I didn't sleep well that night. I heard many voices, a cacophony of human sound, throughout the darkness. I knew they were people, but I couldn't understand a word. Perhaps too many were talking at once, or perhaps they weren't even talking to me. Then, as the voices grew clearer, I noticed they were getting closer, right to the corner of my bed. I opened my eyes. I saw the backs of a nurse and a doctor, arguing fiercely.
"What should I do?" the nurse cried. "I can't handle the patient in room 101. Please, switch me to a different patient!"
"Your job is to take care of the patient. If you don't want to, then quit!" the doctor snapped at the nurse. "As medical professionals, we cannot choose which patients we do or don't take care of. Anyone who walks into our clinic is our patient."
I listened to the nurses and doctor discussing and planning what they were going to do with the patient in Room 101. I noticed the doctor was particularly annoying. He treated the nurse as if it was her fault that the patient in Room 101 was difficult to deal with. In the days when I'd taken care of my mother, I'd seen enough: some of these patients were either babies or complained too much. Then it hit me: since I was supposedly sleeping here, why would doctors and nurses speak so freely in front of me? They didn't seem to notice me at all. They talked as if there were no one else in the room.
"Don't bring your problems to work! This is my clinic. If you do anything to ruin its reputation, I won't go easy on you," the doctor fumed, then stormed out of the room.
The nurse turned around, and it was Fang Yi.
"Nurse Fang, don't worry about anything! I'm rich. I'll help you find a good lawyer. We'll sue this stupid clinic!" I tried to stretch out my hand to her, but I couldn't. I looked down and saw my whole body tied to the bed. Two handcuffs locked my wrists to the bed frame. I tried to move my legs, but my ankles were also cuffed.
"What the heck? Let go of me!" I demanded. "If not, I'm going to sue your stupid ass!"
Fang Yi, the heartless, evil nurse, smiled wickedly at me, brandishing a ten-inch needle.
"When you want to ask people for help, you have to be more accurate," a young man's voice said.
I looked toward the side of the bed. There stood a man in a black suit by the door, nonchalantly eating a piece of beef jerky.
"Who are you?" I asked. "Help me get rid of these cuffs!"
"It's not impossible." He chewed his beef jerky, arrogantly.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Trust me, you don't want me to touch you." He approached the bed. "It's rare that people see me."
"Why?"
"Go on," he prompted. "You were in the middle of swearing."
"How about this one? Do you think this is the appropriate needle size?" Fang Yi asked the man.
"A little smaller, but not too small," he replied.
I looked up. Fang Yi seemed to be switching between various needles. Yes, this isn't reality; it must be a dream! It's often said that when you're in distress, your mind plays tricks on you. I remembered I was blind, and I hadn't recovered. Therefore, this had to be a dream. It had to be my frustration causing all these hallucinations in my mind. I was blind, and I couldn't see.
"It's a bit big. If you poke him with this, he'll bleed to death."
I looked up and saw a needle as big as my hand. I instantly panicked.
"I think the butterfly needle will be good," I stammered. "If you stick that needle in my body, I'll die!"
I watched Fang Yi pick up the big needle and slowly push it towards me. I screamed and kicked hard. Then I heard the lights click on, and I could dimly perceive two shadows moving towards me.
"Mr. Wu… Mr. Wu… are you alright?" I heard the familiar nurse's voice. Then I realized I was no longer in my dream.
"I had a nightmare."
"Mr. Wu, the pain medication we gave you may cause hallucinations."
"I want to be discharged today!"
"Mr. Wu, but you haven't fully recovered."
"I want to be discharged today! Go and tell the doctor! I want to be discharged now!"
That morning after breakfast, the doctor agreed to discharge me, but only if I agreed to follow up with a psychiatrist. I didn't want to stay in that hospital for another minute, so I readily agreed. I didn't know then that being discharged from a hospital was such a hassle. It took them ages to prepare my paperwork. I also had to reconsider what kind of life I would live once I got home. I pulled out my phone. I couldn't see the dial pad, so I pressed the voice recognition button.
"Call Jack Fu."
"According to Healthline, jackfruit is an exotic fruit grown in tropical regions of the world. It is native to South India and is part of the Moraceae plant family, which also includes fig, mulberry, and breadfruit," the stupid voice recognition replied.
"Call… Jack… Fu…" I enunciated slowly, one word at a time, hoping it would provide me with the correct information this time.
"According to Healthline, jackfruit is an exotic fruit grown…"
"Stupid phone!" I seethed.
"According to Encyclopedia, a feature phone is a type or class of mobile phone that retains the form factor of earlier generations of mobile…"
Before the stupid, so-called smartphone turned off completely, I punched its screen four more times, growing even more enraged. Then the door opened, and my housekeeper walked in.
"Sir, your luggage is ready."
"Take this stupid phone and call Jack Fu for me."
"Yes, sir." He took the phone from my hand and, with a slight bow, handed it back to me.
The phone rang, but there was no answer, so I left Jack a message to call me. As soon as I hung up, it rang again.
"Hello," I said.
"Hello, Mr. Wu, this is Jack."
"Jack, I want to sell my house. Please help me contact a real estate agent for me."
"Of course," he said. "How soon do you need this done?"
"The sooner the better."
"Okay, sir, I'll see you tomorrow."
I hung up, and the nurse wheeled me out in a wheelchair. As we went out, I saw Fang Yi walking sadly beside me.
"Please stay. I'm not trying to scare you," she begged.
I shook my head, pretending I didn't see or hear her. As soon as the nurse wheeled me out the front door, I no longer saw Fang Yi. The car stopped, and I got in. I looked out the window and saw Fang Yi standing next to the man in black. Her face looked incredibly sad.
"I never want to see this again," I sighed.
When we stopped at the red light, I happened to look out the window and saw a woman, soaked in blood, crawling out of a dark alley. Her hands were bound, and she stretched them out towards me, begging me to get out of the car and help her. Like hell I'm going to get out and put myself in danger, I thought to myself. Even when I'm not willing to put myself in danger, I'm still a nice guy, so I decided to call the police to come and help her. As I reached for my phone, a black shadow dragged her back.
"Help me! Please help me!" I heard her scream.
"Help me! Call the police!"
As a dark figure dragged her back, she screamed loudly.
My heart pounded. I heard her so clearly, as if I'd been standing next to her when it happened.
"Chi, do you hear or see anything?"
"No, sir," Chi answered.
"When is my appointment with my psychiatrist?"
"Friday, the 12th, next week."
Chi reassuring me that Friday next week would be the twelfth, not the thirteenth. I felt much better.