As the sun continued to shine, a sleek car pulled over near the entrance of a hospital. A man stepped out of the car dressed in a modest suit, hurrying towards the hospital. This man was Reginald Carter, a successful businessman who carried himself with a quiet confidence. However, today he was in a state of great turmoil.

Reginald had received a call from Dr. Parker, informing him of his son Lucian's life-threatening situation. As he listened to the doctor's explanation, Reginald couldn't believe what he was hearing. He even checked the number to make sure it was really Dr. Parker's. The urgency in the doctor's voice made Reginald's chest tighten. He asked how Lucian had gotten into this situation, was it a fight at school or a car accident? Confusedly, the doctor said no.

After hanging up with the doctor, Reginald left everything in his hands and immediately went to the airport, paying whatever he was asked for. He needed to see Lucian, his only son. Surely Lucian would be alright?

Reginald entered the hospital with no sense of where to go, as soon as he entered the hospital, he started looking around hopelessly, trying to find a sense of direction and asking random people who appeared in front of him even if they didn't seem like a staff, he needed someone to guide him. Fortunately, a person was waiting for him next to the reception staff. The man approached Reginald with a sad look on his face and said,

"Sir Reginald, you are here. Please follow me to see your son."

Reginald could have made phone calls to inquire about Lucian's condition, but a pain in his heart told him not to, he almost collapsed from all the thinking that was going in his brain, so he decided to shut everything out, and start focusing in seeing Lucian first, then any inquiry will surely be answered.

Reginald followed the man who guided him through the labyrinthine corridors of the hospital. Reginald mind reeling with worry and fear, he didn't know what to expect, but he prayed silently for everything to be alright, as they passed by busy nurses and doctors, looking at the signs, they were going in the emergency area, as soon as they got near it, Reginald could hear crying and sobbing, he couldn't help but stop, he steeled his heart as much as he can and continued following the guide.

The man stopped and looked at Reginald with sympathy, "We are almost there." he said softly before turning and walking forward.

As soon as they entered the emergency area, it was busy and chaotic, with medical personnel rushing around to provide life-saving treatments to patients, crying and screams of family members were echoing all around the emergency area.

Reginald saw some disturbing, hunting scenes that he will never be able to forget, his eyes widened, muttering quietly:

"Is my son, in a critical situation like them?" he still couldn't believe that he came into the hospital to see his teen son, no Lucian wasn't even a teen yet, he was still a kid.

Reginald's heart was racing as he followed the man deeper into the emergency area. He tried to keep his thoughts focused on his son, Lucian, but the chaos and distress around him were overwhelming.

As they passed by a curtained area, Reginald caught a glimpse of a young boy on a hospital bed, surrounded by medical personnel. His heart dropped as he wondered if that was his son.

The guide noticed Reginald's distress and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll arrive soon."

Reginald tried to stay calm and composed, but he couldn't help but feel a wave of anxiety wash over him. He prayed silently, hoping that his son was safe and that he would be reunited with him soon.

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Reginald frantically looked around, hoping to find someone he knows, hoping to finally hear, "Lucian is fine", but that wasn't what he heard, what he heard were more hysterical cries and sobbing.

Reginald looked at the direction the cries were coming from and found someone familiar, it was a man holding a new born child with a a 5 year old child holding his leg sleeve.

Hearing all the cries coming from behind the curtains, Reginald instinctively knew what that those cries meant, but he refused to believe it. He wanted to move forward, he wanted to move away that curtain and see Lucian, he imagined seeing Lucian with his innocent smile apologizing for causing trouble again, he wanted to move forward, but he couldn't, his legs gave up and couldn't continue moving forward.

"Why are you giving up now?? Lucian is waiting for me, I must continue, get up, please" Reginald addressed his legs, they have been carrying him just fine for the past 60 years, why are you giving up in this important moment now? Just like his legs betrayed him, his eyes also blurred and he couldn't see forward clearly, he thought his eyes were failing, but he could feel a warm liquid falling down on his cheek.

"Huh? Why am I crying? no, no, everything is fine. yes everything must be fine."

Reginald almost lost himself, but a yelling voice brought him out of his stupor

"FATHER!" The man holding the child yelled and started hurriedly moving toward the the falling Reginald keeping in mind his child holding his leg sleeve, but thankfully the guide went forward and supported Reginald

'Ahh, it must be Lucian, yes, Lucian is calling for me' Reginald was in a dreamlike state, his mind was hallucinating as a defense mechanism, he looked forward but saw that this wasn't his son, it was Joseph Martinez, his son-in-law, the husband of his first daughter, Grace. Reginald recalled quickly, taking a glance at his grandchildren, and moving forward with the support of the guide. Reginald refused Joseph 's help as he saw that he already had his hands full.

Reginald moved forward with the guide's support leaving Joseph behind. Just as he moved the curtains away, He saw Grace and Emma embracing each other, both of them crying uncontrollably.

'Why are you crying like that?' Reginald wanted to ask but could not find the strength to speak. He searched for Lucian, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he noticed a hand sticking out from a covered body on the bed.

"Why is his face covered?" Reginald managed to ask, struggling to speak. Grace and Emma heard their father's voice and cried even louder in grief.

Seeing their father struggle to move even with the guide's help, Grace stood up and went to support her father

"Father, please come sit down"

"I want to see him," Reginald said, almost choking while trying as best as he could to speak those words

Reginald moved closer to the bed and slowly lifted the sheet that covered Lucian's face. As he did, he was confronted with a sight that made his heart sink. Lucian's face was unnaturally pale, and his lips had taken on a blueish tinge. His eyes were only half-closed, and his mouth hung slightly open, as if he had been gasping for air before he passed away.

A wave of disbelief washed over Reginald as he looked down at his son's lifeless body. It was then that the reality of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks. His son, his only son, was gone forever.

"NOOOOOOO!" Reginald released a primal scream, he kneeled on the ground, caressing his son's pale face, and muttered

"Lucian, your father is here, I'm here, Won't you greet me like you always did?" Tears flew down from Reginald eyes, Grace hugged his back, but he couldn't feel anything around him, it was like he was in another world, a smile started forming on his face, , he muttered:

"You want to spend more time with Father? yes, yes I'm sorry for not spending enough time with you and was always being busy with work, Father will fix that and spend a lot of time with you, yes we can go to amusement park together like you have always wanted" Reginald was having an imaginary conversation with Lucian, Grace, still hugging her father's back, seeing him acting like that got her worried as she said:

"Dad, Lucian is already gone,"

Grace's words seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Reginald continued to speak to his son's lifeless body. Grace, unable to bear it any longer, broke down and screamed at her father.

"Dad, Lucian is already dead, LUCIAN DIED!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed hold of Reginald's back tighter, and kept screaming

"LUCIAN IS DEAD"