– Don't worry, – the new doctor snapped. – Doctor Emmett will be cleansed and sent for retraining again. Then he will reappear in the hospital and take on a new patient.
– Cleansed? And retrained? Won't that take a long time? – Nia wondered.
– No, not at all. It's only a few years. There's no need to worry about Emmett. He's been through this procedure several times. He starts getting too close to patients too often, and that's unacceptable and causes problems.
Nia was shocked.
– Cleansed minds? Several times? That's terrible! How is that possible? – There was despair in her voice. She pressed her hands to her chest, as if trying to protect herself from this terrible truth.
The new doctor just shrugged:
– These are the rules. Our job is to heal, not to befriend. You must understand that all this is done for your own good.
With these words, he left the room, leaving Nia in complete confusion: Mind cleansing. Forbidden knowledge. Friendship with patients is a crime? What is this world I'm in? And what will happen to me now? Am I next?
Nia spent what seemed like several more months in this hospital. How much time had passed? A week? A month? A year? Her favorite pastime was watching the lights of the unusual metropolis in the distance, and she began to prepare an escape plan. Since both days and nights were very similar to each other, it was unclear when the day began and the night ended. What difference did it make? It was always twilight here. She decided to wait for a time when there would be the fewest people around the hospital, and jump out of the window, since that was the only way out. It was the third floor, and she thought that even if she broke something, it would be better than just doing nothing. A broken leg is better than a broken will.
The girl tried to pull out all possible things and tie them together into a long rope, but the length was naturally not enough. Then Nia decided to drop the mattress from the bed down below, in order to at least somewhat cushion the fall. She barely managed to drag it across the room and lift it to the window. The mattress was heavy, and Nia had to put in a lot of effort to get it over the windowsill. The main thing was not to fall.
Then she tied a sheet to the leg of the bed, hoping that this would help her descend from a lower height. The sheet was thin and fragile. Nia understood that she would still fall, and possibly get injured, but she was willing to risk it. Risk is all I have left.
Waiting for it to become completely quiet outside the window, Nia climbed onto the windowsill, took a deep breath, and looked down. The mattress lay on the ground, like a small island of hope. Jump. Or stay here forever. Closing her eyes, Nia jumped.
Nia flew down, feeling the wind whistling in her ears. The sheet tightened, slowing the fall a little, but it was still scary. Just don't break your neck! She landed on the mattress, which, although it softened the impact, did not completely absorb it. Her legs were pierced with sharp pain, but Nia, gritting her teeth, got to her feet. Alive. And that's the main thing.
She expected everyone around to rush to her, start shouting and grabbing her. But nothing like that happened. The people passing by were simply going about their business, as if they didn't notice her. They behaved like obedient robots, immersed in their own thoughts and concerns. They didn't care. As always.
