No More Hospital

The nurse asked, "How 18? Since when?"

The doctor replied that it had been a few days.

"Time flies," she sighed, followed by a deep breath.

Then she said, as if it were obvious, that they would have to cheer him up now and ask what he wanted to do. The doctor regretted this, but said he had other patients to attend to.

The caregiver, on the other hand, followed the nurse and bumped into Kaiden. They lightly tapped Kaiden's shoulders, as if patting a little baby on the back after eating.

A slight shiver ran over Kaiden, causing him to freeze for a moment. The tingling sensation spread from his shoulders to his tailbone.

When he turned around, he saw the two slightly worried but still smiling faces.

He couldn't help It. Within seconds, his mouth stretched into a smile, and it spread across his face.

The caregiver lightly patted his shoulder and asked directly what was going on.

At first, Kaiden didn't want to say anything, but then he opened his mouth and explained that it was about a friend, but he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

The sea of tears seemed to subside, and Kaiden wiped it away with his metallic and human hand. The slightly reddened eyes seemed to be improving, and the smile remained.

However, his nose seemed to be running, which became noticeable as he kept trying to breathe and made some noises.

The caregiver, fortunately, had a pack of tissues In the left side pocket of his pants.

He offered Kaiden one. After he accepted the favor, Kaiden extended his long arms, and the caregiver handed him a tissue.

Kaiden blew his nose as hard as he could, and a torrent of yellowish-white substance seemed to flow. Finally, he could breathe deeply and freely.

He thanked them and asked what they planned to do now.

They looked at him confused.

"What do you mean? Of course, we're responsible for you here. Firstly, we didn't expect you to run away like this. Secondly, we wanted to ask what you want to do now. Now that you can walk on your own and you're awake," the nurse replied.

Kaiden looked thoughtfully into the void and could confidently say what he wanted to do.

"It doesn't really make sense for me to have surgery. First, because I could die during the procedure, and second, because, as the doctor said, even if the tumors are removed, they will definitely come back. So, if I'm being honest, I'd like to leave here as soon as possible, go to that other world, Præter, and look for my brother."

Understandably, without offering a counterargument, the caregiver and the nurse seemed to understand him.

After all, it made no sense to spend time here in this rather small hospital. He also no longer had any injuries that needed proper treatment, let alone anything else that would keep him here.

"When did you plan to leave?"

the nurse asked with her still enchanting lips.

"Actually, from my current standpoint, I'd be ready to leave after eating."

Once again, the two looked over at the apparently back-to-normal Kaiden with slight smiles.

"But you don't even know how to get there, do you?"

Yes, exactly, Kaiden replied. That's what I wanted to ask you before I go. Maybe the caregiver knows something?

But even he shook his head.

Kaiden asked if there might be something in his suitcase that could provide more information.

The nurse agreed and asked the caregiver if he would be so kind as to go back and continue searching in it. He agreed and went off with his long strides.

Sitting opposite each other, Kaiden ate while the nurse did not. He continued eating and didn't think further, until he realized how rude his behavior was.

"Would you like something to eat or drink too?"

he asked politely. The nurse, touched by his gesture, declined with thanks and added that she had already eaten during an earlier break.

"But thank you very much anyway."

An uncomfortable atmosphere seemed to prevail between the two as they chatted away with the others in the background.

After all, Kaiden wasn't the most talkative person. The only thing he did was eat the food, albeit more leisurely this time.

As he chewed and savored the flavors of the simple meal, he could say it tasted like his mother's cooking, even though he didn't have one.

A few minutes passed, and the nurse looked around. She couldn't find a suitable topic of conversation either.

She tapped her intertwined arms with her left index finger on the back of her right hand to pass the time and somehow keep herself occupied.

****

But just as Kaiden finished his meal and was about to return the tray, the caregiver returned with some good news.

He seemed to be carrying things. In the box where the prosthetics were, there also seemed to be a note and a smaller box.

Kaiden, who was just putting his tray away, also saw the caregiver and greeted him. The nurse also stood up and joined the other two who were currently at the edge of the room.

Approaching closer, all she could hear were the two already talking to each other. What she picked up from their conversation was that Kaiden had received a mobile phone and a credit card inside of a portemonnaie.

The caregiver read out the text written on a small note. Kaiden was supposed to call the stored number and explain everything to the person once he was ready to leave the hospital.

The caregiver handed Kaiden the mobile phone, which fit perfectly in his hand, along with the wallet containing the credit card. Together, they walked down the corridor after opening the slightly larger door.

Again, there was a simple yet awkward silence. No one could say a word because they knew what would happen. But the caregiver decided to say something before it was too late.

"Kaiden, you're going to leave us now, right?"

The nurse added, "But don't forget about us!" with a joking tone.

They continued down the corridor until they stood in front of the automatic giant door. The two stopped and bid farewell to Kaiden, this time with a light hug.

As their paths were now about to diverge, and they turned their backs on him, the caregiver seemed to have something else to say.

"By the way, my name is Reo!"

Kaiden turned around and waved back, unable to suppress his laughter. The doors opened automatically as he waved, and sunlight poured in.

A silhouette formed, and Kaiden looked like an eclipse.

As he walked through the opening doors, he thought about how funny it was that he didn't even know his name until just now.

The doors closed and swallowed the two, along with the incoming light at the hospital entrance.

Fresh air, slightly fishy and salty, as it was near the sea. Looking back as he walked away, he saw the hospital.

It looked the same from the outside as it did from the inside: a slightly smaller hospital, but still large. Both inside and outside, it was plain in a simple white-gray.

But as he looked further and walked backward, he spotted the old doctor through a large window.

He seemed to be talking to a patient and didn't notice Kaiden. But that didn't bother young Kaiden.

With a spin and another wave, he said once again, "Goodbye," this time directed at the old, grumpy doctor.

He continued walking and intended to stroll along the promenade to rest and relax a bit, but then he heard an old man shouting again:

"Hot cocoa, hot cocoa, only here, of the best quality!"

Turning towards him, he looked temptingly at the container from which the man filled the cups.

"Do you want some hot cocoa, young man?" the man shouted to Kaiden.

"Sure," Kaiden replied and walked towards the stand.

But as soon as the man filled a cup for him and asked for money, Kaiden remembered that he didn't have any change.

Not knowing what to do, he wanted to somehow talk his way out of it. Then he remembered that he had been given a credit card.

Kaiden asked the man if he could also pay with a card, to which the man happily agreed.

The old man extended the card reader, and Kaiden took his card out of his black leather wallet. He slid it in.

A few seconds passed, and the old man asked if he could finally enter the code, as his arms were starting to ache and feel weak.

Internally, Kaiden panicked. He had never owned a card and had never paid with one before.

He knew that a code was needed, but forgot it under the momentary stress. Feeling a bit embarrassed and apologetic, he asked if he could make an important call first.

The somewhat annoyed man said that the youth of today is always on their phones, but seemed to let him make his call in peace.

Stepping back a bit, Kaiden took his phone from the thin blue-and-white-striped pocket of his pants and turned it on.

Luckily, no password, Kaiden thought with relief. But where is the number now, he wondered. Although he had never owned a mobile phone himself, he could quickly recognize it by the icon depicting a phone and pressed it.

As the caregiver had described, there was only one number stored, which he promptly called.

While the phone emitted light but still loud tones, Kaiden stood there somewhat nervously, supporting his hand on his hip.

The ringing sound continued, supported by the clattering yet soft and muffled steps of his slipper-clad foot on the ground.

But even this noise quickly subsided as a beep sounded, followed by a voice. However, it was anything but what he had imagined—it was a female voice with an extremely high pitch.

She seemed a bit irritated and was eating something, which made a loud noise.

"What do you want now?!" she said with a sigh.

"Uh, I wanted to ask what the code for my credit card is?"

The now even more annoyed voice mumbled quietly but still audibly that no one had told him yet, right?

With a clearer voice, she said that as far as she could see, it should be 1899.

She added that he probably had just woken up and didn't even know the code for the credit card. So, he probably also didn't know that he had to be at a specific point at 6 p.m., right?

Kaiden, who had no idea about this, honestly said he didn't know. Now even more irritated, she said,

"Alright, I'll send you the details by email. And one more thing: the credit card you have is government-issued, and you're only allowed to use it today. That's why you have a limit of 10,000 dollars for the remaining few hours."

With these words, a beep sounded, breaking the silence once again. This time, once again interrupted by the old man, who also asked if he was done now.

A bit bewildered, he affirmed and went to the stand. Entering 1899, he asked if he could have another. As the seller confirmed, he made another and adjusted the bill accordingly.

Kaiden confirmed the purchase, and a very small portion was deducted from his balance.

Still perplexed, he now held the two cocoa cups in his hands. Walking slowly towards a bench, Kaiden gathered himself again.

He was the way he was because it was 10,000 dollars he received for today. He hadn't done any work yet, but he received the wages from his brother, who would have had to work for up to 6 months for it.

Still somewhat amazed, yet happy, he sat on the bench, sharing it with Leon to his left.

As he took a more modest sip of the hot drink, he said in a soft voice with a slight smile, "Now everything will get better."

****