by Chris McGinty
He arrived at the restaurant. He was actually not even sure that anyone would be there, because it had been so long since he showed up to one of these get togethers. The staff didn’t acknowledge him as he walked through the door, such as the way of modern service. He walked up the stairs into the slightly darker dining area. He barely had time to look around when his name was called from a nearby table.
He turned, and against what he thought was a wall, were two of the guys from the group. They weren’t his favourite people, but they were nice enough. He went and sat with them.
He was barely seated when a woman, seemingly sleepwalking, walked past them. There was no wall there. There was nothing to stop her from walking over the edge. She fell and the thud of her body on the concrete below was sickening. Had he known there was no barrier, he might have grabbed her and stopped her. He turned to look, and she was lying motionless on the sidewalk below, the sunlight from outside still not touching the room. His friends were shocked and worried for the woman, and he heard someone wonder why they had no railing there.
He got up to run downstairs. He felt he could help in some way, but as he descended the stairs, he didn’t know what he could really do. He had no training in medicine. Sure, he’d taken a CPR course once, but if this woman was alive, she would need someone to set the bone, which would be better done in the ambulance anyway. He should call for an ambulance, but he was certain someone would have already.
By the time he got downstairs, there were three people already gathered around the woman. It was likely that they were also unqualified to help her medically, but since he was certain he was, he just stood back. No need to have a fourth person with no help to bring hanging around. He still couldn’t tell if she was alive, and while he still thought he should call for help, he was also still sure someone had to have already.
The picture is from a photograph by William Hope.