The Hospital Part 2

Standing in front of the door to Laura’s room, I felt my heart speed up.

What would I see behind the door?

For a minute, I thought:

I don’t need to go through this door, do I?

Laura needs me.

I gathered courage.

I opened the door.

She was lying in bed, looking out the window.

She looked fine.

Almost fine.

Her skin was too pale. Her eyes were tired. As if she were trying to look better than she really was.

“How are you?” I asked.

“I think I’m fine.”

I took a deep breath.

“You scared me a lot.”

She smiled lightly.

“I imagine.”

I moved closer to the bed.

“I brought your medicine.”

She looked at the bottle in my hand, but didn’t seem interested.

“Soon you’ll be able to go home. Maybe tomorrow.”

She looked away.

Her smile became strange.

Too small.

“Maybe.”

She closed her eyes.

I thought she had fallen asleep.

I stayed there.

Hours.

When she opened her eyes again, she seemed confused.

“You stayed here all this time?”

“Yes.”

She smiled.

“You always do that.”

Always?

I laughed awkwardly.

“Promise you won’t leave me?”

I looked at her.

“I’m here.”

She held my hand.

“It’s going to be okay.”

In the end, I ended up sleeping in the hospital.

I woke up to a commotion.

Rushed footsteps.

Nurses running from one side to the other.

Doors opening.

Voices.

I stood up, startled.

“What happened?” I asked.

No one answered.

I saw two nurses rushing by.

“Room 214.”

My chest went cold.

That was her room.

I ran.

Laura was having a relapse.

She had fallen into a coma.

No sign of the doctor.

Where is that idiot?

In front of all that mess, people moving from one side to the other.

Confusion.

I had to do something.

I went to the nurses and gave a series of orders.

“Her fever is too high. I want cold compresses and IV fluids.”

They nodded.

“And monitor her saturation. If it drops again, call me.”

All of them answered almost at the same time:

“Yes, Doctor.”

And with that, we continued trying to stabilize Laura.

***

When Laura finally woke up.

I saw a familiar sight.

Weak body.

Dry mouth.

Several symptoms similar to a disease I already knew.

“Looks like I got worse.” She smiled awkwardly. “It must be nothing.”

“Laura…”

She looked to the sides and made a disapproving face.

“Anyway, don’t you have to go to work?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

“I’m already working,” I answered, smiling.

I placed my hand on her forehead and slid it down to her eyes.

“Try to rest a little.”

I knew she would get worse.

That was why I had little time.

You don’t want to see this again, do you?

Isn’t it better for you to run? Like you did last time.

You’re not even her doctor.

This isn’t your problem.

Shut up.

I went to the pharmacy and took some medications I hadn’t tried last time.

One of them had to work.

She improved and, right after, got worse.

My desperation kept increasing.

I walked from one side to the other without deciding.

I heard a boy crying in a nearby room. That broke my state.

In one of the empty rooms, he was holding one of his arms while his mother tried to calm him.

No one nearby.

I couldn’t leave it like that.

I examined the boy.

After a few questions, I realized.

“It’s not broken. Just dislocated.”

I moved the arm carefully.

He stopped crying.

The mother looked at me, relieved.

“Thank you, doctor.”

I left the room, only to come across an old man trembling in a chair.

Pale skin.

Cold sweat.

“You’re hypoglycemic.”

I took a packet of sugar from the counter, dissolved it in water, and handed it to him.

“Drink this.”

The old man raised his eyes.

“Thank you.”

I continued treating patients wherever I passed.

At least this eased my desperation. I felt truly happy.

But where was the doctor who was supposed to treat these patients?

I went to the doctor’s office, only to find an empty room.

There were no scattered papers.

In fact, there wasn’t even a desk, much less a chair.

The computer, the framed diploma.

Everything had disappeared.

Even the smell of alcohol and coffee from before.

As if no one had ever worked there.

I ran to the reception, and the woman looked at me, confused.

“Did something happen, Doctor Gabriel?”

“Where is the…? What was his name again? That old guy? The doctor?”

The receptionist looked at me, confused.

“Doctor? You’re here.”

I was startled.

“I…” Before I could argue, she interrupted me.

“And these are the test results for ------.”

I took the exams in my hands.

It was exactly what I feared.

I ran to the room.

I needed to see how Laura was.

She was different.

Her face had an expression of anger.

“Why did you leave?!” Laura shouted.

“I needed to do some things.”

“You abandoned me! You said you would never abandon me.”

“I didn’t leave the hospital. Calm down. The disease is changing your mood.”

Can a disease really change someone like that? She seemed like another person. Her hair was longer and a different color. It was darker.

“No! You abandoned me. Right when I needed you the most.”

“I’ll let you rest.”

I closed the door slowly.

Before it closed completely, I heard low crying from inside.

I stopped for a second.

But I kept walking.

I went back toward reception.

When I finally arrived, there was no one.

No receptionist.

No patients.

No noise.

“Hello?”

My voice echoed through the empty space.

“Is anyone there?”

I walked between the chairs.

All the televisions were showing static.

I looked behind the counter.

Nothing.

A discomfort started growing inside me.

I went to the exit.

I put my weight against the door.

It didn’t even move.

I forced it again.

Nothing. It was locked.

My heart sped up.

I looked back.

That was when I noticed.

One more corridor.

I wasn’t sure if it had been there before.

I swallowed dry.

The lighting on that side was different.

Stronger.

Clearer, whiter.

And, for some reason…

That part of the hospital seemed familiar.

At the end of the corridor, there was a white door.

Slightly open.

As if it were waiting for me.