Mike's arrival at the hospital sparked a flurry of activity among the doctors, who were astonished by the unusual nature of his condition.
His presence alone caused a stir, as medical professionals from various departments gathered to confer on the extraordinary case, baffled by the symptoms and eager to determine the cause of his mysterious illness.
Dr. Scott's eyes widened in astonishment as he removed his glasses to examine the diagram of Mike's eyes more closely. "This is utterly astonishing," he exclaimed. "In my entire medical career, I've never encountered anything remotely like this."
"Where is my son? I must be reunited with him at once!" a visibly distraught Mrs. Smith demanded in the corridor next to the room the doctors were gathered.
"I understand your concern, ma'am, but I must assure you that Mike is currently receiving the medical attention he requires. Please, for his sake, allow us the necessary time and space to thoroughly diagnose and address his condition without any distractions or interruptions," the nurse, with a calming demeanor, responded.
Dr. Tom, the head doctor, probably in his late sixty, rose up from his seat and approached the door, intent on investigating the commotion outside.
Upon opening it, he was met with a heated exchange between a middle-aged woman and one of the nurses.
"What's the meaning of this?" he asked, his gaze fixed sternly on the nurse.
"She was requesting to see her …"
"I must see my son, Mike, right now!" Mrs. Smith interrupted, her voice trembling with worry and urgency.
With a sympathetic sigh, Dr. Tom nodded and acquiesced, "Very well, let's not keep a concerned mother in suspense any longer."
He beckoned Mrs. Smith to follow him as he proceeded past the door and down the corridor, his strides purposeful. Halting in front of a door adorned with his name in bold letters, he pushed it open and stepped aside, inviting Mrs. Smith to enter.
"I daresay, my son is indeed within," Mrs. Smith ventured, her voice tinged with trepidation, as she stepped across the threshold, Dr. Tom following closely behind.
"I've asked you to join me here, Mrs. Smith, not to visit your son in person, but to discuss our concerns and thoroughly inform you about his condition," Dr. Tom explained, motioning for her to take a seat.
He retrieved a photograph from his desk and approached her, now seated.
"This image depicts the anatomy of your son's eyes," he began, using his pen to highlight a specific area.
"This optic nerve plays a crucial role in transmitting visual data from the retina to the brain." He paused, his expression tinged with perplexity.
"However, what we're seeing here is quite unusual, and I must admit, I'm struggling to comprehend the implications..."
Mrs. Smith's anxiety grew, prompting her to interrupt, "Please, Doctor, explain it in a way I can understand. You're alarming me."
"Shall we proceed to see your son first?" Dr. Tom suggested, leading the way to the door.
He opened it and gestured for Mrs. Smith to exit first.
As they emerged, they spotted Mr. Smith stepping out of the elevator a short distance down the hallway. Catching sight of his wife, he hastened towards her with a look of concern etched on his face.
"Have you seen him? Is he doing alright?" he asked, his worry palpable.
"Actually Mr…err… Smith, we're on our way to his ward now, you should join us too," Dr. Tom said and advanced towards the direction Mr. Smith came.
Mr. Smith put a consoling hand on his wife, telling her all will be fine as they followed Dr. Tom down the corridor.
Dr. Tom finally halted in front of the office from which he had earlier emerged, pushed open the door, and stepped inside.
Mike's parents trailed behind him, entering a spacious room filled with a multitude of doctors, all intently focused on a large screen at the front of the room.
The same diagram of Mike's eyes that Dr. Tom had previously shown Mrs. Smith was now projected on the screen, prompting a panicked whisper from Mrs. Smith: "Oh my God!"
Dr. Tom's voice cut through the tension, urging Mike's parents to follow him, and they complied, leaving behind the area of the room filled with doctors engrossed in the enigmatic image.
As they proceeded, they approached a door at one corner of the room, leading to another corridor, which featured three doors on each side of the wall, clearly accessing patient wards.
Beside one of the entrances, Rachael and Stefan sat on a long bench, their faces etched with worry. Upon seeing Mr. and Mrs. Smith approaching, they rose to their feet.
"Mom, what should we do now? He's completely blind; what are we going to do?" Rachael, with tears streaming down her face, implored her mother.
Mrs. Smith enveloped her in a comforting embrace, offering solace.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tom made his way to the door beside them, opened it, and waited patiently beside it, allowing Mike's parents to finish their emotional exchange before entering the room.
A heart-wrenching scene unfolded as Mr. Smith gently tapped his wife's shoulder, urging her to leave Rachael's side.
"Let's go, darling, he's waiting for us," he whispered.
Mrs. Smith reluctantly pulled away from her tearful daughter and followed Dr. Tom through the door he held open.
Mr. Smith trailed behind, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.
As they entered the room, Mike lay before them, his eyes vacant and unseeing.
"Mike!?" Mrs. Smith called out, her voice trembling with anxiety. "My son!"
"Mom! Mom, I can't see!" Mike responded with a despairing cry.
Mr. Smith's words faltered as he struggled to contain his emotions, "But you're staring at us right now, how...".
"I just followed the direction your voices came from, I really can't see anything." Mike's anguished reply cut him off.
Mrs. Smith enveloped Mike in a warm, comforting embrace, her own tears flowing freely. "Don't worry, my love, everything will be fine soon. All the doctors are working tirelessly to find a solution to your sight loss."
Dr. Tom's gentle voice interrupted the emotional moment, "Can I have a word with you, Mr. Smith?" He motioned for Mr. Smith to follow him.
"I'm going as well, I need to know everything about my son," Mrs. Smith declared.
"I'll be right back my love," she said to Mike, kissed him on his forehead and followed Dr. Tom and her husband out.
"Stay with your brother and keep him company till we come back," Mrs. Smith instructed Rachael as they exited the room.
Rachael nodded, and once her parents were gone, she entered Mike's ward.
"Tell me exactly what happened last night. Did something happen to you that we should be aware of?" She demanded.
Mike's brow furrowed in concentration as he struggled to recall the events of the previous night, but his efforts were futile. "All I remembered was reading a book in the box and I fell down and…"
"There's nothing written in the book, it was lying down beside you, empty when we found you," Stefan interrupted , his eyes narrowed and his mind racing with possibilities. "Something's not right. Maybe there's another book we missed."
"No no no - the book has an interesting story inside, I read it for some time and …"
"And what?" both Stefan and Rachael asked in tandem, their voices lanced with curiosity.
"I can't remember," Mike admitted, his frustration palpable.
Rachael's gaze drifted to the floor as she sat down beside him on the bed. "The only book we found was empty, not a single mark or dot of ink."
Mike's eyes closed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Does the book have a woody cover and a strange, inexplicable smell?"
Rachael's eyes widened, her voice trembling with worry. "Dammit, that's right! That's the book!"
Stefan's expression turned thoughtful. "This is getting insane. How could the book be empty now when Mike said he read from it last night?" He paused, his eyes locked on some distant point.
"A book whose contents disappear when it is read, and a sight loss encounter. There's something mysterious at play here, something we need to uncover."
"Yes, it's really beyond imagination," Rachael said, her expression grim.
Mike's words had sparked a trail of questions, each one leading to more bafflement.
Just then, Dr. Tom entered with three other doctors, interrupting the trio's conversation.
"You'll need to excuse us, guys," he requested, his tone polite but firm.
Rachael and Stefan reluctantly rose from their seats, making their way to the exit. As they stepped outside, they spotted Mr. and Mrs. Smith sitting on a bench beside the entrance, Mrs. Smith's head resting on her husband's shoulder.
Perhaps, like them, they had been asked to wait outside while Mike underwent further observation.
Following an unfruitful period of observation, the doctors recoiled, perplexed.
"This defies all logic!" Dr. Kent exclaimed, his voice laced with incredulity.
Just then, the nurse who had earlier engaged in a hushed conversation with Mrs. Smith poked her head into the room. "Dr. Philip has arrived!" she announced, her words sparking a ripple of murmurs among the doctors.
A chorus of skepticism erupted, with some voicing their surprise at Dr. Philip's unexpected presence.
"What brings him here?"
"Of all people, Dr. Philip?!"
"He is a medical professional, after all." Dr. Tom intervened, his tone measured.
"Yes, a veterinarian." Dr. Stiles snorted in derision.
Dr. Tom's expression remained resolute. "Admit him. We require all the expertise we can garner." he said to the nurse, who pulled away her head and closed the door.
Few seconds later the door creaked open, and a man in his fifties entered, his eyes scanning the room as he greeted the assembled doctors.
He approached Mike's bedside, his gaze fixed intently on the young patient's eyes. Producing a small torch, he began a meticulous examination, his movements deliberate and precise.
After a brief pause, Dr. Philip exhaled a sigh of incredulity.
"This is utterly unfathomable," he declared. "These eyes are not human; they're more akin to those of an animal."
"That's absurd! Animal eyes in a human head? How can that be?" Dr. Kent's skepticism was palpable.
"Please, Dr. Philip, clarify your statement. Help us understand." Dr. Tom intervened, his tone measured.
"The retinas are indeed human, but the optic nerve, responsible for transmitting visual information to the brain, is animalistic in nature." Dr. Philip elaborated.
"I knew this would be a debacle. An animal doctor examining a human? It's preposterous!" Dr. Stiles snorted in derision.
Dr. Philip attempted to reason with the doctors, "I understand this is unprecedented, even for me, a veterinarian with years of experience. But I assure you, I've never witnessed anything like this."
However, his words were met with an outbreak of murmurs and gasps.
"Silence!" Dr. Tom's authoritative voice cut through the commotion.
He turned to Dr. Philip, his expression grave. "Are you certain about this? Animal optic nerves merged with human eyes?"
Dr. Philip nodded resolutely. "Yes, similar nerves are found in animals like rats or..."
"Better don't say this to his parents, or we're all going to be in hot soup," Dr. Walsh said, his concern was evident, leading again into an uproar.