"I am."
"Are you so sure I don't have a girlfriend?"
"I do."
"Why? Can you see by my face that I'm not interested in girls?"
"Excuse me, could I have a drink of water?" asked the man, behind whom there was a queue of people who wanted a drink of cool water.
"What? Yes, of course."
With quick steps Wilhelmina ran away, she was too embarrassed. So, she ran into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror. She put red lipstick on her lips and blushed in shame. And it was all the fault of what she had just heard.
"Wilhelmina, what happened?" Dominique asked, opening the door.
"Tell me, why are there men in this world who love other men? Do you think it is normal?"
"Why are you asking that?"
"Dr Orwell, he's gay."
"How did you know that?"
"He has a boyfriend. That young doctor."
"What? How did you know? Did you see them kissing?"
"I overheard them talking."
"You did? So that's why the two of them are so beautiful," Dominique said, laughing.
"What do you mean?"
"When I was a teenager, I often fell in love with handsome guys. But then I found out they were all gay. Every guy I fell in love with turned out to be gay. And then I realized that if a man is handsome and smells good, he's definitely gay."
"What about your husband? With such a handsome face, he must be gay, too."
"What? Jasper? No. He's not gay."
"Yeah, but he's handsome."
"I guess he's the exception."
"Anyway, I overheard them talking. So, our Dr Orwell is gay. Be careful. He might fall in love with your handsome husband," Wilhelmina said and at that moment the door of one of the toilet cubicles rattled open, making the two women jump in fright.
A tall woman with frightened very round eyes came running out of there, holding a huge book in her hands. And without even thinking that it was too strange, she asked very loudly, "What? Is Dr Orwell gay? What? His boyfriend, is it Dr Raphael?"
Before she could say anything, Wilhelmina merely glanced at her red-coloured shoes, which only glittered before running out of the bathroom at the speed of light.
"I've never been in a hospital before, and I didn't even know that everyone who works in a hospital is so strange," Dominique whispered, inhaling the pleasant scent of that woman's perfume.
Evening came faster than usual that day. And as the sun began to set over the horizon; everyone noticed the beauty of the evening sky. The combination of pink and deep blue, together with the orange colour, created a real picture that no one could pass by. Stopping in front of the tall windows, all the medical staff and all the patients forgot their lives for a moment and just admired the sky. It was suddenly quiet, peaceful, and even romantic. Everyone wanted to smile, to cry, to forget their pain and go on living, enjoying every such moment.
Every patient was looking out of the windows. Even those who could barely open their eyes. Even those who had very little left to be in this world. All except the two men who should be opening their eyes very soon.
But they were unlucky not to be able to see such a beautiful sky. For they opened their eyes when night fell. A cool, lonely, strangely quiet night, when not even the sounds of the city could be heard.
After Dr Orwell's visit, Everett opened his eyes, feeling as if he had just woken up. Glancing around, then managing to get up on his elbows, he looked once more towards the door, behind which the light of a single lamp shone dimly.
All he felt was that he was very thirsty. Feeling his tongue sticking to his palate and the horrible taste of the medicine suppressing all his appetite, he raised his right hand and touched his face.
He wanted to see everything so he could finally understand what was happening to him. But it was too dark around him and when he wanted to get up, he felt a sharp pain somewhere in his arm. Pain and then something warm flowed down his arm.
Falling back on the bed, he covered himself with a blanket, feeling very cold. His mind was blank. Not a single thought. And it frightened him. But he was even more frightened when he looked out the window and saw the moon there.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew what it was, he even wanted to say the name of the object aloud. But for the next few minutes, he could not remember the name. It was only when he remembered that he was so excited that he uttered it, "The moon. It's the moon."
When he remembered the name of this space object, he felt a little better. But now, he wondered where he was and what was even going on.
"The moon. The moon. The moon," he said a few more times before he became so frightened that he ran towards the farthest corner of the room.
"Hello," someone said, and Everett didn't immediately realise it was the man who was sitting on the bed next to him.