The Call Bell is On • by Brittany Friesen • 1

Hamilton Arts & Letters     Stories in The Call Bell is On are built from multiple nursing experiences and the names of characters fictional.   R uddy brick houses sail by the window of my cab; all that is alive remains within the solace of their darkened windows. The early morning is still. Shingled rooftops and the swarthy edge of the lake bleed together as my cab scales the escarpment road. Towering above the houses is the outline of the steel mill. Smoke escapes from the top, reminding me I share this dawn with the descendants of generations of cigarette-laden, grit-coated shift workers. It is their city in which I have found a home. We pull up to the immaculate glass doors of the hospital, and I watch the steady stream of scrub-clad figures flow in. Familiar flutters grow in my chest knowing I am about to enter the chaos of another shift. I slip out of the cab and walk inside. ***    [  >>>>>   FORWARD ]   + [Distillate © HA&L + Brittany Friesen {from the Greek bios} -- the course of a life.]