyes, wary but desperate.
But I focused only on the man's condition. After a moment, my expression sank.
"It's a cardiac emergency. If we delay even a few more minutes, we might not be able to save him."
The woman froze in terror but hope flashed in her eyes.
It was like I had tossed her a lifeline.
"Can you save him? Please... please help him!"
"I can try," I answered truthfully. "I'm trained in emergency medicine."
She grabbed my hands gratefully.
"Thank you… thank you…"
People around us still looked skeptical.
A young woman like me saving someone having a heart attack?
They probably thought I'd kill him instead.
But I didn't care.
My heart stayed as steady as a stone.
The grandmother watched me again, and seeing my calmness, she slowly relaxed.
A person who can remain calm in a crisis must truly know what they're doing.
I quickly scanned the crowd.
"Could someone help me hold this dog? I need my hands free."
Everyone immediately looked away.
No one dared to touch Becgie.
He looked too fierce, too intimidating.
I sighed in frustration until a familiar voice spoke up:
"I'll take him."
Halley pushed his way through the crowd, his simple clothes and milk-white skin standing out. His large black eyes blinked at me.
I couldn't help but smile a little.
"Becgie, be good and follow Halley. When I'm done helping, I'll buy you a big bone."
Once the dog was handled, I opened my cloth pouch, revealing my emergency kit: gloves, disinfectant wipes, heart-rescue medication, syringes, and portable diagnostics.
Under the sunlight, the metal tips glinted sharply.
I disinfected my hands, cleaned a spot on the man's arm, and prepared medication as I asked,
"Does he normally carry heart medication? What does he use when this happens?"
The old woman wiped her tears.
"He has medicine the doctor prescribed… he said he took it before we left the house today…"
"Mm-hmm…"
But my hands didn't pause as I administered a fast-acting cardiac vasodilator and monitored his vitals with swift precision.
Electrodes stuck to his chest, a portable BP cuff wrapped around his arm any outsider might've found the setup intimidating, but to me, it was simply the correct protocol.
The crowd fell silent.
My movements were smooth, confident, practiced as if I'd done this countless times.
Even Halley stared at me, stunned.
Was this how I helped him that one time too?
With hands that moved like they were dancing?
For a moment, I saw in his eyes something like admiration mixed with a little sadness.
Too bad, in his mind, I was the cruel CEO's little wife.
"A…"
The old man let out a small groan signs of returning consciousness.
The old woman nearly burst into sobs again:
"He's waking up, thank God, he's waking up!"
I checked his face, his complexion was slowly turning rosy again, the deep pain fading.
He was out of danger.
Relief washed over me.
I removed the equipment one by one.
After a moment, his eyelids trembled, then slowly opened, still fogged with confusion.
The old woman hugged him and cried like a child:
"You scared me half to death! If something happened to you, how would I live? How?!"
I packed my kit back into my pouch and smiled gently:
"He's stable now. When the ambulance arrives, let them run proper tests at the hospital."
The old woman grabbed my hand again, thanking me until her voice trembled:
"You're our lifesaver… I don't know how to repay you…"
"Oh, it's nothing," I mumbled, rubbing my nose as my face warmed.
"I'm a doctor. This is what I'm supposed to do."
A weak voice spoke behind us:
"What… what happened to me?"
"Your heart condition flared up!" the old woman scolded tearfully.
"I told you to take your medicine before we left, why didn't you listen?!"
The old man looked away awkwardly, avoiding her eyes.
"I… uh… did I?"
I glanced at him knowingly.
"Grandpa, lying isn't very good for your heart either. You definitely didn't take your medicine before leaving home, right?"
My eyes were clear as stars.
No way someone could fool me about something like that.
"You old fool!"
The old woman tugged his ear with red-rimmed eyes.
"If something happened to you, that would be the same as taking my life with you!"
Her voice trembled with anger and love.