There is nothing worse than boredom.

  Ralph watched a thin sunbeam creep across the pale blue wall like the pointer on a school blackboard. When the ray reached the top corner of the doorway, he knew his lunch would arrive. He wondered what it would be this time. They had insisted he place an order, but he refused, feigning indifference. “Hospital food is all the same,” he told the frustrated nurse. In truth, he was simply bored, amusing himself by guessing what would be served—like a child on his way from school.

  He had been awake for three days now, and in all that time, nothing had really happened to him. He was just meat on a bed, something for strangers in white coats to poke and prod. Their explanations were meaningless—he still felt like a slab of flesh rather than a human being. In truth, almost none of them spoke to him directly. They addressed Demis instead, who now rarely left his side.

  The last person who spoke to him directly was that woman. Why did he never see her again? She was supposed to be his doctor.

  From his bed, he listened to the murmuring voices in the front room of his hospital apartment. It was irritating, even more than the pain. Did they really think he was so weak that he couldn’t take part in discussing his own affairs?

  “Demis,” he called softly.

  He knew his assistant would hear even a whisper.

  He was right. The muffled voice behind the half-open door fell silent. He heard hurried footsteps, and Demis appeared in the doorway.

  “Bring everybody here,” Ralph demanded. “I feel awkward eavesdropping on you.”

  After Demis, two men from the medical staff stepped into the room. One of them looked familiar: it was the hospital’s medical director. The other was a young man Ralph had never seen before.

  “You can speak freely to me, doctor,” Ralph said to the medical director. “So… how bad is it really?”

  The director broke into a smile.

  “Not bad at all, Mr. Dengof. You’re actually doing very well. You’ve got youth and willpower on your side—and, naturally, good doctors.”

  Ralph let out a short, impatient sigh.

  “Thank you, doctor. I’ve never doubted Saint Pio. But I can’t wait to get out of here. I am sorry.”

  “You don’t have to be. Most of our clients hurry to leave, hoping never to come back.” The doctor sighed playfully.

  “I believe you will be able to leave tomorrow, sir. But…” The doctor cast a short glance at Demis. “I would prefer to observe you for another day or two.”

  “Tomorrow then,” Ralph said to Demis, not paying attention to the disappointment on the doctor’s face. “And pay the bills.”

  “Oh, no!” The medical director threw up his hands. “Your family’s donations…”

  Ralph waved him off.

  “I handle my own bills.”

  The young doctor flipped through the papers in his hands and said to his superior:

  “Actually, everything’s already been paid.”

  The director snatched the clipboard and checked the papers himself.

  “That’s right,” he said.

  “By whom?” Ralph asked, glancing at Demis.

  “Not me,” Demis shook his head.

  Ralph frowned.

  “Who else knows I’m here?”

  “No one. Your family included.”

  Whether he was alive or dead had been kept a secret. It couldn’t stay hidden for long. But he didn’t need to keep it hidden — just a few days, while his people investigated the circumstances of the kidnapping and attempted murder.

  “Who was it — this… generous person?” Ralph’s eyes were fixed on the head doctor.

  The doctor glanced at his assistant.

  “No idea, sir. Financial info is confidential.”

  The head doctor nodded.

  “That’s true.”

  Ralph ignored him. He turned to the young man. He couldn’t place his face, but he recognized the voice. Those voices — this guy’s and that woman’s — had reached him through the darkness. They had argued… about what?

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Ralph closed his eyes, straining to remember. All he could recall was that the man’s voice had irritated him. Had this guy offended the woman?

  “The woman,” he repeated aloud. “There was a woman here when I woke up. Who was she?”

  “Woman?”

  “Yes. A young female doctor. She helped me a lot. I want to thank her in person.”

  The doctors exchanged a look.

  “Could it be Sylvia, Chuck?” the director asked.

  Chuck scanned the papers and nodded.

  “Could be. She was on duty that day.”

  “No. Not her,” Ralph said sharply. “If this Sylvia had been my doctor, you’d be organizing a funeral right now.”

  “Then…”

  “Dr. Martinez, I presume,” Demis jumped in.

  “Abigail?” Chuck asked, clearly confused.

  “Exactly,” Ralph said. “That silly Sylvia called her Abigail.”

  “What the hell?” The director looked alarmed. “She isn’t even a doctor yet! How could she perform surgery?”

  He snatched the papers from Chuck again, flipping through them, and exhaled in relief.

  “Ah, no. She was only a surgical assistant. Dr. Colbert operated — our best surgeon,” he explained to Ralph.

  “Call her.” The director barked at Chuck.

  In response to the director’s order, Chuck just shook his head.

  “It’s impossible, sir.”

  “Why?” the director growled irritably.

  “She doesn’t work here anymore.”

  Chuck moved closer to his superior and whispered,

  “Don’t you remember, sir? You fired her.”

  “What?” The director cast a frightened glance at Ralph.

  “She was an intern,” Chuck said. “Her internship ended a few days ago. And you decided…”

  “No, I… no,” the director murmured. “Some misunderstanding, I suppose. Miscommunication, you know…”

  He shot Chuck a withering look and hissed,

  “Call Colbert. Now.”

  There was nothing to be done — he would have to let Colbert on stage. The medical director had never wanted to share the glory and gratitude of important clients with his subordinates. Even with the most prominent among them, like Frank Colbert. He had done everything in his power to push him aside. And now… now he was stuck. Stuck in this ridiculous, humiliating position — because this patient, this important patient, inexplicably wanted to meet the very employee he had fired.

  Abigail Martinez — now he remembered. Fired at the insistence of someone on the board, officially for “not fitting in with the team.” God knew the real reason. After that came the unpleasant talk with Colbert, and worse, the insane battle with that harpy Smithy, head of the ER. And now… here we are. Mr. Dengof himself wants to see this insignificant intern. Of all people.

  Who the hell is Abigail Martinez to cause him this much trouble?

  He shot a sharp look at Chuck and noticed, with a touch of malice, that the young man seemed just as out of place as he did. Rumour had it he’d been involved with this Martinez — and apparently, that was enough to make everyone uneasy.

  “Ah, Frank!” he exclaimed with relief when he saw Colbert at the door.

  “Your doctor,” he said to Ralph, “our best surgeon.”

  Dr. Colbert looked at the patient in surprise — he couldn’t recognize him.

  “Excuse me, sir…” he started to speak, but his boss did not let him finish.

  “I beg your pardon, I beg your pardon, gentlemen. I have to leave — hospital business, you know. Dr. Colbert will answer all your questions. He is your doctor, after all.”

  And the medical director hurriedly disappeared.

  Colbert watched him go with a look of astonishment, then turned to the patient and smiled.

  “Oh, I see. Abigail’s protégé, huh?”

  “Protégé?” Demis repeated, his tone sharp, as if he’d bitten into a chili.

  Ralph silenced him with a glance and fixed his eyes on Colbert.

  “Yeah, something like that. She covered the hospital expenses. That’s what allowed us to operate on you in time.”

  Demis and Ralph exchanged a look. Ralph felt the muscles in his neck tighten.

  “Why she…”

  But Chuck, emboldened by his boss's departure, cut him off with a derisive laugh.

  “You are kidding, doctor. Where would she get the money? She's as poor as a church mouse!”

  Dr. Colbert looked at him with annoyance.

  “Shut up, lad. You were there as well, weren’t you?”

  Chuck looked at him, completely stunned. The sky-blue plastic card floated before his eyes.

  "It can't be…”

  He looked at Ralph, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. “That hobo guy? Was that… Mr. Dengof?"

  Ralph gave him a contemptuous look and turned to Demis.

  “Compensate. No — I'll do it myself. Just find her.”

  “It isn’t a big deal, I suppose,” Demis said, looking at the doctors. “You have her contact info here, haven’t you?”

  “Of course…” Dr. Colbert began, but Chuck cut him off once more.

  “Of course not, doctor means. The medical stuff — private info not disclosed. It’s a hospital rule.” Ralph waved his hand with a sharp, dismissive flick.

  “And yet, you’ve got this fine rule about the confidentiality of financial transactions. Didn’t take long, though, before one of you spilled who picked up the bill for my surgery.”

  Chuck threw Colbert a wounded look, but Colbert only shrugged.

  “I don’t know who paid the bill. All I know is that Dr. Martinez gave me her word that the expenses would be covered.”

  Ralph let out a dry laugh.

  “And you took the word of an intern — poor as a church mouse?”

  Colbert met his gaze calmly.

  “Money’s got nothing to do with it. It’s about trust. A poor person can be honest, Mr. Dengof. And I had no reason to doubt Dr. Martinez’s word.”

  Ralph stared at the doctor a moment longer, then let himself fall back against the pillow.

  “All right, stick to your rules. I’ll handle it myself,” he whispered.

  “She’s a doctor, not a needle in a haystack.”

  Through his overwhelming weakness, he could hear Demis ushering the doctors out.

  He knew he was slipping into sleep when the trees closed in around him. Every dream now began like this. Until he awoke, he was fated to roam an endless forest, drawn on by a woman’s voice, faint and distant.

  Suddenly, he opened his eyes as another thought struck him.

  “Demis.”

  Demis immediately sprang to his side and leaned over the bed.

  “Have you found the place where they kept me?”

  Demis let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

  “I remember a forest… Check where the ambulance picked up some hobo guy from the forest.”