We were in the transition lounge at Auckland City Hospital. Here, for M, was a limbo (armchairs, festive decorations, a television showing how to craft Christmas wreaths) between leaving the ward and actual discharge. Here, the inmates, slumped in postures of exhaustion, nausea and resignation, waited until the doctors could complete the paperwork. The staff were heroic; the service, in crowded conditions, had been exemplary. This was the exile of illness, alleviated by the kindness of strangers.
M sat wearing dark glasses, D made funny jokes. “Leather is such a timeless material,” the television said. A nurse wheeled in a trolley of sandwiches as the news came on, with its roundup of tragedy and crime. We watched an item about 501 deportees.
This story is from the January 3-13 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
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This story is from the January 3-13 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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