For several minutes, silence remained inside the hospital room.
The only sounds came from the medical equipment beside the bed and the occasional footsteps echoing somewhere beyond the walls.
Yokina sat beside Wanna.
The relief of seeing her awake had settled some of her fears, but countless questions still remained unanswered.
What had happened that night?
What had caused these injuries?
Why had Hakiten ended up in the hospital as well?
Most importantly...
Where was Nitsuki?
Yokina's eyes remained fixed on her injured friend.
Meanwhile, Herik stood quietly on the opposite side of the bed.
Unlike before, he seemed unusually calm.
As if he was simply observing everything.
Wanna's breathing remained slow and careful.
Every movement appeared uncomfortable.
Yokina knew speaking was impossible for her.
Then suddenly she noticed Herik moving.
The boy had wandered towards the small table beside the bed.
At first she paid little attention to him.
But a second later something dropped onto the floor.
A pen.
The small sound immediately drew her attention.
Herik looked down at it.
Yokina raised her hand and gestured for him to return.
Surprisingly, he obeyed without complaint.
As he stepped away from the table, Yokina's eyes remained there.
Something else had caught her attention.
A notebook.
Small.
Plain.
Forgotten beside the bed.
Perhaps it belonged to one of the nurses.
For several seconds she stared at it.
Then an idea formed.
Immediately she stood from her chair.
Without looking back, she walked towards the table.
The notebook was picked up first.
Then the pen from the floor.
A moment later she returned to her seat beside Wanna.
Both Wanna and Herik watched her curiously.
"What are you doing?" Herik asked.
Yokina ignored the question.
Instead, she looked directly at Wanna.
"If you can't speak..."
She lifted the notebook.
"...then write."
For a moment Wanna appeared confused.
Then she understood.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
Yokina opened the notebook to a blank page.
The pen was placed into Wanna's hand.
For several seconds nobody moved.
The empty page waited.
So did Yokina.
Finally she asked her first question.
"What happened?"
The smile disappeared from Wanna's face.
Immediately.
The question seemed heavier than expected.
Her eyes drifted towards the blank page.
The pen hovered above it.
Several seconds passed.
Then she finally began writing.
The movement was slow.
Careful.
When she finished, she pushed the notebook towards Yokina.
Yokina leaned forward.
Only two words had been written.
Not Easy
She frowned.
At first she did not understand.
Then realization came.
"You mean..."
Yokina glanced back at her.
"...it's not easy to explain?"
Wanna nodded.
A small smile returned.
Yokina sighed quietly.
That answer only created more questions.
Before she could ask another one, Wanna began writing again.
The scratching sound of the pen echoed softly through the room.
After several seconds, she turned the notebook around.
This time only a single name appeared.
Hakiten?
A question mark followed it.
The moment Yokina saw the name, her expression changed.
She had almost forgotten.
Almost.
Immediately she answered.
"He's fine."
The lie came naturally.
"Just a few scratches."
Wanna stared at her.
The answer seemed enough.
She relaxed slightly.
Yokina looked away.
The truth would only make things worse right now.
The room became quiet again.
Yokina returned to her original question.
What had happened?
Every possibility she imagined sounded wrong.
A robbery?
No.
An accident?
Impossible.
An attack?
Perhaps.
Yet even that explanation felt incomplete.
She began speaking her guesses aloud.
Each one sounded weaker than the previous.
Wanna rejected all of them.
Slowly.
Silently.
The mystery only became deeper.
Then a new voice interrupted them.
"Ghost."
Yokina turned.
Herik stood beside the bed.
Looking completely serious.
The room became silent.
For several seconds nobody reacted.
Then Yokina sighed.
"Ghost?"
Herik nodded.
Yokina almost laughed.
Children.
Sometimes they always arrived at the strangest conclusions.
She dismissed the idea immediately.
Yet...
For some reason she kept staring at him.
The expression on his face reminded her of someone.
Someone familiar.
Nitsuki.
The resemblance appeared for only a second.
Then it vanished.
Yokina shook the thought away.
Her attention returned towards Wanna.
The notebook remained in her hand.
There was still one important question left.
Perhaps the most important one.
Yokina's expression hardened.
"Where is Nitsuki?"
The question immediately changed the atmosphere.
The faint smile disappeared from Wanna's face.
Slowly she lowered her eyes towards the notebook.
The pen moved again.
This time there was no hesitation.
No uncertainty.
She knew exactly what she wanted to write.
The first word appeared.
Then the second.
Before she could finish, a knock interrupted the room.
Everyone looked towards the door.
A nurse stepped inside.
"Visiting time is over."
Yokina immediately stood.
The nurse glanced towards the hallway.
"The doctor is coming."
That was enough.
Yokina could not argue.
The examination was more important.
She nodded.
Herik followed her towards the door.
Before leaving, Yokina glanced back one last time.
Wanna looked as though she wanted to say something.
But she couldn't.
Not anymore.
Yokina turned away.
A second later both she and Herik left the room.
The doctor entered almost immediately afterward.
A woman. Professional. Focused.
As soon as Wanna saw her, she placed the notebook on the chair beside the bed.
The page remained open.
The doctor never looked at it.
Neither did the nurse.
Only the notebook knew what had been written.
Two simple words.
The answer to Yokina's question.
The answer nobody had seen.
With Ghost.
---