Chapter Text
Capital City, Alberta, Canada
October 1920
The sky is still dark when Samantha Hamilton steps outside of her apartment and makes her way toward Capital City General Hospital (CCGH). October has brought with it a chill in the air, and while the trees lining the streets are few and far between, the colors of their changing leaves bring a sense of calm to her heart.
Turning up the collar of her coat against the cold wind that hits her, she chuckles when she remembers how scared she was the first time she had to make this walk on her own, nearly two years ago. Before moving here, she was used to being escorted everywhere by her protective older brother and his various friends. But now, her life back in Louisiana seems almost like a dream—another life in another world. And while it will always have a special place in her heart, she can’t imagine trading this new adventure for anything.
The loud honking of nearby traffic jolts her from her reverie and pulls her back to the present. The hospital is just ahead, and she quickly fumbles with her nurse’s cap, adjusting it over her long, blonde hair that she hastily tied into a bun on her way out the door. Taking one last deep breath of the crisp, autumn air, she tucks the two books she is carrying more tightly under her arm and pushes the hospital side door open with her shoulder. She then skims her fingers over the wording of the beautifully hand-carved sign that hangs just inside the doorway.
Carpe Diem.
“Seize the day,” she whispers to herself as she makes her way down the long hallway toward her waiting patients, a confident smile forming on her lips.
“Make it count.”