Number Forty-Seven

Carla had cut her hand washing the dishes. It wasn't deep, but it kept bleeding, so she went to the clinic. The receptionist asked for her insurance card and gave her a number. Forty-seven.

Carla si porezala ruku pri umývaní riadu. Nebolo to hlboké, ale stále to krvácelo, takže išla na kliniku. Recepčná si vypýtala jej poistnú kartu a dala jej číslo. Štyridsaťsedem.

The screen above the door said "Now serving: 31." The waiting room was full. A man was reading the same page of a magazine for ten minutes. A young father was holding a sleeping baby. A teenager was staring at his phone.

Obrazovka nad dverami ukazovala „Teraz obsluhujeme: 31.“ Čakáreň bola plná. Muž čítal tú istú stranu časopisu už desať minút. Mladý otec držal spiace dieťa. Tínedžer sa pozeral na svoj telefón.

Carla sat down and watched the numbers change. 32. 33. 36. The numbers did not move in order. She wondered if she had been forgotten.

Carla si sadla a sledovala, ako sa čísla menia. 32. 33. 36. Čísla nešli v poradí. Premýšľala, či na ňu nezabudli.

After an hour, the screen finally showed 47. She walked through the door to the small office. The doctor looked at her hand for two minutes. "It's nothing," he said. "Clean it twice a day. No stitches."

Po hodine sa na obrazovke konečne objavilo 47. Prešla cez dvere do malej ordinácie. Doktor sa na jej ruku pozrel dve minúty. „Nič to nie je,“ povedal. „Čistite to dvakrát denne. Žiadne stehy.“

When she left, the waiting room was almost empty. The teenager was gone. The baby was awake. The man had finally turned the page.

Keď odchádzala, čakáreň bola takmer prázdna. Tínedžer bol preč. Dieťa bolo hore. Muž konečne otočil stránku.