Where were you?

At Rose's panic, she even asked the nearby cellmate of Loula in desperate, "Have you seen a woman about this height-" she levelled her hand to the estimated height of her cousin, "-with a short hair?" Lilith asked the patients.

But everybody has their worlds and most paid her no attention and so she left the ward cell and began looking for Loula.

She informed the nurses to look for Loula and her violent case; restrain the patient if seen. Although the nurses began to look for her, she was eased not and continued to scan the building with the nurses.

The patient is nowhere to be found in the hospital; they were ready to call the police when Rose had an idea to look for Loula in the field around the hospital ground.

With the phone in her hand, she flashed the light on her way to look for her. The grassy field tickles her ankle along with its wetness. It was too dark. Rose was about to give up looking and hand the matters to the police when she saw a shadow figure in the bushes behind a tree.

"Loula?" she called out.

Loula did not respond and just stood there glitching, her head was rapidly moving from left to right like a static television. It emanated such a heavy atmosphere that Rose could not take a step closer because of the trembling legs that shackled her frozen to her position.

Although frightened, Rose called out again with her trembling voice, "Loula" flashing her light to see a clearer glimpse of her behind the tree.

Her head's fast motion stopped in an instant the light directed at Loula's hair.

"Loula, wake up"

The bones cracking was faintly heard as she slowly twisted her head to turn. It faced Rose,

"Loula?" a gravelly dual and deep voice came out from Loula's mouth as if she is not herself. Her body followed to where her head was facing while fixated her eyes on Rose, it turned.

Because of the light and the surrounding darkness, it created a vignette illusion on Loula, conceiving a creepy aura that held Rose���s ankles steady on the ground. Although she was afraid, for some reason she reasoned herself that, that is her cousin and there is nothing to be afraid of her.

It laughed at Rose out of the blue, it resonates in her head perhaps it was an echo, but the laugh remained in her head, then her phone lit up and rang.

Suddenly, it was silent and all the noise there is, is the passing cold wind and the ringing phone.

[Mr. Anderson] flashed on the screen

"Why on earth.." she clicked the phone and answered, "Hello, Mr. Anderson?"

She was groaning and noticed that Loula was not in her sight, she flashed her phone around the where Loula could escape in a short time, but there was nothing.

"I wanted to thank you, doctor, I was thinking of repaying over a dinner some time?"

Not paying attention to the call, and anxiously searching for Loula she responded with, "Sorry Mr. Anderson, let us talk later I have urgent matters that needs immediate—"

"Doctor! We found the patient" a nurse interrupted from the background.

Rose went back on the call, "I'll have to go, for now, Mr. Anderson. I'll call you back" and hung up.

"Where was she?" tucking her phone in her slack pocket and trudges along with the nurse back in the hospital building.

"She was in her cell, sleeping"

"But she wasn't there earlier that's why I-"

"And the door seems to be widely open" he interrupted.

𝘈𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦? Rose was confused but she shrugged it off for now and head to her cell.,

After checking her state, Rose was relieved that she had not harmed anyone in her sleep. But bothered since she is sure Loula was right before her eyes. Rose tried to reason everything but cannot explain what had happened.

Rose left the cell and went back to her office to gather her things and went home.

At 10 PM she remembered to call back to Mr. Anderson.

"Hello Mr. Anderson, I hope I was not being rude earlier for I was not paying attention to what you have said, may I ask what your concern was earlier that I happen to cut off?"

"Oh, Doctor. I was asking if I can thank your goodness over a meal?"

"Goodness? Oh, don't worry. You paid for my assistance anyway, I am glad I helped my patient overcome what had been burdening them, mentally and emotionally."

"Ah yes, that is right. Well, I guess it's a rejection then. Bye, doctor… And thank you"

"My pleasure, Mr. Anderson" and just by the last second he was about to end the call, he heard Rose spoke, "Actually, can I treat you to a meal instead? There is something I wanted to thank you for"

Although it was something small, she wanted to genuinely thank him for saving her life, at some point.

"I have done nothing good that grants your gratitude but sure. Meet you Friday noon at 7?"

"Yes, okay erm, thank you and see you" Rose ended the call.

She headed to her house and undress her clothing, throwing herself on the bed and rested. Although she had a long nap earlier, she still somehow felt weary.

Luckily. this night, her dream is rather normal than the usual repeating nightmare every night. Her dream was not of fire but blackness and nothingness. It felt as though it had numbed her senses and just woke up to another day while having the feeling of just blinking her day.

She rose upright on the bed and began to prepare for another day to work in the hospital. Her French coat matched very well her brown thin wavy hairs, and her purse to the colour of her shoes which is black.

The heels of her shoes made an empowering noise when she steps on the ground. Its clacking noise on the floor brings confidence and grit to an individual yet as soon as she reached the hospital, the nurses seem to be wary and as usual, avoidant and distant to Rose.

But she did not let their stares and whispers get to her. Even though she has a higher authority than them, they treated her with disrespect carrying out their job along the way. But perhaps Rose got used to it too much that she paid no heed anymore and did tasks by herself such as getting papers and patient's care under her supervision.

The nurses leave when Rose comes into their area. As if she has a virus to spread, was how they treated her, but it did not bother Rose anymore.

She goes to the hospital to work, after all, and not to socialize with others when not needed. Rose opened the glass door of her office and entered. There, again pile of papers stacked on her desk as if they threw it on the desk lazily on purpose.

Rose's patience faces this nurse's behaviours almost every single day but she said no word and cleaned up everything. Continuing her work, visiting patients and consulting them each.

By the afternoon, she fled to take a look at her cousin's condition for questioning what had happened last night.

After reaching the patient's ward area, Rose asked the staff to open Loula's cell for her to enter. Since the said one of the violent patients has been loose last night, the security was stricter than usual.

"Loula"

"Why are you here?" she sat upright on the bed. "Get out, I don't want to talk to you" diverting her eyes away from Rose's.

"Where were you last night?" she asked as if pushing her on edge to answer.

"What? Do I look like I can go anywhere but here?" spreading her arms, showing the small room that imprisoned her.

"You weren't here when I visited last night"

"And look who's crazy between us" Loula steps closer to her, "I was sleeping here last night, I got too sleepy after…crying. What, did I kill anyone, huh? Did I?"

"Not….yet"

Loula scoffed, "Hah, you still believe I did, huh?" crossing her arms, "If so-" stepping more closer to Rose leaving only an inch of space between her self and Rose, "It might be you next"

Rose stepped back away from her.

"What, you afraid I will?" disarranging her hair causing the dry ends to entangle with each other. "How many times do I have to say, I fu****g didn't!" she added.

"Yeah, I know. I believe that"

"What?"

"You did not kill anyone, someone else did in your guise" Rose blurted out her assumption.

"What? Are you sure you don't have a loose screw? It seems we have switched places"

"Something's just not right when I met you in the hospital field last night"

"What field? I never went there, and surely not last night"

"What?" Rose's eyebrows were to meet, "Where were you then?"

"Sleeping! I told you, are you deaf too?" she ridiculed.

"Who was it then?"

"How the hell should I know? Maybe you need to fix your eyes too before you fix my case" rolling her eyes, "I can't believe I trusted such an insane woman, you should be in my place!" she exclaimed.