The female ward corridor remained silent except for the faint hum of the overhead lights and the occasional footsteps of passing nurses.
Shadows stretched long on the doors but faded as they moved past the slightly opened door.
Inside the room, Jinx lay still beneath the thin blanket. She fixed her eyes on the ceiling tiles, counting the cracks which she had memorized over the past three nights.
As the last pair of footsteps faded, she shifted. She pushed the blanket aside with her right arm, then slowly swung her legs off the bed.
The night's coldness lingered on the floor as her bare feet touched it.
The soft beep of the monitors, the distant rumble of trucks beyond the walls, and the yawning from other patients echoed around her as she began to move about in the room.
Cassy slept on the chair at the left side, her head bent at an uncomfortable angle, while her hands remained crossed on her stomach.
