The Pink Strike

"I worked twelve hours yesterday, that is far over union regulations. Then six more hours over today," Jane explained to Brianna holding her time card.
"Did you hear about the earthquake?"
"Are you even listening to me?" Jane replies.
"Well, I am, but the only way to stand up and get what we want is we have to strike."
Jane drops her time card attempting to clock out. The thought of a strike sent shivers down her spine.
"What about the patients?"
"We'll get them to strike with us," Brianna explains.
The two women walked to their cars in the parking lot, feeling the pressure from what was at stake. If they stood up to the system, who knew what the outcome would be. Jane prayed hard the night before going to work, she could not understand how work was driving her insane. She had not seen her children in days, they'd been staying with her mother. All she'd been doing was working, she hated working with Mary because she was nuts; Nina was lazy and dropped a few patients; Trisha got fired so Jane's wing was often short. Jane was tired but her faith was keeping her strong. The next day one of the patients gave her a pink bow. Holding the bow she didn't understand why the woman had given it to her. The old worn down patient told her an angel gave her a vision last night. Jane thought the woman was delusional. After the woman did this, she rolled over-out of the bed onto the floor and broke her hip. Jane couldn't believe it. Everyone came running in the room thinking Jane had dropped the patient. As they helped the woman up, everyone blamed Jane as she stood there with the pink bow in her hand. She couldn't believe it. Brianna walked by the room, Jane turned around and saw her. The supervisor with all of her might shouted at Jane as though she did not come in on her day off. Walking by the room, everyone heard what was going on. While the screaming intensified all of the nurses walked out of the hospital. Jane saw a flood of pink scrubs in front of the hospital as she exited with the pink bow. When she raised the bow the nurses split like a pink sea of mutating cells. "In my labor ladies and gentlemen, I have been feeling injustice. I have watched our bosses go buy themselves big mansions and Christmas gifts for their children while we starve. They have told us to appreciate the little bit of life we have and suffer while they treat us like wild beast. I dedicate this strike to my children who want to see me. One day I too will be in this place with who knows what disease. One day I too will lay in my own piss and be cleaned by the same people whose diapers I once changed. After this strike ladies and gentlemen we will build our own hospital and I promise you we will tear this one down, so help me God." The sea of pink scrubs cheered as the patients looked from their windows. God was with Jane. She was the answer. Carrying her pink bow she walked through the pink sea of nurses as the supervisors and bosses were drowned by complaining patients. After her declaration, the nurses gathered up all of the knowledge and savings that they had then built their own hospital. Jane took the oath as CEO; she vowed to never treat her employees like her bosses had treated her. Standing in her office she cried holding the pink bow, she looked through an old file of the patient who gave it to her. The patients name was "Martha Blacksmith," she was an old nurse from Westville hospital. It turns out that Martha was the first nurse to give an organ to a dying patient. An angel did come to her, she was not delusional. The angel gave her the pink bow to give to Jane. Martha knew all along, that even in death there's life, even in bad cells there's a good cell and even in work there's redemption. Martha passed on to Jane something that she would never forget, but most of all: something that she would pass onto others. Martha passed to her a legacy that would never be broken. Those patients knew what was going on at that hospital but just watched all along while Jane came in on time everyday to give them joy and laughter. It was now time for the next generation of nurses to gather at the pink time clock. While there, they would always see the picture of Jane holding her pink bow in the distance. The pink strike was over and Jane held the key to a new legacy.