Chapter 6 : Gossip

"What would your house be like if you had all the money in the world?" Miss Smith asked her companion Rose.

- If I had millions, I would build a huge garden, full of flowers and plants.

-You are very stupid, I would build a garage big enough to store my four hundred cars, where I would spend every morning deciding which car I am going to get into to come to the hospital.- Dr. Holmes added.

"No one invited you," Rose challenged him.

- Would you seriously go to work at the hospital, with the miserable salary that the state pays us? - Nurse Smith asked jokingly- I don't think you even set foot out of bed.

- We are supposed to spend the best years of our lives at the University, by vocation, not thinking about the amount of money we are going to earn - Dr. Holmes defended himself.

"It's true," Rose agreed.

- It's true, but a little increase doesn't hurt at all. - commented sadly, Miss Smith.

The three of them were enjoying a short break after being on duty all night. Their eyes were red, and their bodies were very tired. Rose shed a few tears, thinking of the patient who had passed away two hours ago. It was a five-year-old boy who caught a cold and it got so bad that he couldn't be saved. Communicating the news was very painful for his parents. They were still sedated, because they did not stop screaming and hitting the wall.

The day before, something similar had happened, when Dr. Holmes had to report the death of a fifteen-year-old boy, who had died of leukemia.

Losing patients, seeing people die in front of their eyes was becoming routine, but it was still painful. For them, feeling helpless of not being able to heal, and having to say the worst result to their families, saying words that barely came out.

-Why do you think the Young family built a private laboratory in their house? With so much money, I wouldn't waste space or time on something like that. Things from work are left at the place of work. thought Dr. Holmes.

- It is normal for lawyers and businessmen to have their office at home. Rose pointed out. - But it is very strange to think that someone has a laboratory in his house.

- It's normal, if it's a horror movie, where the mad scientist hides monsters, viruses or time machines - Miss Smith joked. - Perhaps they like their work so much that they take some home with them.

-Did you know that there is a rumor that William Young was one of the scientists who tortured prisoners during the Second World War? - Smith said, covering his mouth and whispering. - What if it was in the highest tower of that mansion, where Mr. Young's granddaughter is being held prisoner?

- I think it's just a rumor, the Youngs would never have lent themselves to something like that. - Holmes defended - And we don't even know where you get that information from.

-We don't know the origin of his fortune either. - Smith bit his lip, trying to put tares. - What if in that laboratory, they tortured people?

- Miss Smith, stop talking nonsense. We all know that it was experimented on in World War II prisoners in the Auschwitz​ camps. - informed Rose- You should better read a history book, instead of watching horror movies with mad scientists.

- And what if Auschwitz prisoners were taken to your house, to experiment on them? I'm not a fool, I read in a history book that prisoners were used as guinea pigs. That is, they tested medicines and vaccines on them, to know their effects on human beings. They used them as if they were rats, test animals. He still follows that practice, experimenting with cures on humans and animals, in order to eventually get those products out into the world. So that there are fewer diseases. Too bad so many people have to suffer along the way.

- Miss Smith - challenge Rose - what you're saying is crazy, although unfortunately I can't deny that there is some truth to it. To bring medicines to market, there must first be test subjects.

-Ladies, I think this job is driving us crazy. These days we have seen two children die. And seeing their families suffer breaks our hearts. Now we say nonsense about the Young and the origin of medicines, because we cannot accept that we feel powerless and useless by not being able to cure everyone- confessed Holmes.

-Wouldn't it be nice if so many children in the world didn't have to die, if cures for the deadliest diseases were discovered? Rose asked.

-It would be wonderful, I cried a lot as a child when I lost my grandmother. She raised me, she was everything to me after my parents abandoned me. Smith let out a few tears. He thought of the small and humble house where he spent his childhood. Suddenly he jumped into an asylum, where his grandmother was in a wheelchair and without being able to remember her, besides being very dirty due to the lousy care she received.

Rose and Dr. Holmes gave him a hug. It was not the first time they had heard her story, but they were willing to be her weeping cloth as many times as necessary.

"What's going on here?!" Gerald yelled angrily, at the dramatic scene in front of him. - We have many patients to attend to! - he ordered - What if someone dies because of his soap opera shows! It will be his fault! - he pointed at them with his finger. That day he was furious, and dealing with distracted people was the last thing he needed.

- Mr. Young, we were just taking a break. We were on duty all night. We saw a five-year-old boy die, and we are very stressed. Dr. Holmes defended himself.

- Oh yeah! - He continued with a bad mood, increasing. His brows were furrowed, and he clutched his diary and pen to his chest. -You are very young and you haven't seen half as many deaths as I have! If you don't like it, there is the exit door! They can dedicate themselves to selling drugs and prostitution if they stress less that way! And by the way, stop gossiping in the hospital corridors! My whole family is honorable and has not participated in such crimes committed in the history of humanity! My family built a laboratory at home, because all of us love our work so much that we liked to investigate while the rest rested! Now to work or I fire you!

Trembling, and shuffling with exhaustion, Rose, Smith, and Holmes had to get back to work. Gerald Young was a strict and bad-tempered boss, but today he was worse than ever. He always believed himself to be the owner of the hospital, when it was a state institution and not a company. He commanded, as if they were his employees and not his colleagues, dedicated to ensuring the health of whoever entered the hospital door, regardless of whether it was good or bad.