SEVEN

The doctor hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting between the anxious faces before him. Finally, he spoke, 'There was nothing wrong with her vitals, but I noticed a red burn mark on the sole of her left foot. Do any of you know what might have caused it?

The news of the burn mark caught them off guard. Margaret was the first to speak up, her voice laced with concern, "A burn mark?" Margaret said.

Matthew turned towards Sarah, he looked at her with a questioning look, silently asking she knew anything about it. Sarah, her own worry etched onto her face, shook her head in confusion.

Margaret spoke up, her voice trembling slightly. "Everything was fine yesterday. Sasha was just at home, nothing out of the ordinary. But this morning, she suddenly screamed and passed out in her room." She paused, then added, "We had no idea something like this was going on."

The doctor looked at them and sighed, "Based on our assessment, we recommend that Sasha stays in the hospital until she regains consciousness."

"How long will it takes? Is she going to be okay?" Margaret expressed her concern.

"It's hard to say for sure, but it could be several hours or even a day or two. We want to make sure she's stable and there are no underlying issues that caused her to pass out."

"Can we stay with her?"

"Of course. We have visiting hours, but given the circumstances, we can make an exception and allow you to stay with her until she wakes up."

The three of them thanked the doctor, and he nodded acknowledging their thanks before walking away. They looked at each other's worry face. "Let's go in" Matthew said and took the lead to push open Sasha's ward door.

As they entered Sasha's hospital room, they were greeted by the sight of her lying unconscious on the bed, her feet bandaged. Her family's hearts ached to see her in such a fragile state. Sasha's complexion was pale, and her breathing was shallow. Matthew took a step forward and reached out to hold her hand, while Margaret stood behind him, worry can be seen in her eyes.

"What is happening to you, Sasha?" Margaret spoke, her voice was trembling and her heart sank looking at her unconscious daughter. Matthew put his palm over her shoulder, softly caressing her, comforting the distressed mother.

Sarah looked at her parents and said, "I'll stay and wait for her to wake up. You guys can go home first. It'll be fine".

Margaret and Matthew were filled with anxiety, but in the end, they reluctantly agreed. "Okay, please inform us about her as soon as she wakes up," Margaret said.

Sarah nodded in understanding and then saw her parents out. She walked back to the chair next to Sasha's bed and took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts. She set her bag down on the bed stand and gazed at Sasha's still form. The pale face of Sasha was a constant reminder of how her fragility. Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong.

She had a feeling in her gut that this was related to the problem Sasha had brought up before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes, and tried to think.

As Sarah tried to think more about what had happened, her head began to ache inexplicably. It was so strange, as if something was blocking her from discovering the cause of Sasha's condition.

She sat down on the chair, leaning back while crossing her arms over her chest. Sarah reached to her bag and took out her mobile phone. She needed to released the stress that was weighing on her shoulder.

As the time slowly passed, Sarah felt a sudden rush of coldness on the back of her neck. She sat upright, tilting her head left and right to check if there was any unwelcome presence joined them.

A loud thud reached her eardrums, making Sarah turned her head in shock.

There was nothing.

Sarah took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and turned her head to the front again. "Everything is alright." She convince herself. Her whole body trembled in shock as she suddenly felt a soft blow of air behind her ear, as if someone was blowing next to her. She turned around quickly, but no one was there. The room was still and silent, except for the sound of Sasha's faint breathing.

Once again, she took a quick deep breath and adjusted herself to sit comfortably.

Suddenly, Sasha's eyes shot open, her body jolting upright. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she stared fixedly at the ceiling. Sarah could see the whites of her eyes and the pulse pounding at her neck. It was as if something was gripping her by the throat, refusing to let go. Sarah felt a chill run down her spine as Sasha's gasping intensified, her fingers clawing at the bed sheets. The room seemed to grow darker, as if a shadow had fallen across it. Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that they were no longer alone in the room.