Goodbye, Dr. Alreign.

Broken traffic lights, drivers in a hurry, people running across the pedestrian lane, and traffic jams on the crossroads. Just like the people around him, Alreign was also in a hurry; he kept on looking at his watch while driving.

It was 8:30 in the morning, and he was supposed to meet a patient by 9:00 am, but it seemed like the busy road wouldn't let him arrive on time. 

With his knitted forehead, Alreign cursed under his breath.

"Come on!" he shouted while honking at the car in front of him. "Goodness! What the hell is going on there?!"

His phone rang, and he picked it up without looking at the caller. "Hello?"

[Good morning. Where are you now, doctor? The patient kept on asking about you. I guess she's a bit anxious.] His assistant nurse whispered on the phone.

"I'm on my way. Just caught in a traffic jam. I'll arrive on time, I promise," Alreign said, then he hung up.

Out of frustration, Alreign stuck his head out of his window to peer ahead. But to his terror, Alreign saw how the fire truck lost control and swept all the cars ahead in his direction. Nervously, Alreign tried to get out of his car, but it was too late.

His car flew to the left side, causing a great collision with other cars and an electric post.

People shouted as they witnessed some cars turned upside down, some crash to the corners, and the fire truck was completely deformed. 

The massive collision caused dread among the people around. Blood was scattered on the road, and injured passengers were found unconscious in their vehicles. Drivers, who were irritated earlier, were now serene as they lay in their upside-down cars.

Alreign's cracked phone rang nonstop, but he could no longer hear it. He was covered in blood while the sharp shard of his car's window was stabbed in the left side of his neck. 

25 were injured, and 18 were announced dead on the spot, including Alreign.

The sad news was spread like a flash at the hospital where Alreign was working and in his neighborhood, causing distress to some. 

Alreign, a good-looking and kindhearted man, intelligent, caring, patient, and an excellent general surgeon who saved countless lives despite being a fresh graduate, was now cold and lying inside a coffin. 

His wake was filled with people feeling great sorrow, pain, and rumination. Loud cries and whimpers, and some lost their consciousness in deep sadness.

Alreign was a 28-year-old general surgeon at Heal with Love Hospital. He was an orphan adopted by a rich elderly couple at the age of 5. After their deaths, Alreign inherited the couple's wealth, which he donated to the orphanage where he came from, leaving only a decent amount for himself that he later tripled.

"Poor lad. He's still young."

"I heard the patient he was supposed to meet died two days after his death."

"Sigh. Let's pray for their souls."

Amanda, Alreign's assistant nurse, distributed the coffee she made herself. Her hands were trembling as she handed the coffee to the guests of the wake, preventing herself from wailing. She was the last person Alreign talked to on the phone. Now, she couldn't forget his voice—it was still echoing in her ears.

"Are you alright?" Amanda looked at Gabe, Alreign's closest friend.

She nodded and forced a smile. "Coffee?"

"No thanks. I think you should rest. You've been distributing coffee since this morning," Gabe said as he took the tray of coffee from Amanda's hands. "Let me do it."

"Thank you," Amanda responded with a weak voice. After Gabe left, she sat in the vacant chair in front of Alreign's coffin.

No words came out of her mouth but a loud cry. She cried her heart out, pouring out all the pain she kept in her chest.

Just like Amanda, Gabe wiped his tears as he silently took a deep breath. Alreign was his best friend since high school—he was the best of the best. When the world turned its back on him, Alreign never left his side. So now that he was gone, a part of him was also missing.

On March 16, 2022, at exactly 10:00 in the morning, everyone was wearing white and black handkerchiefs on their hands, wiping their tears while sobbing. 

The priest gently sprinkled the holy water as Alreign's coffin gradually descended to the ground. Flowers were thrown, and the soil slowly covered his pearl-white casket.

"We will never forget you, Dr. Alreign!"

"Thank you for all the help."

"Be well there, Alreign."

"Goodbye, Dr. Alreign."

Days had passed—The Heal with Love Hospital's ambiance was different than usual. Alreign was popular and one of the best doctors there; his death indeed brought misery both to his colleagues and patients. Even the hospital itself wasn't as lively as before.

"You missed him too, don't you?" Amanda looked in the voice's direction—it was Janine, a cardiothoracic surgeon.

Amanda weakly smiled and glanced at Alreign's desk. "Yes. I'm still not used to the silence here."

"Everyone feels the same. They still subconsciously call him for lunch. Some nurses thought they saw him at the ER."

They both bitterly chuckled, then they fell silent for a short moment, reminiscing about Alreign's memories. Janine's tears wet her cheeks, but she swiftly wiped them off after letting out a faint sob. "He's a good doctor. He's..."

Amanda stood up and gently hushed her. "I know... I know."

"DR. ALREIGN!! DR. ALREIGN! WAIT! WAIT FOR ME!"

Everyone stepped out of their wards and offices, including Janine and Amanda, as they heard a patient shouting her lungs out while walking faster towards the window of the hospital.

"Oh no... No-no-no-no!" Amanda and Janine ran as fast as they could to stop the patient from jumping out the window.

"DR. ALREIGN! DR. ALREIGN!" The patient cried, reaching out to the sky. "Dr. Alreign. He's walking away. He... He never looked back. He... He never..."

"Aliyah, calm down," Janine told the patient in a soft tone.

Aliyah was a 16-year-old cancer patient under the care of Alreign. Among all the patients that Alreign handled and took care of, Aliyah was the one who was affected the most. 

Since she was admitted to the Heal with Love Hospital, Alreign has never let her be hopeless despite battling against stage 3 bladder cancer. You could say her support system was strong, even though Aliyah was abandoned by her parents a few years after discovering her disease. 

Alreign took care of her hospital bills and never failed to check on her health condition. He totally stood as a guardian and was like a real brother to her; that was why her grief was more than one could imagine.

"She's asleep," Amanda told Janine as she entered Aliyah's ward. Fortunately, they managed to calm her down and convince her to go back to her ward earlier.

Janine sat beside the hospital bed and caressed Aliyah's head. "Poor girl. She's really hurt."

"I heard she hadn't eaten since yesterday. If she still refuses to eat, it may worsen her health," Amanda worriedly said.

The ward's door opened, and Roderick entered—an oncologist. "How is she?"

"I think she's fine now. But she hasn't eaten yet," Janine replied.

Roderick looked at Aliyah and let out a faint sigh. "I know that Alreign's death will cause this kind of emotion, but I didn't expect some to take this far."

"I understand her. Alreign is her sole reason why she's improving," Janine added. 

"I really saw him." They all looked in Aliyah's direction as she spoke. She opened her eyes and slowly got up with Amanda's assistance.

"Aliyah..." Roderick worriedly sighed. "I understand you're in pain, but..."

"I'm telling the truth. I saw him." Aliyah lowered her gaze. "He was checking every ward with that usual smile on his face, including mine. I followed him. I really thought he was alive."

Janine held Aliyah's hand as tight as she could to comfort her.

"I called him when I noticed he was walking towards the window. I thought he was going to jump, so I ran towards him. I called him many times. But... But he never looked back." Aliyah burst into tears.

No one dared to talk and just let her cry.

Day by day, Aliyah was getting difficult to feed. She was only ingesting a small amount of her food, even though they tried to make it appetizing.

They all thought it was best for her to express her pain and give her some privacy to overcome her grief, so they granted her space to heal.

But Roderick didn't think he would soon see her hugging a pink diary, lying on the hospital bed, stiff and cold.

Aliyah suddenly died on the exact date of Alreign's 40th day.

On the same day, under the gloomy and dark sky, a young boy sweeping and cleaning the cemetery stopped in front of a tomb.

Confused, he woke up the man lying on top of the grave. But looking at the tailored clothes he was wearing, you couldn't say he was a beggar, although he had dirt all over. 

"Hey. You should go home. You're not allowed to sleep here." The young boy once again shook the man until he opened his eyes.

They both stared at each other, and confusion was written all over their faces.

"Who are you?" The man asked the boy, then he wandered his eyes around the place as he got up to sit. "W-Where am I?"

"I am a groundskeeper, and you're in the cemetery," the boy replied, which caught him off guard.

"C-Cemetery?" The man repeated. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Uh, yes, cemetery. I guess it's pretty obvious since we are surrounded by tombstones." The boy sighed and pointed at the tombstone behind the man. "You're actually sleeping on top of the grave. I'm sorry for saying this, but, next time when you drink, make sure to leave a bit of sanity so that you can go home."

The man looked behind him and read the name written on the tombstone. His eyes widened, and shivers climbed up to his spine as he realized whose grave he was sitting on.

'Dr. Alreign Jaha

Born: January 10, 1994.

Died: February 28, 2022'

The man strongly turned his head in the boy's direction and asked in disbelief, "Why is my name written on this tomb?!"