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The man looked Archie up and down with an intimidated expression imprinted
on his face but kept silent and instead, simply nodded.

“Where is the nearest hospital?” Archie asked, wearing an exuberant expression.

The man pointed his thumb over his shoulder and sank back down onto the

ground where his arched back leaned against the tree trunk, hiding under the
shade of the tree, burying his face in his book. Archie lightly tapped the man’s
shoulders twice as an expression of his gratitude and leapt into action.

He rushed past the narrow corridors, making sharp swerves and hitting the walls

as he did so. He screeched to a halt as he spotted the oncology department. Archie
peered through the minuscule and circular window embedded into the big metal
door upon which the word “Oncology” was labeled atop of it and saw a crowd of

doctors, all enclosed in their signature white lab coats. He smoothened the minor
creases on his yellow suit with his hand, scraped impurities o the soles of his

boots and pushed against the heavy metal door.

Upon entrance, all eyes were on him. Archie gestured a slight bow, serving as a

subtler substitute for a “hello” which returned everyone back to their previous
positions. He loosened his shoulders a little and heaved a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a figure rose from the crowd, skidding towards him. She took him by

the hand and dragged him away. Before sliding the door open, she held Archie
against the sliding door and looked around carefully to see if anyone had tailed
them. When the coast was clear, she led him inside the room where a cube-shaped

item stood, blanketed by a cloud of dust. Strangely enough, the item seemed to be
the exact reciprocation of the machine he had left with his daughter a decade ago,

or in Archie’s perspective around ten minutes back.

“What was that for?” Archie asked fiercely who seemed to be o ended by the

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