Never, not even in her wildest dreams, did Tara assume that the night shift at the gas station during a stormy night would change her life forever. As she was contemplating her life choices and pondered over the thought that she could graduate from the university and became a journalist had it not been for the troubles that stood on her way and her ailing mother she needed to care for, Tara heard a voice say, “Please, oh please…”
As she was seated behind the counter, Tara quickly stood up and noticed an elderly woman all covered in dirt, oil, and mud.
“Ma’am?” Tara gasped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in!”
“Please,” the woman kept saying, “I need your help…”
“Oh I’ll just bet you do!” a masculine voice interrupted the scared lady. It was Tara’s boss, Mr. Anderson, the service station’s night manager who probably heard the elderly lady entering the store from the office at the back where he spent the nights going through a bunch of dubious sites.
“I’ve had enough of you derelicts walking in cadging hot food and coffee every time it rains.” Mr. Anderson shouted. “Get out!”
“Please,” the woman said in a calmer voice, “I need help, my phone is smashed…”
“Help?” sneered Mr. Anderson. “Did you drive here? Do you need gas? Or motor oil? Do you have money or a credit card?”
“No,” the woman said. “You don’t understand…”
“I understand you just fine,” the manager shouted. “Get out! No car and no money, you get nothing!”
Putting her head into her shaking hands, the woman explained, “My husband and I had a car accident, he’s lying unconscious on the road…All I ask is that you make a phone call!”
Tara said she would call the emergency services, but as she tried dialing 911, she noticed the lines weren’t working, likely because of the bad weather.
“I’m sorry,” Tara said to the woman. “But the storm probably took down the phone lines and the cell tower. Where did you crash?”
But all the lady could mutter was, “My poor John, oh my poor John…”
Tara came around the counter and assured the lady that her husband would arrive to the hospital, one way or another. She then asked her for the exact location of the crash and offered to drive her there.
“Come on, Ma’am, I’ll drive you to him. We’ll take him to the hospital,” Tara said. But that angered the manager who threatened Tara to fire her if she leaves. “Go ahead, fire me. But I won’t leave a man dying by the roadside,” Tara said.
“Thank you, my dear,” cried the woman. “My husband is an influential man, you won’t regret this.”
“No matter who your husband is, I won’t regret it, Ma’am,” said Tara as she settled the woman into her car and buckled her seat belt. “My mother always taught us to help whenever we could, no matter who it is.”
When they arrived at the scene of the crash, Tara noticed John. He was covered with a blanket and he could barely keep his eyes open. “I’m here, darling, I found help!”his wife assured him.
Tara did as she promised. She took both the lady and her husband to the hospital and decided to take a seat in the waiting room just to make sure they were both fine.
As she was waiting, a tall young doctor came over and asked if she had been the one who’d brought the older couple over. “Yes,” Tara said. “Are they alright?”
“Thanks to you!” the doctor answered with a smile. “Mrs. Smythe told me what you did. Her husband had internal bleeding, and another half an hour would have been too late. We’re also treating Mrs. Smythe for shock and hypothermia.”
“Mrs. Smythe, that’s the lady’s name?” asked Tara. “And they are going to be alright?”
“Yes, you saved their lives,” said the doctor, casting Tara an admiring look. “You’re a hero!”
“No,” said Tara. “Mrs. Smythe is the hero. She walked five miles in the rain to get help for her husband, and she never gave up!”
It turned out that Mr. Smythe was the owner of the local TV station. Once they recuperated, the station told the story of Tara’s heroic deed, and they even mentioned Mr. Anderson, the manager, who was later fired because he cast a bad light on the company.
As of Tara, she got a job as a reporter after Mrs. Smythe learned she was forced to drop her journalism studies.
Now Tara does the job that she had always wanted to do. On top of that, she’s now dating the tall doctor she met during the stormy night.
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