A Glimpse

She'd been there a while before I noticed her through the window. She actually startled me a little when I finally glanced over--her dark face and hair stood out starkly against the pale peach of the stretcher and the matching sheets pulled up to her chin. She was facing my direction, but I don't think she could see me; I think her eyes were closed anyway. Surrounded by as much medical equipment as she was and imagining she was alone like that made me feel sympathy for her. There weren't any flashing lights or sirens and she may not have been in any pain but she was there for a reason and she was alone and those electrical devices weren't exactly comforting. However, a slight movement caught my eye a moment later and I thankfully realized that she wasn't alone. A paramedic was there with her, just out of my view and reading what looked to be her chart--his turning of a page was what caught my attention. I still couldn't be sure what I was seeing, but I was glad that the stranger on the other side of the window was being looked after and wasn't alone in her time of need.

I glanced around for clues as to who she was or why she was there, but there wasn't much else for me to see through the small glass. I looked to see if any of her family members or friends may have been near or on their way to see her, but I was the soul onlooker around for miles. Outside of her skin and hair colour, I knew nothing of her and yet I still felt the urge to wish her well again and hope that she made a speedy recovery from whatever ailed her. I managed to make my wish just as the ambulance turned into the hospital's driveway and I continued on my way home down the street. I hope she's okay.
...

True story. I was driving home tonight and managed to follow an ambulance most of the way. It actually tripped me out that I could see right into the back like that while I was behind it--I'd never noticed ambulances had windows so low, but then this was a York Region ambulance and I suppose they are designed differently than the ones I'm used to. Really though, that glimpse inside of that little space affected me somehow--I wasn't scared, but I felt unsettled being able to see in like that; I felt like I was seeing something that I shouldn't have been able to see in the first place. I'm sure everyone's had that happen to them, but as I had to follow this scene in order to get home, it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to just look away. I really do hope that she's okay though.