Chapter 152: Please Come Back...

~~~~~ Third-person POV ~~~~~

Sylvia stood in the middle of the hospital room, staring at the empty bed. For a few seconds, she didn’t move. Her hand was still wrapped around the strap of the bag she had brought back for Amelia, the plastic handles pressing into her fingers without her noticing.

The room looked almost exactly the way she had left it.

The curtains were still drawn halfway across the window. The small table beside the bed was still there. The chair she had been sitting on earlier was pushed slightly away from the bed.

But Amelia was gone.

Sylvia’s eyes moved slowly over the room again. The bed was empty. The blanket she had tucked around Amelia was gone, and the wires that had been connected to her body were no longer there. The monitor beside the bed was switched off, its screen completely dark.

Her heart began beating faster.

"Minnie?" she called softly, stepping closer to the bed.

There was no answer.

She looked toward the bathroom. Maybe Amelia had woken up. Maybe one of the nurses had helped her there.

Sylvia quickly walked toward the bathroom and pushed the door open.

Empty.

She stepped back into the room, her breathing becoming uneven as she looked around again.

"Where did you go?" she whispered.

Her eyes moved to the bed again.

No Amelia.

Sylvia picked up her phone and immediately thought of calling her, but then she stopped. Maybe Amelia had been taken for another examination. Maybe the doctor had come while she was away.

She tried to calm herself.

Maybe there was a reasonable explanation.

But if Amelia had been taken somewhere, someone should have told her.

Sylvia walked out of the room and spotted a nurse passing through the corridor with a small tray in her hands.

"Excuse me," she called, quickly approaching her. "Where is the patient from this room?"

The nurse stopped and glanced toward the room. "Amelia Winston?"

"Yes," Sylvia replied immediately.

The nurse hesitated. "She was transferred."

Sylvia stared at her. "Transferred where?"

"I’m not sure."

Sylvia’s eyebrows pulled together. "Why?"

"I don’t know."

"When?"

The nurse looked uncomfortable. "Not long ago."

Sylvia tightened her grip around her phone. "Was she okay?"

"She was stable."

"Who took her?"

The nurse shook her head. "I don’t know."

Sylvia stared at her in disbelief. "You don’t know?"

"I’m sorry. I wasn’t the nurse attending to her."

"Who was?"

"I don’t know which nurse was assigned to her at that moment."

Sylvia took a slow breath, trying to keep herself calm, but frustration was already building inside her. "How can nobody know anything?"

The nurse looked startled by the sharpness in her voice. "I’m sorry, ma’am."

"She was here," Sylvia said, pointing toward the room. "She was lying in that bed when I left. I was gone for a short time, and now she’s gone."

The nurse lowered her eyes. "I understand."

"No, you don’t," Sylvia replied, her voice trembling. "Where is she?"

"I really don’t know."

"Did she leave by herself?"

"No."

"Was she awake?"

"I don’t know."

"Did she say anything?"

"I don’t know."

Each answer made Sylvia more frustrated. She swallowed hard and asked, "Can you at least tell me who approved the transfer?"

The nurse shook her head. "I don’t have that information."

Sylvia stared at her for another second before stepping aside. "Okay."

The word didn’t sound like acceptance. It sounded like someone trying desperately not to lose control.

The nurse walked away, leaving Sylvia standing in the corridor.

The hospital suddenly seemed much louder.

A trolley squeaked somewhere farther down the hallway. Machines beeped from different rooms, nurses moved quickly between patients, and voices mixed together beneath the low hum of the air conditioner.

Everything continued normally.

But Amelia was gone.

Sylvia looked back into the room, and her eyes immediately fell on the bag she had left on the chair.

She had brought Amelia clothes.

She had brought everything she thought she might need.

She had even imagined Amelia complaining about something in the bag when she returned.

She had imagined helping her change. She had imagined sitting beside her again.

She had never imagined coming back to an empty bed.

Sylvia walked inside and picked up the bag. Her hands were trembling slightly.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "No."

She looked at the empty bed again. "Where are you, Minnie?"

Her eyes burned, and she blinked quickly, refusing to let the tears fall.

She needed to think.

She needed to find out what had happened.

Sylvia took out her phone and stared at the screen before finding Amelia’s number. She pressed the call button.

The phone rang three times.

Sylvia held her breath, waiting.

No answer.

She waited until the call ended and immediately called again.

Still nothing.

Her heart sank.

Maybe Amelia couldn’t answer.

Maybe her phone was with a nurse.

Maybe she was sleeping.

Different thought ran through her mind all at the same time.

Sylvia lowered the phone slowly, but the explanations didn’t make her feel better.

She walked back into the corridor and approached another nurse at the station.

"Excuse me," she said, stopping beside the desk. "Amelia Winston. She was transferred."

The nurse nodded slightly. "Yes."

"Where?"

"I’m sorry, I don’t know."

Sylvia’s jaw tightened. "Who can tell me?"

"You may have to speak with the doctor."

"Which doctor?"

The nurse glanced at the computer. "I don’t know who handled the transfer."

Sylvia closed her eyes for a moment.

"Was she stable?"

"Yes."

"Was she in danger?"

"No."

"Then why was she moved?"

"I don’t know."

Sylvia opened her eyes and stared at the nurse. "Did she ask to leave?"

"I don’t know."

"Did anyone tell her family?"

"I can’t say."

"What do you mean you can’t say?" Sylvia asked, her frustration becoming harder to hide.

"I don’t have access to that information."

Sylvia stepped away from the desk, rubbing her forehead as she tried to make sense of everything.

This didn’t make sense.

Amelia had been lying in that room.

She had been weak.

She had barely been able to stand without help.

She was suffering from memory loss.

And now she was suddenly somewhere else.

Without Sylvia knowing.

Without anyone telling her.

Sylvia walked away from the nurses’ station, her steps quick and uneven, until she stopped near the wall and leaned against it.

The cold surface pressed against her shoulder. She looked down at her phone.

Daniela.

She needed Daniela.

Daniela might know something.

Sylvia pressed her name and called.

The phone rang before Daniela finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Daniela," Sylvia said, her voice unsteady.

"Sylvia?"

"Do you know anything about Amelia?"

There was a short silence. "About Amelia? What happened?"

"She’s not here."

"What?"

"She’s not in the hospital anymore."

"WHAT?" Daniela suddenly screamed, making Sylvia pull the phone slightly away from her ear. "How?"

"I don’t know."

"What do you mean you don’t know?" Daniela asked, her confusion obvious.

"I came back, and she wasn’t in her room."

"Did the doctor move her?"

"I don’t know."

"Did they tell you anything?"

"No."

Sylvia looked toward the empty room. "They only said she was transferred."

"Transferred where?"

"They wouldn’t tell me."

Daniela became quiet for a moment.

Sylvia could hear her breathing through the phone.

"Wait," Daniela finally said. "Let me try Camila’s number first."

Sylvia frowned slightly. "Okay."

"I’m going to call her now."

"Daniela—"

The call ended.

Sylvia lowered the phone and stared at the screen.

She stood there for a moment before something occurred to her.

Camila.

If Daniela didn’t know, perhaps Camila did.

Sylvia immediately searched for Camila’s number and pressed call. The phone rang for a moment before the call failed.

Sylvia frowned and checked the number carefully.

It was correct.

She tried again, but still nothing.

Her frustration grew.

"Come on," she muttered, pressing the call button again, still nothing.

She tried a third time.

The same thing happened. The number wasn’t connecting.

Sylvia pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at the screen.

"No."

She tried again.

Still no connection.

Her fingers began trembling. "Why aren’t you answering?"

She didn’t know who she was speaking to.

Camila.

Amelia.

Anyone.

She just needed someone to tell her where Minnie was.

Sylvia called again.

No connection.

She clenched her jaw and lowered the phone, then it vibrated in her hand.

Daniela.

Sylvia answered immediately. "Daniela?"

"I tried," Daniela said.

Sylvia’s heart jumped. "And?"

"Camila’s number isn’t connecting."

Sylvia closed her eyes. "You’re sure?"

"Yes. I tried twice."

Sylvia swallowed. "I tried too."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don’t know." Her voice cracked slightly.

Daniela became quiet. "Sylvia..."

"I don’t understand," Sylvia whispered, looking down at the floor. "She was here. I was only gone for a little while because I needed to get her things."

Sylvia looked down at the bag in her hand. "I brought everything she might need."

Her voice became smaller. "And now she’s gone."

Daniela didn’t answer immediately.

"Maybe someone knows where she was transferred," she finally said carefully.

"I asked."

"And?"

"Nobody knows."

"What about the doctor?"

"I don’t know where the doctor is."

Sylvia rubbed her forehead. "I asked two nurses."

"What did they say?"

"The same thing."

"What?"

"That she was transferred."

"That’s all?"

"That’s all."

Daniela exhaled slowly. "That’s strange."

Sylvia’s eyes filled with tears. "Very."

She turned toward Amelia’s room again.

The open door seemed to make the emptiness inside even worse.

"Minnie wouldn’t just leave," Sylvia whispered.

"I know."

"She couldn’t even walk properly without help."

"I know."

Sylvia’s voice trembled. "So how did she leave?"

Daniela didn’t answer.

Sylvia pressed the phone closer to her ear. "Daniela?"

"I’m still here."

"Do you think she was okay?"

"She was stable when we last saw her."

"But that was before."

"I know."

Sylvia looked at the empty bed.

The image of Amelia lying there came back to her.

Her pale face.

Her tired eyes.

Her weak hands.

The way she had reached for Sylvia when she woke up.

The way she had said she didn’t want Sylvia to leave.

Sylvia’s eyes finally overflowed.

She quickly wiped the tear away.

"She told me not to leave."

Daniela became silent.

Sylvia’s lips trembled. "She asked me not to leave her."

"I know."

"And I left."

"You left to get her things."

"I still left."

"Sylvia, you didn’t know this would happen."

"I should have stayed."

Her voice broke. "I should have stayed with her."

Daniela sighed softly. "This isn’t your fault."

Sylvia shook her head even though Daniela couldn’t see her. "I don’t know."

She wiped another tear from her cheek.

"I don’t know what to believe."

Silence filled the call.

Sylvia looked toward the nurses’ station, her frustration returning.

"I need to find her."

"I’ll help," Daniela said.

"I don’t know where to start."

"We’ll figure it out."

Sylvia nodded slowly. "Okay."

She ended the call and remained standing in the corridor for a moment. Then the strength seemed to leave her legs.

She walked back into Amelia’s room. The door closed softly behind her.

The silence inside was heavier than before.

Sylvia placed the bag on the chair and slowly let her fingers slip from the handle.

She looked at the bed.

Empty.

She walked toward it and reached out to touch the mattress.

It was cold.

The realization hit her harder than she expected.

Sylvia’s lower lip trembled and she turned away from the bed, but her eyes landed on the chair where she had spent so many hours.

She quickly sat down on the chair, bending forward as her hands covered her face.

Her shoulders began to shake.

She tried to breathe, but every breath felt painful.

The tears she had been holding back finally came freely. She lowered her hands and looked at the empty bed through blurred eyes.

"Minnie..."

Her voice was barely audible.

She wiped her face, but another tear rolled down immediately.

"Minnie, where are you?"

There was no answer.

Sylvia stared at the empty bed and shook her head.

"I don’t understand."

Her voice cracked. "Why would they take you away without telling me?"

She looked at the bag beside her and touched it with trembling fingers.

"I just went to get your things."

A painful sob escaped her.

"I was coming back."

She pulled the bag closer and held it against her chest.

Everything Amelia might need was inside.

Everything except Amelia.

Sylvia closed her eyes tightly.

"Minnie, please."

Her breathing shook as she held the bag tighter.

"Please come back to me."

She pressed one hand against her chest, tears running freely down her cheeks.

"I can’t live without you." Her voice became almost a whisper. "Please."

She looked toward the empty bed one last time before lowering her head.

"Please, Minnie..."

Her shoulders shook harder as she hugged the bag against herself.

"Please come back to me. I can’t live without you, please."