The hospital felt louder that day.
Not in sound—but in the way Mia's thoughts refused to quiet down.
She sat on the edge of the cafeteria bench, untouched coffee growing cold in her hands, her eyes fixed on the transfer form lying between her and Andrew.
"She was fine," Mia said softly, almost to herself. "She was laughing yesterday."
Andrew leaned back, rubbing his face. "I know. She asked me to bring her crossword book today."
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
The form stared back at them.
Patient Name: Mrs. Eleanor Smith
Transfer Time: 02:10 AM
Transferred To: —
That last line was blank.
Mia frowned. "Isn't there supposed to be a destination?"
Andrew nodded slowly. "Yeah. Always."
He worked here longer than she did. He knew the system.
Which made this worse.
"Maybe it's a mistake," Mia offered weakly.
"Maybe," he said. But he didn't sound convinced.
They folded the paper carefully and slid it back into the file.
"Let's just… keep an eye out," Andrew said. "No assumptions."
Mia nodded. She wanted to believe that was enough.
Later that evening, Mia helped Holly restock supplies.
"Hey," Holly said casually, "you okay?
"You've been zoning out since morning."
"Yeah," Mia lied quickly. "Just tired."
Holly raised an eyebrow but didn't push. Catherine joined them, balancing files.
"Did you hear?" Catherine whispered. "Room 312 was transferred too."
Mia froze.
"When?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
"Last night. Super sudden."
Mia forced a smile. "Hospitals are weird like that, I guess."
But her heartbeat had already started to speed up.
That night, Mia stayed later than usual, pretending to organize charts while watching the ICU corridor.
Andrew passed by once and stopped.
"You're still here?"
"Just finishing up," she said.
He hesitated. "Want company?"
She nodded.
They leaned against the wall together, not talking much, just listening to the steady beeping of machines and the distant rolling of trolleys.
"Have you ever noticed," Mia said slowly,
"that the transfers always happen at night?"
Andrew exhaled, his jaw tightening.
"I did notice."
She looked at him. "You did?"
"I asked once," he admitted quietly. "A senior nurse told me I was interfering and that interns shouldn't dig into things that don't concern them."
Mia's grip on the file tightened. "That's… not normal."
"No," he said. "And that's why I stopped asking."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Andrew added, softer this time, "But I never stopped wondering."
Their eyes met—and this time, it wasn't just curiosity.
It was shared doubt.
Down the corridor, a door clicked shut.
Mia glanced toward the Old Wing.
The lights were on.
*******
Sorry for the long wait but I had my exams so ig that explains the delay