Visiting her

Next morning, he woke up with the image of that woman in his head. Perhaps he had dreamed of her. However, since he never remembered his dreams, he was not sure.

He also wondered how she was, if everything had gone well at the hospital. If she was alive or… No, he wasn't going to be that pessimistic. He even had the impulse of going to see her despite being complete strangers. But, what could he say?

'Hey, I rescued you from the park' … He was not a hero or anything, he felt cringe at the thought of saying that.

'You don't know me, but I saw you in the park'… What was that? Some cheap line to pick up girls? It had been complete coincidence that he passed by the place she had been thrown at, and that he found and 'saved' her.

Truthfully, there was no reason to go see her.

"Albert, stop daydreaming and give me the reports I asked you to do," said the evil Michael Ho, demon boss extraordinaire of a small company, standing unimpressed in front of the dazed Albert.

Albert startled and immediately looked for the USB he used to save the reports he had painstakingly spent one night doing. Michael just left. Albert glared at his back, cursing him in his mind. Seriously, how can a boss be this demanding and unable to utter a word of gratefulness?

Then again, nobody expected anything from him.

"You spent the night again making reports?" Asked the person beside Albert. The one with whom he had established some kind of friendship, though he was the only coworker Albert spoke to as everyone else minded their own business. Hank Rivers was his name.

"Yes, it's the third time this week. Luckily, it's Friday and I have the weekend off," Albert sighed.

"Yeah, lucky you. I still have to come tomorrow because of a new project" Hank sported the usual tired look everyone else had when a new project came. It was really bad luck to spend six days a week with Michael Ho.

"We can hang out on Sunday if you want to," Albert offered him with a smile. He needed to relieve his stress, and a couple of beers didn't sound so bad.

"My parents are visiting and told me to take them around. Maybe next week, pal." Hank patted Albert's shoulder, thanking him for the offer.

They dropped the conversation and continued with their work.

Working on plans was a boring task. Albert's mind started to drift for the second time that day, the image of the woman he found suddenly popped up.

Maybe I should really go see her, just to check if she is good and is being treated well. He mused. Her state had been extremely worrying and pitiful, not even having the appearance of a person but some vengeful ghost.

And now that the surprise of their encounter has passed, he found himself curious about what had happened to her. Maybe, she is the kind of person who hangs out with dangerous and shady people, and did something that angered them. As a result she was beaten up and left there to die.

That thought made him shiver and rethink the idea about visiting her.

…

Yet, there he was, standing in front of the hospital door. What are you doing, Albert Sillar? He asked himself. He had gone to the hospital after work, and kind of hoped he could see her, unsure if visiting hours were over.

He stepped inside and approached the counter at the lobby where a smiling nurse greeted him.

"I.. uh.. Yesterday night, a woman was brought here around midnight from a playground. She was severely wounded… And, um, I was wondering how she was and if I could see her." He stuttered the reason for being there.

The nurse gave him a searching look, but otherwise began looking into the files of the previous day. After some minutes, she found it.

"Were you the one who called for the ambulance?" He nodded at the nurse's question. "Are you some sort of relative or acquaintance?" She continued questioning.

"No, I… I just found her and was really wondering if I could see her, that's all… She looked really bad… But, if it's not possible, then that's fine!" He hurried through his explanation to not be seen as someone suspicious.

The nurse once again looked at him from top to bottom and said: "The woman presented many bruises, cuts, broken bones and a concussion. If she had come a bit later, she might have died from blood loss, hypothermia or an infection from the wounds. The police came and they believe she was beaten with an object and are trying to find the culprit."

Albert was so shock he missed how the nurse's expression eased a bit. The police had told the personnel that if someone went to look for her that seemed suspicious, then to contact them.

Albert did look suspicious at first, asking about a woman he practically didn't know. However, seeing his honest expression, the nurse relented in her questioning. She did share confidential information after all.

"Visiting hours already ended, but I will make an exception since I don't think anyone will come for her." She would still inform a guard to keep an eye on him, just in case.

He was told she was in room 26D, on the fourth floor.

Coming out of the elevator, his hands were shaking a bit. He was anxious. The nurse had told him she had already woken up, and that he shouldn't be so surprised of her looks.

Though, what was worse than the state he found her in?

Spotting the room, he waited outside for a few minutes, thinking if it would be ok to go inside. He grabbed the doorknob, and after letting out a big sigh he turned it, opening the door.

Being surprised was not enough to describe how he felt.

He was horrified.

Almost all her head was bandaged, including one eye. The only portion that was uncovered of the other eye was badly swollen. She had a neck brace. Her hands were bandaged too, and she had a cast on her left leg.

Was she run over by a car to kill her? There's no way a person could hurt another to that extent. It was not human.

She looked at him as soon as he entered. He believed she was confused since it was hard to read her expression under all that. He slowly approached her, and sat on the little stool at the side of the bed. She seemed alert, never taking her sight off of him.

He also stared at her, trying to keep his sight on her uncovered eye. He hesitated to speak, opening and closing his mouth, but finally did.

"I, uh… I was the one who found you in a playground and called for the ambulance…" His voice got lower the more he spoke, his courage vanishing by the second. He couldn't do it.

His eyes looked at anything but her. He didn't want to see her in that state. He suddenly felt broken inside.

He was raised with the thinking that everybody, be it kids, teens, men, woman, and the elderly should be treated with respect and kindness. If you couldn't do that, then just avoid the person. He was taught to never hurt someone out of rage, envy or greed.

But her…

Just what happened to her?

He unconsciously grabbed one of her bandaged hands, and held it lightly inside both his palms.