Lala and Toumas arrived at the clinic where Toumas' daughter was being cared for. Lala's heart raced as Toumas and she followed a nurse down the sterile, white halls of the clinic. Every step echoed in the empty corridor as the tall blonde nurse led them to an office where a weary-looking doctor awaited them. Toumas, his face etched with worry, wasted no time in asking about his daughter's condition.
"How is she?" Toumas inquired, his voice tinged with concern.
The doctor, with a hint of relief in his tone, responded, "She's stable and out of immediate danger."
Expressing his gratitude with a firm handshake, Toumas watched as the doctor hurried away to attend to an emergency, leaving them momentarily alone in the office. Lala, trying to offer comfort, reassured Toumas, "Everything shalt be alright," but his troubled gaze remained fixed on the door through which the doctor had left.
Moments later, a woman with brown hair and olive eyes entered the room. Her tired eyes flared with anger upon seeing Toumas, a mix of resentment and hurt flashing across her features.
"Thank goodness you decided to show up," the woman greeted Toumas with a sharp edge to her voice. "After all these years, you still have no idea who you are!"
“Elizabeth!”
"You finally show your face after eight years. Narine might not even know who you are!" Elizabeth answered. "Who is she? Is it another daughter?"
Toumas attempted to say something, but before he could speak, Lala stepped in, fabricating a story to shield Toumas from further confrontation. "This one parent died in a tragic accident, and from that time on Dr. Avakian here has taken care of this one. This one's name is Lala. Nice to meet thee!"
Elizabeth clenched her jaw, fighting back tears as she struggled to process the revelation. "Which room is Narine in? I want to see her," Toumas interjected, eager to focus on his daughter's well-being.
"5502," Elizabeth replied, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Lala excused herself from the tense atmosphere, making her way down the stark, white hallway with its cold, gray walls.
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"This place gives this one the chills. Hospitals are not this one’s preferred setting," Lala muttered to herself, her steps echoing in the empty corridor.
Navigating her way through the maze-like corridors, Lala reached the reception area, seeking directions to Narine's room. An elevator carried her up to the fifth floor, where a busy corridor greeted her. She asked a nurse who volunteered to take her to the room.
The nurse's brisk pace contrasted with Lala's hesitant movements. Once at her destination, with a deep breath, Lala pushed open the door, steeling herself for the sight that awaited her.
Inside the room, the harsh fluorescent lights cast a clinical glare over the scene. Narine lay still on the hospital bed, her fragile form surrounded by a web of tubes and wires. The steady beep of the heart monitor filled the room as a metronome. Lala's gaze lingered on Narine's pale face, her features drawn with pain and exhaustion.
Approaching the bedside, Lala felt a surge of emotion welling up inside her. The sight of Narine's weakened state tugged at her heart. With a gentle touch, Lala brushed a lock of sweat-dampened hair away from Narine's forehead.
A nurse hovered nearby, her gaze watchful and assessing. Lala could sense the unspoken tension in the room as she met the nurse's eyes.
She listened to the steady rhythm of the girl's heartbeat, and Lala cast a spell that allowed her to hear Toumas’ and his ex-wife’s voices even when they were still on the first floor. Their strained voices rang through the walls, their words a jumble of accusation and regret.
"You always put your work before anything else... did you ever notice? Do you know what the right thing to do is?" Elizabeth's words sliced through the air, each syllable laden with bitterness and recrimination. Toumas' response was a torrent of emotion, his voice laced with frustration and sorrow as he defended his actions.
Minutes later, Lala's gaze flickered to the window, her eyes catching a fleeting glimpse of movement in the parking lot below. Elizabeth, Toumas' ex-wife, was running. A surge of panic gripped Lala's heart, her instincts urging her to follow.
"Damn it!" The curse escaped her lips in a whisper as she bolted out of the room, her footsteps echoing down the hallway like a drumbeat. She raced down the stairs, pushing herself to move faster as her heart pounded in her chest.
Outside, the air was thick with the scent of exhaust fumes and the pungent tang of burnt trash. Lala's eyes scanned the street, searching for any sign of Elizabeth or Toumas. Two blocks away, a scene unfolded that made Lala's blood run cold. Her breath caught in her throat, a sharp spasm of sorrow piercing her heart as she took in the devastating sight before her.
“No,” she muttered to herself with a trembling voice.
Toumas knelt on the pavement, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs as he cradled Elizabeth's lifeless form in his arms. The shattered glass of a trolley window glinted in the harsh streetlights. Lala felt a wave of anguish wash over her, her eyes stinging with unshed tears as she took in the scene before her.
“Toumas… no!”