'I'm so tired,' thought the woman with exhausted eyes.

Priyanka Maheswaran was working overtime today. As an exemplary doctor, she always had patients to attend to, and today was especially challenging.

It was already late; the hospital would now only handle emergencies. Just as she was about to leave, a man in a white coat appeared in the quiet office.

"You did a good job today, Dr. Priyanka," said the man with a calm demeanor, holding a cup of espresso. He was Liam, a coworker.

"You were still here, Dr. Liam?"

"Who else would bring you coffee at this hour?" said Liam with a playful smile. "Aren't you overdoing it?"

"The same goes for you. Thanks for the coffee."

They had a superficial relationship, but it was good enough to exchange a few jokes.

Liam always brought her coffee on overtime days, and both were terrible workaholics. It was a ritual they repeated without much thought.

It should have been just another day.

Until the image of a little girl appeared before their eyes.

"Oh my god!" Liam exclaimed, covering his mouth in disbelief.

The girl on the floor was in a terrible state, with dirt and nail marks all over her body. Her arms were trembling intermittently, and she was wearing strange, damaged green clothes.

Dr. Priyanka knelt beside the child and hurriedly checked her pulse, trying to detect any vital signs.

There were no vital signs or pulmonary reactions. It was critical; they needed to act fast.

"It's an emergency! Liam, call for assistance!"

"Got it!"

The quiet hospital became noisy with the sudden appearance of the mysterious child.

Dr. Priyanka started emergency treatment, skillfully performing CPR. Her hands moved rhythmically, and she used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation without hesitation. She repeated the process perfectly.

Priyanka felt a faint touch; the girl was holding onto her coat sleeve as if to say she was still alive.

The reason she had become a doctor, the reason she worked so hard... it all seemed to lead to this moment.

"You will live!" she said with renewed determination.

The girl's heart started to beat again, and she began to breathe. Priyanka was relieved, but her hands didn't stop until the assistance arrived.

She never would have thought that the girl's real issues were more mental than physical.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

✦

Peridot was shocked. Lion had just dropped her next to a strange, huge building. Maybe Lion misunderstood her drawings as a desire to see humans? She was just practicing hand movements!

'Sometimes I forget this is a magical world. Why are the animals here so smart?' thought Peridot remorsefully.

She wanted to see humans, but not like this.

Her plan was to compensate for her disabilities first. The Steven Universe world had many threats, and she was too weak to protect herself.

She tried to move her legs and hands, but it wasn't easy. In the middle of her attempts, she saw two human figures—a woman and a man, judging by their shapes.

Suddenly, the woman touched her body. Peridot analyzed her better—a woman with fierce eyes and a coat. Was she a doctor? She seemed somehow familiar...

Peridot couldn't immediately recognize the 2D side characters now appearing in 3D.

When the woman tried to touch her body, Peridot knew a huge problem was about to occur. She didn't know how to simulate breathing or heartbeats. What would happen?

The man ran inside the building, leaving just the serious-faced woman.

'No, it's a misunderstanding!'

She tried to move her hands to stop her but then noticed her lips against the woman's lips. She was trying to perform mouth-to-mouth CPR.

'My first kiss!'

Peridot was devastated by the loss of her small dignity. She was confused—should she be happy to finally have a kiss or sad about the surreal situation?

'I need to stop her somehow!' thought Peridot, scared of losing her remaining dignity.

An idea suddenly came to her mind amid the crisis.

'If I don't know how to breathe or have heartbeats, I just need to learn it!' Peridot touched the woman's pulse and accurately analyzed the image of her inner organs.

She perfectly reproduced all the movements of the woman's heartbeats and pulse.

Peridot felt relieved. If she could reproduce it, maybe she could recover her senses sooner than she thought.

'You can stop now,' thought Peridot, using Appraisal to sense the woman above her while touching her coat.

For some reason, the woman's hands and mouth became more frequent than before.

'No, why!?'

The night would be long for Peridot.

✦

"How is she?" asked Liam with a worried face.

Beside him was a child in white clothes with a fragile appearance. When the sun touched her skin through the window, she looked like a sick and pitiful child.

"Her vital signs are stable now, but there are marks of harm all over her body," Dr. Priyanka said professionally, but inside, her rage was rising furiously.

'A child smaller than my daughter in such a precarious condition—who on Earth would make her suffer so much?' she thought, shaking her hands dangerously.

Priyanka had seen many pitiful people since she became a doctor. Her heart could endure even the most devastating cases, but the child in front of her broke all her emotional walls.

She couldn't believe what she saw.

Burn marks, bruises, self-harm scars, a dirty body, clothes in rags, and strong signs of mental trauma. Her inner body was fine, but externally and mentally, she was in terrible shape.

"The management team is already contacting specialists and investigating her case," she said solemnly.

"You saved this child, Priyanka. I couldn't even react in this situation. You can be proud of yourself," said Liam with a conflicted face, touching her shoulder. "Besides, she really seems to like you."

The child never stopped touching her wrist throughout the process. Even now, the child's hands were squeezing her wrist.

Maybe the child was instinctively seeking something to rely on.

Priyanka's hand touched the little girl's hair. Contrary to her serious condition, her face had very soft skin.

"She'll probably end up in an orphanage. I don't think a child like that would have a friendly family."

"..."

They were doctors. The only thing they could do was do their job well.

A doctor shouldn't get too involved with a patient, as it could harm both of them if things got worse.

But now, Priyanka wasn't just there as a doctor but as a mother. Her mind was in internal conflict.

'What kind of adult would I be if I left this child alone?' she thought, touching the child's cute face gently. 'At the very least, I will ensure this child gets the necessary support she deserves.'

With this decision, her mind became clear. She tenderly brushed the little girl's hair again.

'This is the right thing to do.'