A Visit

This is somewhere you don’t want to step into unless you are obliged to do so. The lobby is as cold as the air, there is hardly anyone in sight. I take the elevator and it makes its stop at level five. The first thing I see when the elevator door opens is a sign that reads “Pediatric Ward”. There are more signs at both ends, indicating the range of ward rooms and their respective directions. A hand sanitiser is placed at every room interval, not leaving out the counter too. So here I’m, right in front of the door to Room 516. I slide the door open, carrying his favourite comic books on one hand. He is sitting upright on the bed, with pillows supporting his back. His eyes are fixed on the screens, alternating between each. The very sight of it leaves me beaming. “Saving Princess Zelda?”, I interrupt. “I’m kicking Bellum’s butt!”, he exclaims without looking away from the screens. See how a handheld can keep a kid tied up?