A Visa to freedom

Dr. Noah won the lottery and wanted to go to America.
Seemingly this should not pose much of a challenge, especially post-lottery-winning. However, he faced some difficulty.
"Try again in 2 years", the guy in the governmental office told him, and Noah thought he actually got lucky - some people wait for years before they are allowed to go to America.
And he knew what he had to do now.
As an expert in minimally invasive surgeries, one of only a handful in his home country, he knew exactly what the government now expects him to do, and indeed, he worked harder. He worked hardest. He worked hardestest. He hardly saw his wife and son, as he worked 8, 10 12, 20, 30, 50 , 50 , 80533452 hours a day, a week, a month. And they loved him at the hospital, he was the best minimally invasivologist in town, and even doctors from out of town came to see the him at work.

But after two years he got a letter from the government. It congratulated him for his fine work and was cordially informed that he was so good, they want to keep him. He can, if he wants, go to Venezuela and be a part of a doctors program. If he works hard enough, after 4 years he will get 10000 dollars. After he comes back home, of course.

Realizing this is not really going the way he wanted, he decided to make a run for it. Well, that is hard to do when you are on an island, which is exactly why Hector, his buddy's friend, who is a very talented carpenter, came in handy. Hector used to built ships from the time his father would sail into the ocean to catch fish and lobsters. When Noah told him he wants a ship he agreed, but on one condition - "I come too". I guess if you are about to cross an ocean, it might be nicer if there was a doctor on board, and Noah thought to himself that a ship builder most probably also knows how to handle ships, and though he was very wrong, he didn't know it yet.

So the ship was built, and they all hopped on board. it was actually more secret than that. Hardly anyone knew about the plans. Noah's mother wept quietly. It was so quiet that the air molecules weren't sure if they should vibrate or not, which is exactly why Noah himself always thought he is hearing his mom crying. Even now, when he tells me this story. He hears her mostly at night, even though she is thousands of miles away.

A GPS is a useful tool when you are about to embark on a sailing mission to a far away destination with a carpenter as your captain. Two problems persisted, though: 1. you just can't get a naval GPS on Noah's island. 2. The captain is the one making the decisions anyway and, being the happy, carefree person that he was, he decided a GPS is not really necessary. With Noah trying to convince him, because he was genuinely fearing for his life, Hector made a compromise - "we sail to Cayman islands and we buy there. And", he added, "that is where we will have our first breakfast".
It's been 5 years from that journey, and Noah hasn't been to the Cayman islands yet. Maybe one day, on his way back home from America he will go back there, just to check out what he might have missed.

They made their way to America eventaully, overcoming stormy weathers and ridiculously high waves. Noah lost 20 pounds, but he probably needed it anyway. There were lots of fish to catch, but no Einstein thought of bringing a fishing rod, or anything like that. I am thinking about those fish right now and I know they are fresh and delicious. They ended up on the coast of some south American country, which I can't remember right now, and somehow found their way to the promised land.

Noah told me this story while sitting on a bench during a 5 minute break we had between patients. We were interrupted a few times by the nurses who came to update us on this or that patient's condition. He looks tired and over worked, like the rest of us. he is in his first year of residency, like myself, but in a different field. It is much different than his lifestyle as a surgeon. as a senior surgeon. However, it's more practical for him right now.

I am looking at his tired eyes, and know that he is actually happy. ier. he made it, he is here. He beat his government, and they did not break his spirit. Just a few things to take care of right now, like bringing his parents. They won't let them leave, and they won't let him, the traitor who escaped his country, to go back. He tried once to come back, when his grandfather was dying. He knew he didn't have a chance, but owed it to him to give it a shot. "We are unable to approve your request" was laconically written on a sheet of paper that was sent to him in an ugly little envelope, and that was it. His grandfather is now watching from above, as his grandson broke the watery wall and made it into freedom.

He just misses those damn cigars.