Pink Scrubs and Pure Walls

A middle-aged man stood in the middle of the clean, white hallway. By looking at him, one could have easily deduced he was looking for something, seeing as how he shook his head violently from one side to another, trying to find with his eyes something he recognized, something familiar. His eyes drifted between the pink-coloured scrubs of the hurrying nurses and the never-ending parade of stretchers carrying rather unlucky patients, laying unconscious while the nearby nurses attempted to carry them into the E , where they would, hopefully, be taken care of. !he man clearly stood out from his surroundings" instead of matching the clean atmosphere of the hospital, he looked bedraggled. He hadn#t slept in hours, maybe even days, as one could see from his messy clothes, a dark suit with his tie undone and his shirt unbuttoned on the first three holes, and his dark brown hair, once coiffed neatly, now with a few curls popping out and covering his face. He was looking desperately for something, or someone. His eyes stopped on a distant nurse wearing one of the pink scrubs he had seen earlier, carrying a clipboard and apparently also looking for someone. $hen she finally noticed the man looking at her, she signed him to come talk to her. !he man understood and %uickly hurried in her direction, trying not to bump into the hoard of doctors that came out from one of the rooms. &'-'rs. (ackson) *#ve been looking for you everywhere, *#m so glad * finally found you.# !he man was breathing %uickly and loudly, clearly out of breath. &*#m sorry, let me take a moment to get some air.# After receiving an approving nod from 'rs. (ackson, he took his time and tried to rela+, trying to slow his breathing down. ,nce he managed it, he continued. &$here#s 'addie- * heard she got transferred to another room, but no one has been able to tell me e+actly the place where she was taken to. .o you know where she is-# He pleadingly said, as if the nurse in front of her was his only hope left. He could see the e+pression on her face tighten, as if she couldn#t find the words to reveal it to him. &/es, * do know where she is. $e had some complications on her last surgery, and we decided it was time to send her to the *ntensive 0are 1nit, since we are not sure if she is able to stay in a normal room. *#m sorry.# &0ould you take me where she is-# He begged, knowing that no one that wasn#t from the hospital was allowed in there. &* need to see her one more time, before it#s too late.2 He added. !he nurse looked at her wooden clipboard bewildered. *t would surely mean a lot of trouble if a man with no authorization whatsoever was seen on the *01. 3he would even lose her 4ob for participating as an accomplice. But this man, she had seen him sleeping besides his daughter#s bed over the past few weeks, tired from waiting for her to fall asleep, holding her hand as if his life depended on it. !his man was alone in the world, the only thing he had was his beautiful girl. 3he would not be the one that stopped him from seeing her.

&5ine, *#ll take you there. But you must first come with me to get a doctor#s robe, so you don#t stand out among the other doctors in there. /ou must be %uick and not take very long, since that area is forbidden to any outsiders. 6ot it-# !he nurse looked up at him, making sure he got the idea.

&/es, yes, * understand. !hank you very, very much.# !he man followed her into a room ne+t to them, coming out of it a few minutes later wearing a long coat, but %uite short for him. *f stared at long enough, one could tell the coat wasn#t made for him, but among the regular chaos of the hospital and the worried relatives on the waiting room who cared about nothing but their business, no one would even have the time to look at him. He was okay. 'rs. (ackson led the now disguised man through three different hallways, until they reached a wide, two-doored entrance with a sign that read &*01 ahead. 7isitors not allowed.# !hey paid no attention to it and continued their way into the long, white hallway until they reached a grey, slender door with the inscription & ,,' 898# on the top. !he nurse indicated through signs that he had to continue alone after that. !he man prepared himself, shaking his head twice and rubbing his hands fiercely together, calming himself down. He placed his hand on the doorknob, delaying the action, inhaled deeply, and finally turned it. !he room was nothing out of the ordinary. $hite and clean, with a health care poster on one of the walls. A !7 hung from the ceiling in a corner of the room, displaying a children#s show that he knew very well. ,n the center of the room he distinguished a bed with sheets as white as milk and a fuzzy pink blanket over them. After searching with his eyes between the whole mess of pillows, sheets and toys that was the bed, without being able to move a single finger, he saw her. 'adeleine laid on the center of the bed that was certainly too big for her five-year-old body. 3he was sleeping, her blonde hair let loose and occupying half of the pillow beneath her head. Her father moved carefully to where she was, trying not to make even the lightest of sounds, grabbed a nearby chair on his way and sat ne+t to her. He pulled one of her gold locks behind her ear, as careful as a loving father can be. &.addy, is that you-# 'addie said weakly, waking up from the contact. 3he had been sleeping for a while, he deduced by looking at her sleepy eyes. &/es 'addie, it#s me, daddy. How#re you feeling-# &* was scared, but not anymore, because you are here now.# 'adeleine looked at her father with tired eyes and a weak smile on her face. Her father resisted the urge to grab her and pull her in his arms, and rubbed her hand between his fingers. &.addy, *#m ready to go.# Her father looked at her with puzzled eyes. $hen he understood the true meaning of that sentence, he 4ust couldn#t fight the tears that were now streaming down his face.

&Are you sure, baby-# !he little girl nodded in answer to his father#s %uestion, and mouthed a weak &* love you# to him. 3he then closed her eyes, peacefully so, and the machine connected to her started beeping furiously, while the numbers on it turned red and started to blink. !he man stood up and walked until he was ne+t to the door. A few doctors rushed in, paying no attention to the unknown man in the room with a doctor#s coat too small for him, and started to reanimate the girl. *t was useless, the man %uietly thought. A final long beeping sound was heard, and everyone slowly stopped what they were doing. 'adeleine wasn#t breathing anymore. !he girl#s father slowly walked out the door and made his way to the e+it.