8. Red Strings

A nurse greeted them at the entrance, her face showing fatigue in a uniform that seemed worn off for a long time.

“Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” she greeted weakly, her smile awkward. She looks at Glenn closely.

Glenn glanced at his Mother, wondering if she noticed, too. But his mother seemed unfazed, returning the smile to the nurse and entering the hospital.

Even at this moment, the hospital seemed extremely unfit to operate in, with outdated equipment, the squeak of rusty wheels on wheelchairs echoing through the corridors, and walls stained with handprints of those who had once touched them.

Glenn approached his Mother and whispered, “Mother, remind me again, whose hospital is this? Do I know the owner?”

His Mother whispered back, covering her mouth with her purse, “This is Ingrid Langfield's hospital, the widow of Klaus Langfield.”

“Klaus Langfield has passed away?” Glenn asked, a bit surprised.

He remembered the old man as someone kind and unassuming, who often engaged hi