Sleeping Beauty's
Euthanized

I'm running the night shift, as usual if I'm keeping watch in the middle of the night like this I'm always in a girl's nursery. Dea Asena, the girl who's been in a coma for six months. He stays asleep peacefully, I hope when he wakes up. He would remain peaceful like this, nothing would make him sick. But I doubt that, because of a conversation I accidentally stole this afternoon.

Someone entered the room, because the lighting was dim enough I could not see the person. For sure he is a stranger, because in the middle of the night like this there will be no guests who visit. Parents or relatives of this girl are also very unlikely to stay overnight to take care of her. I know all, because I've been visiting him every midnight.

I hid in a place that was not exposed to the light while continuing to pay attention to the person who had just entered into the Dea's ward. He is a male with all black clothes, his face can only look half because he wears a face mask. His movements were very suspicious, he took out a pillow that supported Dea's head. Before he managed to touch the hose from the mechanical ventilator attached to Dea's face, I had already caught it.

“Who told you?” I asked as I pressed his hand which I now hold. He did not answer at all, even he tried to fight me. I quickly pressed the emergency button in the room, hoping that a nurse or a fellow doctor could help me.

My colleague who was also a young doctor came, he was so very panicked when he saw the person I had been captive to.

“Quick contact the police!” my orders to the doctor, he obeyed my words–kata but still with a confused expression. That's when, because I was off guard, he managed to escape. My friend and I tried to catch up with him, but he disappeared too quickly. Finally we let go and decided to go back to the Dea's ward.

“This is the third time, his family absolutely no one wants to take care of him. Poor.” The doctor said. Zidan, he's my old friend, he's my old college friend. We graduated together and were appointed doctors together, either by fate or by chance. We were also in the same hospital.

The same incident may happen again sooner or later, because only I know the subject. I decided to stay in the hospital even though my work hours were finally up. All this time I've never met anyone who's that kind of guy on a brand kid, considering the girl is so young.

The sun was already high, even the girl's parents had not been to the hospital. Not yesterday after the incident, they were immediately contacted. Zidan said his parents asked the hospital to take care of their child properly. It's weird, the other parent will always be there for his child. When the child is lying in a coma like this even they will not be able to breathe freely, will not be able to go home, will not be able to sleep and may not even be able to eat.

But this girl, how could in such a state he be left behind? Absolutely no one cared about him, no one accompanied him through the critical period of the–.

 ~~~

After giving a description of the state of his daughter, I also told the chronology of the attack that occurred to his daughter. The man did not look at all worried about his daughter's condition, clearly visible from the look on his face.

“Doctor have you heard of euthanasia?” I was surprised by the question from the middle-aged male– who was currently in front of me.

“I've heard of it.” Of course in medicine it sounds familiar.

“You seem very young, what could possibly do?” My heart raced so fast, how could he have had a very mature plan B? After Plan A failed, did he really want his son to just die?

“I think if I do that, I will be fired. For breaking the oath.” Indonesia is not a country that legalizes euthanasia.

“If you can do it, I will guarantee your safety. Besides he's my son, there's no way anyone out there is suspicious of this.” The middle-aged man in front of me asked very lightly, is it possible that he is not the girl's biological parent?

“But if I do that, it means I break my vows as a doctor. Your daughter still has great hopes to wake up and get back to health.” I tried to give her confidence that the princess still had hope to come to her senses. Of course I wouldn't want to do something like euthanasia, because that's the opposite of what I swear.

“What if you do it in Korea? After doing that you can all take a vacation. Don't you miss your hometown so much?” Said the boy with his faint smile.

“Are you trying to make me a murderer in my homeland?” Maybe after rejecting this I will die, or maybe I will lose the job I have long dreamed of.

“People like you are easily removed from this earth with just a piece of tissue!” His tone seemed threatening.

“I want you to do it, today I will send you there. I want everything to run neatly, I want him on cremation.” The desire for cremation made me round my eyes.

“I want to grant the request of my daughter who always wants to be released, make sure you spread her ashes in a beautiful place!” If only he was my relative, I might have thrown a fist at him. How can a father ask for his daughter's death? Is he god?

“I love him so much, so I don't want him to linger–long suffer in this world. I want him free and peaceful.” Now his words sounded like a father who had lost his daughter terribly.

“But your daughter does not suffer from severe pain that requires to perform euthanasia.” What exactly is the motive of this man before me? How could he ask me to kill his daughter who still has so much hope to live?

“Judge him he no longer has a life expectancy. I want everything to go well! Don't miss it, I trust you!” After saying that, he walked out of my room.

Not waiting for a long time, I immediately went to the room where the boy was being treated. But it was empty, there were only a few nurses who were doing the cleaning.

“I heard you're going home to your birthplace, are you going to work there?” He kept asking me questions that made me even more confused. Without caring for her, I left that place.

---

My head felt so dizzy the first time I opened my eyes, the last thing I could remember was someone hitting me. It happened when I came out of the room I last visited. I circulated my gaze, trying to figure out my current whereabouts. It seems I was on a private jet, not far from where I was a gurney, on top of which lay the girl who had been my responsibility. The girl who always fell asleep peacefully, whose face had never been out of my sight.

I smiled blandly looking ahead, how could I take the lives of my own patients. What exactly was Dea's father's goal? Why he so desperately wanted the death of his own daughter. My phone rang, like my dad found out about my return from the hospital chief.

“Finally you want to go home, the hospital chief said you stopped being a doctor. Have you changed your mind?” Even I haven't spoken yet, he interrupted me with that question.

“Looks.” I walked over to the gurney where Dea was lying.

“It seems like it's impossible huh? I'm a little disappointed.” I don't know why my voice sounded so disappointed.

“Actually what did the hospital chief say to dad?” I feel like there's something wrong with our conversation.

“Sounds you don't like this conversation.” I took a deep breath hearing his words. I suspect, did my father use this to bring me home?

“Do you know someone named Hardi?”

“No.” He quickly answered.

“Did you deliberately want to match me with Dea? By using the motive of a comatose girl who is being abandoned by her parents?” It seems like a stupid question. But if it wasn't cornered like this, my father wouldn't admit to what he did. I put my suspicions on him, because a few days ago he suddenly asked me to come home. But I refused, because I was comfortable working in my place.

“What are you talking about? Who's Dea? Who's Hardi? What exactly happened?” Looks like it's true dad doesn't understand anything about Dea.

“Ku close first-”

“Don't disconnect first, wait! I'm looking for something.” I'm sure dad will call the hospital chief after disconnecting us. I'm looking for a letter or whatever it has to do with resignation. I found it, it's definitely not my writing, but it looks pretty similar. When I wanted to continue my search, a flight attendant gave me an envelope while saying, “This is from Mr. Hardi for you.”

I opened the envelope, and there was a neatly folded sheet of HVS paper. When I opened the fold, I was a little surprised because the writing wasn't handwritten. Except the results of print out.

Doing that euthanasia violates your vows as a doctor.

Now you're no longer a doctor, so there's no need to worry.

I crumpled the paper and gave it back to the flight attendant, since she was waiting for me. “You want to flap that paper?” I already know the answer, but stupidly still ask. “Will I burn, according to Pak Hardi's orders.” The flight attendant said.

“You have to run your last task, all the equipment I will prepare. We'll be landing soon, so you better do it now. So that when landing later stay towards the cremation house.” Obviously the flight attendant. “Good.” I agreed, I disconnected the phone and put down my phone and followed it.

I didn't know if the man would include anyone to bear witness to his son's death. I actually had a plan to ask Dad for help, but I didn't have time. The nurse gave me a pair of handscoons and syringe equipment along with liquid medicine. I injected a needle into the lid of a bottle filled with liquid, to move the liquid into the syringe. Once I took a breath and exhaled, I injected the liquid into an intravenous saline infusion attached to Dea's arm.

o0o