Prologue
She did not know whether she was in a misty dreamscape, or whether she was in a hazy reality.
As though submerged in the depths of the ocean, there was a vacuous, ink-like blue in all directions. There was nothing there, and it was incredibly quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the soft murmur of the current leaving one's side. Her body was extended wantonly in the ocean. It was unconsciously floating in the middle of the deep sea and slowly fluttering in the wind.
She had been in slumber for a long time…
"Miss… Miss, you're awake!"
A splitting migraine, a scorching belly, like a ravaging fire. She appeared to be lying on a bed, but the pain in her back was unbearable. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably.
"Doctor Zhang—Hurry, please come and check on her!"
The voice next to her became more and more muffled, but the pain in her body became more and more obvious. She could not open her eyes, unable to see the world outside.
"She seems to have… fainted again."
Upon hearing this sentence, everything went quiet. She sank into the silence within the deep sea again, that vast and distinct fairyland. It was only there that she could no longer feel the suffering.
"She really has fainted again…" The nurse tried to pry her eyes open and shone a torch, wondering aloud in resignation, "What should we do? it's already the fourth time this week…"
The nurse turned to look to the front of the ward. Then, fiddling with the IV drip, she turned to Doctor Zhang, who had just rushed in, and said, "What do you think, will she make it?"
Doctor Zhang flipped through her medical records and answered helplessly, "I've already had to put her on critical watch twice this week, plus she was already injured to such an extent when she was sent in. Her lungs are hemorrhaging too. Any normal person would have already died a few times over."
There was nobody else in the ward. Leaning against the side of the bed, the two of them watched the slumbering patient while conversing nonchalantly. "Hmm… Doctor Zhang, what do you think about the background of this patient? It's been a week, but I haven't seen any friends or family come to visit her. It's like she doesn't exist."
"From what I heard, this lady was found in the lobby of our hospital. A group of people were huddled around her, watching as she lay motionless in a pool of blood. Everyone thought it was a corpse and fled in all directions!"
"Then who on earth sent her in for treatment? The operation costs and hospitalization fees all require a huge sum of money!" The nurse asked in a state of shock. From what she understood, the hospital would never save somebody who had collapsed in the lobby and was on the verge of death—simply out of mercy. After all, death was a daily occurrence at the hospital. They were all used to it.
"I'm not too sure, but it seems that somebody paid a large sum of money, took care of the administrative matters, and gave us permission to operate on her. The hospital charges had been paid for some time as well."
"Wow, what a kind soul. All the medical fees were paid as well?"
"Who would pay for a stranger!? It must be somebody she knew, maybe a friend or a relative."
The nurse cast a glance at the pale, immobile patient who looked anaemic. She pursed her lips. "Well, as a person of unknown origin, it would be good if she were to wake up, but what should we do if she were to die here at our hospital?"
Doctor Zhang rolled his eyes helplessly at the nurse. "Even worse, she could go into a vegetative state. That would really be troublesome!"
He looked at his watch and closed the medical docket. "Okay, it's time, I have to change shifts. Keep a watch over her; if there are any updates, let me know."
The nurse tugged at him, then laughed, and said, "I have to check on the other wards too, I don't think she'll wake up any time soon."
The door to the ward closed once again, leaving behind a woman who lay in silence on the hospital bed.
For the entire week, she had been lying there in deep slumber, sinking into a deep sea dreamscape—without an exit.