Rio Wakes Up - Monday Morning, 8:00 AM
I open my eyes and everything is white.
White ceiling. White walls. White sheets.
Hospital.
My body aches but I don't care. The first thing I think is where Lina is.
A nurse appears. "Mr. Kalinawan, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Where's my wife?" I ask immediately.
"Let me get the doctor," the nurse says.
Dr. Morales comes in.
"Where is my wife?" I ask before she can even speak.
"She left early this morning," Dr. Morales says carefully. "Around six AM."
"She left," I repeat. "That's fine. She'll be back. She has nowhere else to go."
The doctor looks uncomfortable with my certainty.
"I need to talk to you about your test results," she says.
"I don't care about test results," I say. "I need to get out of here."
"You should stay for observation—" Dr. Morales starts.
"I'm leaving today," I say. "So either discharge me or get out of my way."
Teodoro walks in with Austin.
