Ever since she was little, Lola had always wanted to become a lawyer. She would have the same dreams of standing at the front of a court gallery and heroically providing the very evidence that could give her client a second chance at life. So vivid were these dreams that after she awoke, she would sit upright in bed and stare out the window through the small crack uncovered by the old purple tapestry on the wall until she was ready to face reality-

She was never going to be a lawyer. 

One day, she awoke from another dream and sighed as she slipped out of bed to get ready for work. Today, she would accept life as it was. She promised herself. After all, being a nurse at her local hospital was a noble job in itself, was it not? 

Lola arrived at work early that morning. She made her morning rounds as usual–all of the patients were either groggy, hungry, or both. Lola never expected much more out of these dull days. She always wondered if she had made the right decision in going to nursing school instead of law school. Everything was so routine: She’d wake up early in the morning, have a quick breakfast, and then make the 10-minute drive to the hospital. Although it was unexciting in comparison to the lively dreams she would have, she continued to stick to her routine because she knew she was lucky to be able to help her community so closely. Like how Buddhism’s Eightfold Path teaching of Right Effort encourages people to never give up in order to build positive traits instead of negative ones, Lola remained dedicated to the routine because it encouraged her to focus on the bright side of things and she knew it had a positive outcome on her character (Namchak).

Sigh...

Lola was making her way to the hospital’s reception desk to drop off her daily patient charts when her boss, Dr. Sherman, pulled her aside in the hallway. 

“Hey Lola, we have a patient coming in later today with appendicitis. He’s going to be kept in the East Wing for most of the afternoon before Dr. Halley is ready to prepare him for surgery. You’re going to be his assigned nurse,” said Dr. Sherman.

“Okay, sounds good,” Lola responded casually.

“There’s something else…”

Lola waited patiently for him to continue.

“The patient’s name is Mateo. We think he might’ve run away from home. We’re working on contacting the parents. For now, try to keep him calm while we figure this out.”

Lola nodded obediently.

It was 3:30 P.M. on the dot when the medics brought Mateo into the East Wing. Lola was waiting patiently in the seating area outside Mateo's room. She had never seen such a large group of people following a patient in the hospital: The poor boy was surrounded by four other nurses, five medics, three police officers, and tailed by Dr. Sherman himself. 

They act as if he's a prisoner! She thought to herself. 

Lola watched as they brought Mateo into his room. She was seated right next to the patient’s door, and as the group passed by her, she noticed that Mateo had messy, brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He stared at nothing. It seemed as though he had to be dragged by his limbs. It was a dreadful sight for a young child.

After the group had for the most part left the patient alone (there were two police officers waiting outside the patient’s door for security reasons), Lola hesitantly made her way into the room. She stopped a few feet from the side of Mateo's bed, not wanting to frighten the boy.

“Hey! My name is Lola, and I’m going to be your assigned nurse for the day. I believe Dr. Halley is working on preparing you for surgery.”

Mateo nodded. Lola moved to adjust his heart monitor, but he jerked out of her reach before she could.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to spook you…” Lola said nervously.

“Oh, it’s, um, it’s fine… I just, um… You don’t have to readjust anything.”

“Oh, why is that?”

“It's just... I ran away from home. I did some terrible things, and I hurt my mom's feelings. I think she hates me now... Look, I don’t want any treatment. I think it's best if I just stay here...”

Lola remembered a book on Hinduism she had read back in high school. The Hindu teaching of karma states that a person's actions determine how their next life will look (Hindu American Foundation). Hinduism's followers dedicate themselves to honorable and respectable attitudes and behaviors during their lifetimes looking to secure better lives for themselves when they are reborn (Britannica).

“Hey! I know your situation is tough, and look–we all make mistakes," said Lola. "Don’t be too hard on yourself! If you give up now, there’s no hope for the future. And who knows… if you work hard to be a better person now, maybe something good will come your way! Karma can work miracles!”

"If I get karma, my mom will throw away all of my stuffed animals!"

"No Mateo, karma doesn't necessarily mean something bad is going to happen. You might have made a mistake, but if you behave now, things might get better.

Mateo only nodded.

I guess we’ll just have to see if that was convincing, Lola thought to herself.

Lola was standing at the front of the courtroom before the judge. She felt powerful–her client’s supporters waited anxiously as she prepared the final piece of evidence that would free her client from their impending sentence. 

“Your Honor, my client is innocent. They claim that my client was near the elementary school when the incident occurred–but I have evidence that suggests otherwise.”

Lola could feel everyone in the courtroom shift to the edge of their seats. But just before she could read aloud what was on the paper in her hands, she heard voices.

“Lola. Lola!”

Lola sat up from the spare patient bed in the main East Wing hallway, sweating. She had been dreaming again.

“Lola, I’m going to need you to do me a favor,” said Dr. Sherman.

“Of course sir, what is it?”

“We were able to reach Mateo's mother, but now he's refusing to cooperate with the doctors. If he doesn't let loose soon, we might not be able to prepare him for surgery by today.”

Lola furrowed her brow as she waited patiently for Dr. Sherman to finish.

“I need you to convince him that everything’s going to be okay.”

“Uh-”

“Please, Lola.”

“...Okay, yeah, I mean of course. Do we know what’s making him refuse?”

“Something about his mother being angry with him…”

There had to be something that would convince him..., Lola thought. Of course! Forgiveness. Faith in a higher power, like in Jesus in Christianity, will cleanse a person of their sins  (Witham). That’ll convince him!

Lola made her way to Mateo's room. She nearly lifted her fist to knock on the door, which was wide open, out of habit. Mateo was closing his eyes, but he wasn’t asleep. Lola could tell by the way his eyelids were trembling, fighting to stay shut.

“Hey, um… I know it can be a little scary to-you know… be going into surgery… But we’ve got a really amazing staff here who’ll help you every step of the way! Dr. Halley’s amazing at his job, too. Trust me, you’re in good hands.”

Mateo continued to keep his eyes closed.

“Hey… I know you feel guilty for what happened with your mom. But you need to have faith right now–faith that she’ll forgive you. If you remember how much your mom has dedicated herself to you already, you'll see that she would never hate you. Your mother will forgive you as long as you believe in her kindness.” Jesus offers forgiveness from negative consequences for those who are honest and recognize him as the son of God ("What is Salvation?").

“But what if I can’t fix things? What if Dr. Halley heals me on the outside, but I’m not any better on the inside?”