“Myocardial infarction?”
A female nurse approached us in the critical care unit’s waiting room. I stood slightly behind the boy, listening to the nurse’s words.
“Yes. The condition stabilized after treatment, so we’ll monitor the progress and schedule surgery at a later date.”
“So, we can relax now?”
“You can’t let your guard down, but for today…”
The boy’s face showed a sense of relief.
“You can visit him later. I’ll guide you. By the way… where are your parents?”
The nurse glanced around the boy, scanning the area.
“They’re not here. I’ll contact them. They won’t be able to come right away, though.”
Seeming to understand the situation, the nurse gazed intently at the boy.
“You’ve been through a lot on your own too. You don’t look well. Would you like to have an IV drip or something?”
The boy shook his head.
“I’m fine. And I’m not alone… technically.”
The boy briefly glanced at me, who was standing diagonally behind him.
“Was there someone else?”
The nurse looked puzzled.
“Huh?”
With hurried footsteps, a young nurse appeared from the corner of the waiting room, calling out, “I need help!” The nurse who was explaining to the boy immediately left with the young nurse, leaving us behind.
The boy seemed to relax once the nurse was gone as the tension in his body eased. He slowly sat down on the sofa in the waiting room, bringing both hands to his mouth and taking a deep breath.
I also felt relieved. The grandfather had been saved.
“Thank goodness.”
In response to my words that escaped from the depths of my heart, the boy looked at me.
“‘Thank goodness’? Good riddance.” The boy’s face expressed disbelief as he spoke in a cold voice.
“What’s so good about it? You didn’t even try to help my grandpa.”
“W-Well… I tried to help…”
“Then why didn’t you call for help right away? What were you doing inside the house while my grandpa was lying there?”
Before I could finish speaking, the boy accused me in a strong tone.
“…I thought… I couldn’t call for help…”
“Huh?”
I choked on my words.
How can I explain… I don’t have the confidence to talk about myself in this situation, especially to a boy who shows animosity toward me while I myself haven’t fully grasped the situation.
“Um… I… uh…” My voice became unusually weak.
“Speak clearly!” The boy’s tone grew even harsher.
“What’s all the commotion about?” At that moment, someone interrupted our conversation.
Both the boy and I turned toward the source of the voice at the same time. It was the nurse who had explained the boy’s grandfather’s condition who was returning to the waiting room.
“Oh… I’m sorry for yelling.”
The nurse stopped in front of us on the sofa and looked at the apologetic boy with a puzzled expression.
“That was quite a loud soliloquy you had there.”
“A soliloquy?” the boy asked in confusion, eliciting a look of pity on the nurse’s face.
“Have you been able to reach your parents?”
“…Not yet.”
“I see. It’s not good for you to be alone at a time like this. It’s understandable that you’re confused. Is there an adult who can come here soon? There are procedures for hospitalization as well as some things a doctor will have to explain to them…”
The nurse seemed to be worried that the boy was distraught.
“Alone…”
The boy looked puzzled and glanced at me, who was next to him.
Even though I couldn’t fully grasp the current situation, there was one thing I understood; the reason the unconscious old man didn’t see me when he looked into my eyes was not because he was no longer conscious.
“…I think you’re the only one who can see me…”
“Huh?” he responded to my feeble voice.
Will he believe me…?
I took a few steps forward and waved both hands in front of the nurse’s face. Ignoring the bewildered boy, the nurse continued speaking.
The boy’s eyes widened as he looked at me.
“I… I’m like a spirit. Temporarily…”
The boy froze. After a few seconds of hesitation, he awkwardly moved his face and shifted his gaze from me to the nurse. Still frozen, he spoke with a rigid expression.
“Um, as you said, I might be… confused. Like, really in a bad way.”
The nurse nodded deeply in response to the boy’s words. “Yes, you can go see your grandfather’s face. I understand that you want to see him and find some peace.”
“Thank you,” the boy replied. Without saying anything else, he followed the nurse, momentarily glancing at me and clutching his head.
It was only natural for him to react that way. He couldn’t possibly believe in spirits. I knew it was only natural, yet I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by a sense of loneliness.
If the only person who could see me, this half-spirit, denied my existence, it would be the same as not existing in this world at all.
Could I, on my own, connect with someone? As a half-spirit who couldn’t be seen by anyone, touch anything, grasp anything, or even be heard… I had just painfully realized that I couldn’t do anything in this world.
I followed behind the nurse and the boy, slipping through the door of the hospital room they had entered.
Inside the room, the old man was quietly sleeping in bed, hooked up to a respirator and IV drip. The boy looked relieved as he gazed at his grandfather.
“Um…” I spoke to the boy. However, he didn’t react to my voice.
“Could you please give me and my grandfather some time alone?” the boy said to the nurse in the room.