Maya did not wake up that morning thinking about work first because the call from the hospital the night before was still on her mind. She sat on the edge of her bed for a few seconds, trying to gather herself, but the thought of her mother being there made it hard to stay calm. The doctor had said it was not an emergency, but more tests were needed, and that alone was enough to remind her that things were getting more serious.
She got up slowly and prepared for the day, even though her mind was already full. She had missed classes, her assignments were waiting, and now the hospital bills were adding pressure she could not ignore. Even with all that, she knew she still had to go to work because she needed the money, and stopping was not an option for her.
When she arrived at the company, she went straight to her desk without looking around. She placed her bag down and started working immediately because focusing on the files in front of her was the only way she could keep everything else from overwhelming her. The tasks given to her were still simple, and she noticed it again, but this time she did not react or question it because her attention was already divided between too many things.
After a while, her phone vibrated softly on the table, and when she looked at the screen, she saw that it was the hospital calling again. She hesitated for a second before answering, keeping her voice low so she would not draw attention. The doctor told her they needed to see her that same day because there were details they could not explain over the phone, and when she asked if her mother was okay, the answer was not clear enough to give her any comfort.
When the call ended, Maya held the phone in her hand for a moment while everything around her felt distant. She tried to return to the file in front of her, but her focus was no longer steady, and she found herself reading the same line without understanding it. She noticed a small mistake in her work and corrected it immediately, but she knew she could not stay.
She needed to go to the hospital.
Maya stood up slowly and hesitated for a brief moment because asking to leave was not something she was comfortable with. Still, she knew she had no choice, so she walked toward Caspian's office without allowing herself to think too much about it. When she got there, she knocked, and after hearing his voice, she stepped in and closed the door behind her.
Caspian was seated behind his desk, focused on his work, and he asked what she needed without looking up immediately. Maya stood there with her hands held together and told him she needed to leave early. When he asked for the reason, she hesitated for a moment before explaining that her mother was in the hospital and that she had been asked to come.
Caspian looked at her then, his expression unchanged, and asked how long she would be gone. Maya told him she did not know because the doctor had not given her a clear answer. She added that she would complete her work later because she did not want it to seem like she was avoiding her responsibilities.
He watched her briefly before telling her she could go, and the approval came so easily that it caught her off guard for a moment. She thanked him quietly, but he had already returned his attention to his work, and there was nothing more to say.
Maya left the office and went back to her desk, where she packed her things quickly because her mind was already focused on getting to the hospital. She did not speak to anyone or look around as she left the building, and once she was outside, she walked faster than usual, with her thoughts moving ahead of her.
When she arrived at the hospital, the environment felt familiar in a way she did not like, and she went straight to the doctor's office. After she knocked and stepped inside, the doctor told her they had been waiting for her, and she sat down, already feeling tense before he spoke.
He explained that her mother's condition required treatment to begin soon, and when Maya asked about the cost, he gave her a number that made everything feel heavier. She stayed quiet as she listened, trying to process what he was saying, but she already knew it was more than she could handle on her own.
Maya nodded slowly and said she understood, even though she did not know how she was going to manage it. When she left the office, she stopped in the hallway for a moment, not because she wanted to, but because her body needed a second to adjust to the weight of everything she had just heard.
She had been trying to manage work and school, thinking those were her biggest problems, but now it was clear that something much bigger was in front of her. She took a slow breath and started walking again because standing still would not change anything, and she needed to keep moving no matter how difficult it felt.
As she walked through the hospital, her thoughts became more focused, not on what had already happened, but on what she needed to do next. She was not thinking about Caspian or the company anymore because none of that mattered in that moment. The only thing that mattered was her mother and how she was going to handle what was coming.
Maya stepped outside the hospital and paused briefly before continuing, her mind already working through possibilities even though none of them felt enough. She knew things were about to change, and this time, it was not something she could ignore or push aside.
She kept walking, knowing she had no other choice.