Jane and I have been exploring the city for hours. Going from Museum to temples to parks. Thailand is beautiful and I am beginning to fall in love with the country. We made the list of places we saw on the internet that we would like to go and we were about going to the next park when I saw this huge building. It's a hospital. The name is the same as the name of the hospital that I was admitted to when the accident happened before I was transferred to a hospital in England.
I asked the driver to be sure there is only one hospital with the name and he confirmed it. I immediately got out of the car while looking around. I am having the urge to go into the building. At least to look around the hospital that saved my life when I was half dead. But I am skeptical about going in.
My dad said I spent 3 months here before I was transferred to England and that I was in coma for close to a year. They have refused to tell me in details everything that had happened because they are protecting me. Telling me may trigger something and I may stress my brain to remember which may damage my brain the more.
"Do you wanna check it out?" Jane asked taking me out of my thoughts.
"Uhm...." I stuttered nervously.
"I told you I will always support whatever you want to do especially here. As long as it will fulfill your curiosity" Jane said smiling.
I want to go but my legs are not moving. I am a little nervous because I don't know if I am emotionally ready to walk into that place.
"Maybe I should do my check up here as well" Jane continued.
Jane has always been so supportive of whatever I want. I was silent for a while not sure of what to say.
"Let's do it this way. You can look around the hospital while I do my check up."
"Jane..." I called weakly.
"Come on" she said and grabbed my hand to the hospital gate.
We met the receptionist and explained why we came. Jane was assigned a nurse who will guide her through the checkup processes. While I was assigned a worker who will show me around.
Jane walked to me and hugged me tightly. She cupped my cheeks and kissed me. I am not completely okay with that but I allowed her do it. She's finding it difficult to let go of me and go with the nurse. Why is she acting like we are parting ways forever?
"I will call you once I am done" Jane said looking at me in the eyes.
I only nodded and she smiled. She kissed me again before leaving with the nurse. This time I was able to look around me more clearly. The reception center looks so organized and the way they welcome and attend to patients is beautiful.
"This way please ma'am" the worker said in English and I turned to him.
He has a smile on his face, forcing me to smile back at him. I love the fact that he tried to speak in English even though he isn't so perfect in it.
"I understand Thai. So you don't have to stress yourself to communicate in foreign language" I said to him.
"Oh that's a relief." He heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank you for visiting ma'am. There are three things you need to know about this hospital" he said as we walk to a door at the other side.
"Firstly, we are the best in Thailand and one of the best in Asia" he said and I rolled my eyes while smiling.
"Having doubts? I will show you our awards as the best" he said and I laughed.
"Of course I have no doubt. I was saved here" I said
"Really?" He turned to me in shock.
"Four years ago."
Silence
"Anyways what are the second and third I need to know about this best in Thailand hospital?" I said playfully breaking the silence and he laughed.
"The second thing you need to know is that it's owned by an individual" he said and I paused.
"An individual?" I asked in shock.
He got to be kidding me. How can an individual own this huge hospital? He or she must have invested all their life savings into acquiring it. Before now, I thought it wasn't a private property.
"Exactly my expression when I heard that. And not to talk of how young the owner is."
"That's quite impressive" I responded.
Well, I am impressed. We walked through the door into a long passageway. With the room numbers on each door.
"These are the hospital's consultation rooms, where patients meet with the doctors"
"Oh" I exclaimed.
"Your girlfriend is probably in one of these rooms now" he said and I smiled.
"Anyways. We will go to the other door at the opposite side before taking the elevator to the first floor" he said.
We walked back to the reception and opened the other door. It's a big hall demarcated with cubicles. With more than 50 workers sitting on their desks.
"This is our customer service center. Each room has their telephone connected here as well just incase of emergency or something."
"Wow"
"Trust me, I love this department." He said smiling.
I looked around the hall. The workers here are so busy, some making and receiving calls, while some are busy receiving and forwarding mails.
"So what is the third thing I need to know about this place" I asked as we walked into the elevator to the first floor.
"Trust me, you don't wanna know. Anyways. The owner is probably at the last floor. She's meeting with the management today"
"Does she come here often..?"
"Not at all. She doesn't even come here except when called to visit" he said.
"Why?"
"She has an unpleasant memory of this place" he responded.
"Oh" I muttered.
Well, we all have memories. Both good and bad ones. I was unconscious when I came here and I left still unconscious. Should I call it an unpleasant memory? But I don't even have a memory of it in the first place.
"Come, I will show you around this place." He said as soon as the elevator opened.
I followed him to the hall. Again it's divided with cubicles. Patients who are admitted temporary are seen on the beds in each cubicle. According to the worker, these patients are admitted for a day or two only.
After looking round the first floor, we proceeded to the second and third to the 15th. The higher the floor, the severe the patients conditions in it are. Each floor is like an independent unit on its own with nurses, doctors and other staff looking after it. Each unit equally has a theatre for surgery but the general operating theatre during emergency is in the ground floor.
We got to the 20th. Here, people in coma for months are seen. My tears started dropping as I walked from door to door. We can't go inside but we can see through the glasses the people inside. So I was here four years ago? Which of these rooms and beds was I lying on?
The worker handed a tissue paper to me. I didn't know he had a tissue box with him in his bag all along.
"A lot of people tend to cry once we get to this floor. So we bring tissue for them" he said in a low tune.
I nodded while trying to hold back my tears. He said the people in the next floor are people that have spent years here. This time, I don't know whether I want to continue or not.
"I think we should go back" he said.
I nodded in agreement. We were about going back to the elevator when a worker called the one with me. She's holding a small box in her hand.
"Please take this to the last floor. I am so busy here that I can't go up there to deliver it myself" She said.
He took it from her and walked back to me. He asked if I would like to go to the last floor with him or go back by myself. The last floor is the management unit. I followed him to the unit. The worker offered me a seat to sit down and took the box to one of the rooms.
Not long after, I started hearing some voices coming from a room closeby. There are probably more than 5 people in the room. I can hear both male and female voices as well.
"Ma'am this person has been stealing from the hospital for long now. He needs to pay for what he did" one said.
"I agree with him ma. He really needs to pay to serve as a lesson to others too." Another said.
"We kept wondering why the hospital supplies finish so quickly. We know why now. Let's get him and his accomplices arrested." A female voice said this time.
"Is this why you called me here?" This time a very cold voice spoke.
Everywhere got so quiet. This voice sounded so advanced. Like a lady in her early 30s or thereabouts.
"Something as less important as this? Do you know how busy of a person I am? I abandoned everything I was supposed to do in the office today to come here just to listen to this?" She continued.
Silence
"A manager was caught stealing office supplies, so what? Is it something the other managers can not handle? Is it something you can not handle Mr. Lee? What about you Mrs. Zen? Can't you handle it?"
"If you can call me over this minor issue, then I don't know why you're in control any longer" she continued.
Everywhere got so cold as she speaks. I kind of understand her anger. For a busy person like her to be called over a minor issue, it's really annoying but maybe the managers have reasons why they called her to settle this instead.
"Bring him in" she ordered.
The door immediately opened and a man came out. He smiled at me as he walks past me to the other door. After a while he came out with this other man who looks so sad. He has puffy eyes as if he has been crying for so long. They got into the room and shut the door.
"I am so sorry ma. Please forgive me"
"I think it's best you keep shut" the lady said and he got silent.
"Good"
Silence
"You stole from the hospital? Why?" The lady asked in a cold tone.
"I needed some money ma. I couldn't wait for the payday because the deadline was close" he cried.
Silence.
"Why?" The lady asked.
"I was being blackmailed"
"What are you talking about?"
"I was selling hospital supplies to pay this blackmailer ma. He always threatens to tell my wife what I did a year ago anytime he needs money. And it always happens before the payday" he cried.
"And what was that you did?" The lady asked.
Silence
"You know you're gonna say it anyways after I get the police involved ...." She continued
"I got someone pregnant" he cut her off while crying.
What the hell?! I screamed way to loud in my head. I know the other people in the room screamed too. The whole place got more quiet than it ever was.
"So you have a baby your wife doesn't know about?" The lady said to be clear.
Silence
"This is serious than I thought" another voice said.
They started saying things I didn't quite get because my attention was divided. The worker I came with is back. He said we should leave and I stood up.
We were about walking back to the elevator when the door opened. This lady in her early 30s, with some other men and a woman came out of the room. They are definitely the ones talking in that room.
Wait, she looks like the lady I saw last night in traffic. The worker with me immediately bowed to greet the lady as soon as she turned to us. I can tell from the situation that she is the owner the worker was talking about. She is the lady behind that cold voice earlier.
This lady froze as soon as she saw me. Her eyes are widely opened as if she has seen a ghost or something. For some strange reasons my heart started beating fast. She looks so shocked to see me making me a little nervous too. Did she just see a ghost? Or is a ghost standing behind me? I quickly turned to be sure. No one is standing behind me. Why did she react this way upon seeing me?
"Madam?"
One of the men with her called but she didn't respond. Neither did she take her eyes off me.
"Is everything okay?" The other asked again.
I am a little confused whether she is the same lady in traffic or not but more confused over why she literally looks dead right now, when my phone started ringing. That was Jane calling. She's probably done with her check up, I'd better hurry back before she nags my life out as she always does. I took one more look at this lady infront of me before stepping into the elevator.
To be continued.......