It was near nine o'clock, and bedtime, Sophia pulled the blanket, planning to sleep for the night and deal with other things tomorrow.
Just as she settled down, the door to the ward opened — Frank was back.
His usually impeccable white robe looked like it had been through a fierce storm. It was filthy and ragged, reminding Sophia of the day she first found him — it seemed more like he had fled from chaos than anything else.
Dumbfounded, she watched Frank approach, and he then said to her: "Let's go."
She was momentarily speechless and was cut off by him just as she was about to say 'you': "It's okay."
Sophia scanned him from head to toe, as if taking an x-ray, then asked: "What happened to you?"
Frank gave her a nonchalant reply, in just two words:
"Life and death."
He had been through life and death.
Though he said it lightheartedly, the depths of his eyes remained calm.
He looked down at her sitting on the bed and repeated the initial two words: "Let's go."
