Ward Part II

“Uninvited guests?”

“I’m talking about ghosts. Don't ever think that the obstetric ward is at peace! Even though there are more people born than dead, there are cases where patients died from miscarriages, hemorrhage, or DFIU (1). There was a woman who gave birth to a child and bled to death a few days ago. It was terrifying." Nurse Ae made a long snort with her eyes dilated to scare the new doctor. Nurse Pia lightly hit her shoulder and laughed.

“Silly, don’t scare him like that. Ae often pranks new doctors like this. Compared to the surgical ward, our ward is pretty calm. That ward is blood-curdling.”

The doctor gave them a solemn smile. Although he had no idea whether Ae was joking or not, he knew that there are wandering souls in every hospital. Some still didn't know they were dead. Some were dead and had nowhere to go. Some still walked around to wait for their loved ones.

Thinking that the young doctor got goosebumps. He immediately seized his bag and walked down from the obstetrics and gynecology ward to go back to the dormitory.

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When the alarm clock at the head of the bed rang at 8 p.m., the doctor got up and took a shower to be on the shift at the obstetrics and gynecology ward for the whole night. After the young man had finished dressing up, he didn't forget to grab new comic books with him. At least they would make this long night not too dull.

The distance between the medical student dormitory and the hospital was about five hundred meters apart. Even though it was only about 8 p.m., the hospital area was utterly quiet. It was the silence that a sixth-year medical student like him was pretty familiar with. He had never thought it was scary until today.

As his leather shoes touched upon the cement floor that curved along with the corners of the building, every step echoed back until it sounded like he wasn't walking alone on this silent night. It would sound like someone was following one step behind for those who overthought things but merely an echo for those who did not.

Fortunately, Doctor Aun wasn’t a person who overthought…

The wind blew neatly planted trees along the aisle until they leaned in the same direction. It sent a little shiver down his spine. He often had to stop to listen to the echo of his own steps to make sure it was just an echo, not the sound of other people's footsteps.

This was weird… Doctor Aun had never felt this kind of terror before. Having walked in this hospital for six years, he could almost walk around with his eyes closed. Why did he suddenly come across this fear in his sixth year? ...The year that he was about to become a full-fledged doctor.

The lights from the patient's room were on and lit up the corridors, so it was not pitch-black. Even though there were lights from the electric poles along the way, his uneasiness had not yet faded away. The doctor quickened his steps towards the obstetrics and gynecology building that seemed so far away. Damn, he despised this feeling.

The walk would end in a second... There, the obstetrics and gynecology building finally stood in front of Doctor Aun. He breathed out softly through his mouth with a sheen of sweat from his quick walk. The doctor entered the building and stopped in front of an elevator. The surroundings were as silent as a graveyard. It was a totally different world in the daytime. He reached out to press an elevator button, which growled as it came down. With its "ding" signal, the elevator opened. The doctor stepped in and pushed the fourth-floor button where the doctor’s room was located. When the elevator moved up, he looked at the mirrors surrounding him to check his appearance. His hair was tangled from the wind when he walked from the medical student dormitory. Doctor Aun fixed his hair by using his hands as he was afraid that patients and nurses would be shocked from a misunderstanding that the doctor was a ghost.

Ding…

The elevator door opened when it reached the fourth floor. After the doctor had stepped out, looking left and right, he was surrounded by silence. It was so quiet that he could hear his own breathing. The sparse lights didn’t diminish the terrifying atmosphere. The counter area had no lights on. Even shadows of the night shift nurses were none to be seen. Where have they all gone? What if there was an emergency maternity patient? He needed to have a conversation with them.

As the doctor walked past the counter on the fourth floor, a faint clattering noise sounded out. However, it was so clear to him in the silence. Doctor Aun paused again to look toward where the sound might be located. He broke out in a sweat. There was something hidden in the darkness. He took a deep breath to summon the courage before slowly heading over to the dark counter. He clutched comic books in his hand as if they were an excellent weapon to fight an invisible thing behind the ward counter.

One more step left to the source of the clattering noise, but then someone's figure suddenly emerged from the counter. The doctor jumped back and screamed. Then the voice of a person behind the counter brought him back to earth.

“Doctor...it's me...I’m a night shift nurse.”

The woman hurriedly introduced herself to the frozen doctor, who slowly opened his eyes to see the plain-looking nurse standing there. He sighed in relief. “I was so scared, what were you doing in the dark there?”

“Oh... I was looking for a light bulb in the drawer. The light on the counter was broken. Sorry to startle you. I'm Nurse Koi. You are an extern, Doctor Achira, right?" The nurse asked the young doctor, which he nodded back.

“Yes, Nurse Koi. You can call me Doctor Aun.”

“Yes, Doctor Aun.” She gave him a friendly smile.

“So did you find the light bulb?”

“I did.”

“In that case, I will help you change it.” Doctor Aun showed kindness to the colleague, to which she nodded in agreement and handed him the light bulb box. The doctor raised his head hesitantly to look at the ceiling light. He has never changed a light bulb in his life; he was sure that baby delivery was easier. Nevertheless, he thought there would be nothing too difficult for human capability.

The young doctor took off his leather shoes and climbed onto the counter. He took off the old light bulb and replaced it with the new one. Screwing the new light bulb in, he turned to the nurse, who was anxiously waiting.

“Try to turn on the switch and see if it works.”

“Yes, Doctor Aun.” She replied and reached out to press the switch on the counter. The light flickered a few times before it lit up. The light struck the doctor’s eyes. Unless his vision was blurred, the young doctor felt like he had seen a black shadow running fast past the counter, so fast that he couldn't even see what it was.

“What…”

“What is it, doctor?”

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(1) DFIU is the Death Fetus In Utero or the death of a baby in the womb.