The Mexican man leading the men through a subterranean maze in the show Nicholas was watching now at the hospital's waiting room resembled someone who was clearly of power. Nicholas could feel it as the man took charge of the situation by making the people around him to be aware that he was not afraid.
Silence.
Nicholas followed the show, quickly running up an unfamiliar scene in his mind about the earlier days of his father before his rise to wealth. As he ran the unfamiliar scene in his mind, he felt a sudden urge to jump out from his own body as if he was trapped inside and couldn't move.
Another silence.
He felt a sudden urge to explore himself and run. Then, he calmed down a bit and reasoned.
Third silence.
The past few minutes he had spent defied all logic. The more minutes he was spending at the hospital was going against the way he had been trained. His father had taught him several times to show compassion to people who were related to him by blood. His father had taught him several times to only care about those people who he felt would care about him. Now, as he sat at the hospital's waiting room, watching different medical professionals move to and fro, Nicholas Wild found himself moving on instinct alone. His gut told him to trust the feeling in his heart. His mind told him to be patient with whatever reason that had kept him still.
Another silence.
Nicholas Wild didn't know if his current act at the hospital was an unusual expression of his loneliness. Or, an image of his silent wish to find a companion.
Fifth silence.
"Are you next?"
Nicholas removed his gaze from the television and stared at the African American nurse in front of him who was holding only a pen in her left hand.
"Sir, are you next?"
"Next for what?" Nicholas didn't understand what the woman was saying to him. He didn't understand if she had a problem with him sitting down at the waiting room and not getting involved in any conversation with the people who were around him.
"Ah!" The nurse pressed her lips tightly. "I have been observing you from a distance, sir. You have been here for quite some time now, and from the way you have been acting, I felt you have a problem that needs immediate attention. Do you care to share your problem with me, sir?"
Nicholas gave the nurse a thorough look. He wanted to tell the woman he was fine and she shouldn't be bothered about him. He wanted to tell the woman to leave him alone. He didn't say anything.
"Sir?" the nurse continued in her persuasive voice. "I want you to know I can take down your medical problem and get a doctor for you. . ." She paused. "Not a word from you doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Follow me."
Nicholas looked uneasy as the African American nurse showed her teeth to him as she smiled.
Who is this woman trying to be nice to me?
Another silence.
He didn't move. He just remained seated.
"I can help you, sir," the nurse was more persistent now as she spoke in a confident tone. "All you have to do is to tell me what your problem is and I can assure you, I am going to get a doctor for you."
"I am fine," Nicholas said quickly as soon as he accepted he couldn't deal with the pressure the nurse was giving him at the moment.
"Why are you at the hospital if you are fine, sir?" The nurse looked at him awkwardly as she saw disbelief on his face.
"I am fine," he repeated as he stood up.
Seventh silence.
Outside, Nicholas warmed his hands by rubbing them quickly as he felt the cold run through his spine. He tried to think about everything that had transpired between him and the African American nurse. He couldn't come to a conclusion if he was in a good state of mind or if he was in a bad state of mind after accepting that the woman was just trying to do her job by making sure he was fine.
"My name is Kim Boyrs. I have a best friend who is inside the hospital and at the point of death."
Nicholas shot a startled glance at the woman who was smoking close to a truck. She was a few meters away from him and appeared to be in her early twenties. He could notice she was looking badly at the moment because of how swollen her eyes were.
"Have you been crying?" He asked.
"Why do you ask?" Kim responded immediately then paused as she took a better look at him. "I think I know you. You are the kid with the rich father. My best friend spoke highly of you when he was still lively. He admired how you acted like a kid from a rich family. I am sorry we are meeting under these dreadful circumstances. As you can see, I am in an awful state now. I look like shit now if you took a good look at me.""I know." Nicholas sounded grim. "I can imagine what you have been through today. It is not easy to be in a stage where you are about to lose someone you love."
"It isn't," Kim drew out life from the cigarette as she smoked more. "How does it feel to be rich? I can think of you getting all the clothes you want in the world. I can think of you visiting any place in the world. How does it feel to be from 'The Wild' family?"
"Normal, I guess," Nicholas responded.
"Normal doesn't sound good enough if you ask me," Kim expressed her discomfort. "Normal is when you wake up every morning with a particular dream only to realize you won't be able to get what you want because you don't have the resources to actually get it. . . Normal doesn't sound like a good word to me. . . It is a way of you saying you are ahead of poverty. And from what I know about you and your family, you are so away from being normal. So, cut the bullshit and just tell me how it feels to be rich. Do you get to drive in a Ferrari all day, Mr. Wild?"
Another silence.
Nicholas did not answer. All he could do was just stare.