Los Muertos

It is a typical hospital room. The lights are dim because the occupants are going through detox, and bright lights are irritating. Two cells separated by cloth curtains make space for two occupants. The bed closer to the door is occupied. With no fan fare or introduction, the cloth barrier surrounding the room is pulled back and a Vanna White joke is made by one of the orderlies wheeling in the second occupant. He is hispanic, shirtless, and almost unconscious. He moans while they adjust him into his slot of stay. The nurses try to figure out who speaks Spanish. The one who made the Vanna White joke started experimenting with different ways to say "not much" in Spanish. They leave and the man continues to moan.

A different nurse goes up to the man and tries to get his attention and ask him how he is feeling. After several failed attempts he says he is cold. She retrieves heated blankets and spreads them out over his body. His skin is jaundiced. One family member walks through the room, past the first occupant and into the tiny space around his bed. Shortly another comes. Shortly, the entire half of the room is packed shoulder to shoulder with concerned family or friends. The man moans. In Spanish they express their concern. While the family fears, a doctor and a nurse hold a loud conversation in the hallway. The doctor is angry. He says, "You know I didn't ask for this case." The family has started an intense, almost lyrical prayer.  The doctor enters the room in a huff, passes the first partition and squeezes into the unfortunately sterotypical bundle of Mexicans. In a loud, anglo, annoyed voice he tells the family that he can cure the infection but he can't cure the cancer, and frankly it would be a waste of their time. There is a translator, and therefore a delay in the response. The news  is relayed before it hits like a bullet. The room is as quiet as it has been since the Vanna White joke. A few more exchanges are made through the translator and they take the conversation outside. Two women remain and the women sob on top of the man. They cannot stand the news. A woman from hospice comes in and helps wheel out the moaning man.