It was dark when Esther came to. She rose from the bed, but a sudden burst of nausea engulfed her core, accompanied by a pounding headache that forced her to slump back on the bed. She lay motionless, willing the uncomfortable feelings away, but as the seconds ticked by, the pain only worsened. Her immediate resolve was to shout but when she tried, her voice came as a whimper. Only then did she feel the dryness of her throat. She began to thrash violently, and that's when the door swung open, allowing light to enter her room. Dr. Mori appeared before her, dressed in his usual white doctor's coat.
     
"How are you feeling Esther," he asked in his monotone voice.
     
Esther all but glared at him. The doctor shook his head and motioned for her to sit up. But Esther, knowing she would fail shifted her face to her right and buried it on the soft pillow.
     
After what felt like an eternity a nurse suddenly appeared beside her bed, handing her a glass of water, but she refused to take it. The nurse threw a questioning glance in Dr. Mori's direction and he motioned for her to leave the glass on the bedside table. "Esther, try to drink. It will help with the headache," he advised, voice full of sympathy.
     
The old housekeeper tried to rise from the bed once again, and succeeded, well barely, because she still needed to keep both hands pinned on the mattress to prevent herself from stumbling over. As if on cue, Dr. Mori walked up to her, picked up the glass of water, and held it to her mouth. With wounded pride, Esther allowed him to help her drink.
     
"Tell me what happened," Mori asked while taking a seat beside her. Esther finally relieved from the pain in her head, turned to face the doctor. She looked into his eyes like she was searching for answers instead of giving one. "Tell me," Mori probed. The old housekeeper shifted her gaze to the floor, "I don't know what happened, I was holding her just as I always did, the next thing I knew she had her hands locked on my wrist.”
    
"That’s it? Is there anything else you want to add,” Mori questioned, but to his dismay, Esther answered him with just a glare. "You can stay here and leave tomorrow, it's dark outside and I doubt you'll catch the last train," Mori murmured as he prepared to get up, but Esther grabbed his wrist to prevent him from doing so. Mori, with his eyebrow raised and narrowed eyes, stared down at the woman.
     
"I have something else to say, but I wish you wouldn't take it as me losing my mind, because I can assure you, Doctor, my mind is well enough to bring you to court if you so as read more into what I'm about to say." Her words instantly caught the doctor's attention, although reluctant, he remained on the bed.
     
A full minute had passed but Esther was still contemplating how to begin her story. She pinched her nose and took a deep breath. "I saw her," she stated bluntly. "Saw who," Mori asked. Esther raised her currently bowed head and stared him in the eye, she kept her gaze locked on his grey globes and said, "Gen."
     
With that, Mori had both eyebrows raised and smiled at the woman. "What do you mean," he asked calmly. Esther laughed, "as I told you, you might find this unordinary.”
     
"Stop going in circles," Mori retorted, a bit irritated by the old woman's demeanor.
     
"When she held my arm, I found myself standing in an empty corridor. Everything was white and many doors were lining the hallway. I entered one and saw her. She was sitting on a hill. I walked up to her, I tried to take her hand but she pulled back."
     
"And then what happened,” Mori continued to ask, assuring the woman that she has his attention. "And then there was nothing. I was back and Damien was about to twist her arm." Mori went silent for a while; he took a deep breath and gave the woman a warm smile. He couldn’t help but pity her. No one should be subjected to such pain. He witnessed firsthand how affectionate the old woman was to his patient. He began to speak with his calm and caring voice.
     
"I see, tell me, Esther, how have you been through these years? What have you been doing other than thinking about Gen? Do you even indulge yourself in any form of company? A chit-chat with friends or maybe attending simple gatherings? Or do you still lock yourself alone inside that mansion?" Dr. Mori asked while placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.
     
Esther snickered and shrug the old doctor's arm away. She sighed and threw a skeptical glance." how could I bother myself with such luxury doctor, all my life I have spent taking care of the Calderon. I don't know how to do anything else."
     
"That's the problem, Esther," Mori answered. He stood and walked towards the lone window of the room. He drew open the curtains and let the cold wind sweep inside. "What you said earlier, seeing Gen on that hill. Tell me, how did she look?"
     
"At peace," came Esther's immediate reply.
     
"That seems more like your wishful thinking Esther," Mori replied nonchalantly.
     
This angered Esther, clearly, the old doctor doesn't understand her at all. "I saw something," she yelled, but the doctor all but gave a sympathetic smile.
     
"I never said you didn't Esther, all I'm saying is your care and love for Gen might be bordering on obsession whilst your mind is regressing and playing tricks on you."
     
"I'm not crazy if that's what your implying Mori," Esther answered coldly.

"There's a difference between losing your mind and allowing yourself to indulge in a daydream. Now, I'm not implying that you're making this up, but you must understand that the human mind is capable of many things. We are often subjected to dreams while we're awake."
     
"Are you saying I had a dream while I was standing there? I felt the pain of her grip doctor and as you can see, the purple bracelet I gained from it is far from telling me that it was a dream." I was lucid the entire time
     
"So tell me, Esther. What exactly do you think?"
     
"I think it's a vision, maybe Gen has been telling the truth all along. Maybe, if we look at a different angle…"
     
"Esther please," Mori interrupted. He rubbed his temple, soothing the headache that he had been enduring for nearly five hours. Medicine no longer worked. How he longs to doze off and forget everything, the hospital, his missions, his patients, his nagging wife. If he could, he would choose to die at that very moment but he couldn’t.

He had gone too deep to even find the courage to back down. If he fails to explain things properly to the old woman, he'd probably have an additional patient by the next day.
     
"Tell me, Esther, what exactly do you think about what you saw?" he asked the woman as gently as he could. Mori was already aware of how emotional Esther could be. Whenever she came to visit, they would have to sedate the woman because of her antics, but that day was a bit different. That day the woman was touching something which he could not allow.
     
"I saw her, she's in there," Esther answered. Her voice was in the middle of breaking from tears.
     
"Of course, she is Esther, no one said she's not. That's why she's here, isn't she? For us to bring her back and make it all better."
     
Esther finally broke into tears. "I just... I just want to see her again, my Gen, not that zombie creature who looked at me as if I’m not even there. I want to hear her voice again, for her to say she has forgiven me. For her to say she'll be coming home. You have no idea what it's like doctor, to wake up each day, dragging your feet, feeling the weight of the pain increasing but you’re too crippled inside to do anything about it. To watch the days, go by and have nothing to look forward to but a repetition of the day before. Do you know how it feels to find waking every day a burden, a chore? Do you know how it feels to hope for the unknown? To pray for a reprieve. She has been here for seven years doctor. And nothing has changed, things only got worst.”
     
"Now, now Esther, Mori cut in, but the old housekeeper only smirked at him.
     
“When she arrived here, she was disoriented, yes, but why had she stopped responding, moving? I don't understand," Esther screamed, and with all the strength she could muster, she threw the glass which held her water to the wall.

Mori left the confines of the window and walked towards the woman, he knelt in front of her and took her arms. "Esther, we all wish for her to get better, but falling apart and allowing ourselves to succumb to doubt, pain, or even regret will fail our purpose. You have to be strong. If you think you saw Gen somewhere if you saw her safe and happy, perhaps, you were right, perhaps, that meant she's happy. It was probably your subconscious allowing you a bit of happiness, a reprieve just as you wanted. Stop dwelling on the pain Esther. Gen is safe. She may not be here mentally but we are keeping her safe. I want you to see Gen as a house, a house that one day will welcome its residents once again. We have to keep this house clean and livable. So, the next time you visit, why not give her a makeover, hmmm? Comb her hair, wipe her face, and perhaps, even for a bit, it would help ease the pain and allow her to feel your love for her."
     
Esther only had the strength to nod and agree with doctor Mori. She lay back in bed and dozed off.
     
When Mori left Esther's room. He immediately dialed a number on his phone. The voice on the other side greeted him and asked what he wanted. Mori took a deep breath and replied, "We have a problem.”