The hospital lobby had that strange hush — the kind that settles after hope has quietly packed its bags. People didn’t make eye contact here. They clutched coffee cups like prayer beads, sat too still, and waited too long.
When the elevator chimed open for the hundredth time that day, no one looked up. Except the receptionist.
She noticed him first — a child. Alone.
Barefoot. Dust clung to his legs. A faded gray hoodie hung off his narrow shoulders like it once belonged to someone twice his size. No parents. No ID badge. No explanation.
Just two calm eyes that scanned the room like they already knew every secret it held.
“Sweetheart?” the receptionist called, cautious. “Are you lost?”
The boy didn’t flinch. Didn’t run. Just walked — quietly, deliberately — across the polished marble floor, past security, past nurses whispering into headsets. His gaze stayed fixed on the elevators.
“Excuse me!” a nurse called after him, but by the time she stood up, the doors had already closed behind him.
Upstairs, in Room 317, quiet despair had made itself at home.
Inside, Richard Blake sat hunched in a plastic chair, his broad shoulders slumped, his eyes fixed on the tiny hand he held in his own. His daughter, Emily, had been in a coma for twelve days. The doctors called it a waiting game. But each day felt more like a slow surrender.
Machines beeped in steady rhythm, keeping time for a life that felt further away with each passing hour.
Richard didn’t notice the elevator open. Didn’t hear the footsteps.
Not until a quiet voice said—
“I can help.”
Richard’s head snapped up.
A boy — maybe eleven — stood in the doorway. His clothes were worn, his hair a little messy, but his expression… his expression was so calm, it was almost unsettling.
“You’re lost, son,” Richard said, his voice rough from days of sleeplessness. “This place isn’t for you.”
The boy didn’t move. Didn’t look away.
“I’m not lost,” he said simply. “She is.”
Richard blinked. “What?”
“She’s not gone,” the boy continued, stepping inside.