SW NOVELS
The Platinum Debit Card
***
After Mia was done eating, she went back upstairs to pick her bag. She tied her hair in a ponytail and then headed out of the house, after she’d bade the workers goodbye.
As she didn’t have money, she trekked to the bus station. Thankfully, a public bus arrived as soon as she got there. She got on.
A while later, Mia arrived at her destination. She stood outside the huge hospital building for a while, thinking to herself: ‘this is where all my savings is coming to.’
She heaved a sigh and walked into the hospital’s ground floor which served as the emergency unit. The nurses at the front desk recognized her, and after exchanging greetings, they let her go in.
Mia rode in the elevator alongside a few other people. She was heading to the fifth floor which was the intensive care unit (MICU 1). As soon as the elevator arrived, it dinged and its doors slid open.
She walked out and took quiet steps down the silent corridor. She soon came face to face with the door that led into the third ward. Inhaling deeply, she turned the doorknob and entered.
She walked quietly past a few patients lying lifeless on hospital beds on a ventilator before finally stopping by the foot of the second to the last hospital bed on the right side.
Stared silently at the patient for a while before finally taking her seat beside the hospital bed.
Just like everyone else, the patient was also on a ventilator and had a lot of ECD leads attached to their body.
–
Mia didn’t step out of the ward until after a few hours had passed. When she came out, she had a grave expression on her face.
As she was on her way back to the elevator, a nurse called out from behind her. “Hello.”
Mia looked back and saw that she was the one being referred to.
She halted her steps and watched as the nurse approached her.
“Good afternoon.” She greeted the nurse.
The nurse smiled warmly at her. “You’re Patient 305’s guardian, am I right?”
Mia nodded her head affirmatively.
The nurse sighed. “The thing is you haven’t paid up to half of the medical bills-and it keeps piling up.” She paused, “I know that you make payment every time you visit the hospital, but the total of the money you’ve paid so far is actually nothing compared, at all, to the entire bill.”
“I’m sorry, but if you don’t pay up to half of the medical expenses before next Tuesday, you’ll have to take the patient away.”
Mia was dumbfounded. Take the patient away? To where?
She had no dime right now. Her father had cut her off completely. And the money that was remaining in her account was not enough at all. It was a measly amount of money.
Where would she get…
“Please, I’ll pay up…” She pleaded.
“That’s what you’ve been saying-we have no choice. The hospital doesn’t run itself.”
That was true. Mia was rendered speechless.
“Then.” Mia was lost deep in thought when the nurse bobbed and left.
She was left standing alone in the corridor.
After some time, she dragged her feet to the elevator and rode in it to the ground floor.
With a heavy heart, she walked straight to the payment counter and took out her card. The little she had, she’d pay it.
She’d need to source around for money…
The financial service representative nodded at Mia.
Every time the girl came around, she deposited measly amounts of money. All those while, she still hadn’t paid up to half of the whole money. And with each passing day, the medical expenses kept increasing-and it’d been roughly two years already.
The money Mia usually received from her father as upkeep was absolutely nothing compared to the amount of money that needed to be paid here.
She still had a very long way to go.
Heaving a sigh, Mia handed her debit card to the billing representative.
The lady skimmed through the total amount of money that Mia still had to pay and her mouth flung open.
Would the girl ever be able to pay up everything in twenty years time?
“How much am I withdrawing?” She inquired.
Mia forced out a smile and told her the amount of money she was to withdraw-that was everything she had left in her account.
She still had some school fees to pay…
She had once considered going for a loan but her parents would be needed as signatory. And her dad would never assent to that-what would she even tell him that she needed the money for?
He knew about the hospital and wasn’t doing anything about it… If he had an idea that Mia was involved, he would slaughter her.
Plus, now, the man had even cut her off completely-she was left with nothing.
Should she get a side job then? But which job’s salary would be able to meet her needs? How many side jobs would she need to take on?
Sigh.
Thank goodness she’d be through with high school very soon. Then she’d have to cut out college from her plans and get a job first.
Mia’s face was sorrowful as the billing representative handed her card back to her, as well as the payment receipt.
She glanced at the receipt, there was still a long way to go.
Plus, would that person ever…? Her thoughts trailed off.
She heaved a wary sigh and opened her purse to put her card and receipt back inside. She was about to close the purse when she suddenly caught sight of something. A shiny black card. In a corner.
Her brows furrowed, ‘what’s that?
How did it get there?’
With a quick reflex of her fingers, she swiped out the card and gazed at it intently.
Where did she get it?
Then something flashed through her eyes very quickly. She began to recollect that night. It was the Platinum Debit Card that her husband gave to her when she moved in.
Mia paused for a moment and then hastily handed the card over to the representative.
At the sight of the black card, the lady was first taken aback. She glanced at Mia then back at the card. She knew exactly what it was and was surprised to find it in the girl’s possession.
Did she really own the card? The lady was rendered speechless.
So why had she not been using it?
Twitching the corner of her mouth, she looked at Mia from behind the counter. “Input your pin, ma’am.”
‘Pin… The pin? Shit!’ Mia face-palmed herself mentally.
She didn’t know the pin.
Seeing the frustrated expression on the girl’s face, the billing representative eyed Mia suspiciously. Did the card not belong to the girl? Did she steal it?
‘Do I have to call the police?’
But Mia quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket and went through her contact list; she didn’t have her husband’s phone number. Wasn’t that just great?! She didn’t even have his assistant’s either.
She wished for the ground to open and swallow her whole.
Biting hard on her lower lip, she put her phone away and gave the representative an embarrassed look.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know the pin.” Her eyelashes batted sheepishly.
The representative felt irritated but she didn’t let it show on her face. “Well, we need the pin to be able to withdraw money with the card.”
She was hundred percent sure that the Platinum card didn’t belong to the girl. Or could she not know her own pin?
She handed the card back to Mia, eying her skeptically.
Mia was silent for a while before an idea popped up in her head. “Hum-I’ll come back-I’ll be right back.”Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
With that, she rushed out of the hospital at once.