Dad, come on!»
The man, who was quietly conversing with a young woman so as not to disturb other patients, turned to his daughter.
«Nastya, behave yourself.»
«Dad, I’m tired of sitting here. I’ve already told Liza everything. Can I walk down the hallway?»
«Nastya, of course not. There are sick people here; they need peace.»
The woman smiled.
«Vit, don’t be so strict. Nastya is just going to walk. Right, girl? She won’t bother anyone.»
The girl nodded vigorously, then showed her father as if she was locking her mouth with a key. Viktor smiled. He adored his daughter. Just as he did his sister, whom he affectionately called Lizka. She was hospitalized with appendicitis, but now everything was fine, and she would be discharged in a couple of days.
They all missed her, especially Nastya, because Liza was like a mother to her, although she was still very young herself. When Viktor’s wife died, Liza came right away.
«Carelessly,» she said. «I’ll live with you, it will be easier with Nastya, and in general.»
Viktor knew that Liza had sacrificed her career. Temporarily, but still. She worked at a large company, where she was predicted to succeed, and she left right before a promotion.
Nastya walked out into the corridor, looked around. It seemed no one paid any attention to her, so she could go again to look at the sleeping princess. Behind the glass door, on a strange bed, lay a beautiful princess.
She was so beautiful that Nastya was breathless. The girl was sure that this was exactly the sleeping princess, because Liza had recently read her a fairy tale.
But in the fairy tale, the princess was awakened by a prince, and here she was still asleep. Nastya reasoned: «Maybe the prince got lost or something happened to him, and the princess fell asleep again.»
The girl slowly walked down the corridor. Patients walked back and forth. Some children also came to visit, so no one paid attention to Nastya. When she returned to the ward, she heard her father’s question:
«Well, did you have a good walk?»
The girl looked frightened.
«Dad, tell me, can sleeping princesses be given injections by ordinary people, not doctors?»
«Well, why not? Doctors are people too. And they can’t always be in white coats.»
Nastya breathed a sigh of relief. She kissed Liza.
«We’ll come again tomorrow. Don’t miss us.»
Liza hugged her niece.
«Oi, you don’t have to come tomorrow. If everything is good, they’ll discharge me the day after tomorrow.»
Nastya frowned.
«No, we’ll still come, to make sure everything is okay.»
Liza laughed, and Viktor, smiling, said:
«With our Nastya, you can’t mess around.»
The next day at the clinic, chaos ensued. None of the doctors had ever encountered a situation where relatives themselves demanded that a patient be disconnected from the machines. Usually, it was the other way around.
Liza barely caught the attending physician. Roman Yevgenievich stopped, looked at her with a strange gaze, then shook his head.
«Ah, Elizaveta, what happened? Are you worried?»
«Worried. You didn’t come today, and I don’t know whether to prepare for discharge tomorrow? I need to warn the relatives to bring the things.»
«Elizaveta, let’s do this. I have an important council now. Honestly, I can’t think of anything else. Closer to the evening, I will visit everyone and explain everything. And call the relatives. Agreed?»
Liza sighed.
«Agreed.»
«And can I go home today?»
«Today you can’t. It’s not been three days since the operation.»
Liza sighed and, bowing her head, went to the ward. The doctor stood, as if remembering where he was going, then raised his finger and quickly walked down the corridor.
Roman Yevgenievich had felt out of sorts since the morning. He was a doctor of the old school and used to fight for the life of a patient to the end. But here a complex situation arose. And what was most surprising, some colleagues supported the patient’s husband, who insisted on disconnecting her from the machines.
He couldn’t understand it. Yes, the brain is in a state of sleep, but it’s not dead. Unknown how much longer she could lay in such a state. But there were no clear indications for disconnection yet. Yes, the chances of recovery were minimal, but they still existed. And if it weren’t for the persistence of her husband, this issue might not have even been raised.
Half an hour later, all the doctors who had observed Inna gathered in the ward. She had been admitted to them after falling from a great height. According to protocol, she had climbed to the attic of her house, supposedly for a cat, but lost her balance and fell.
The house was two-storied and sturdy, so the fall was serious. She was immediately taken to the hospital. Numerous fractures, injuries. But the most dangerous thing was that the woman almost immediately fell into a coma.
The doctors hoped it was a reaction to the pain shock, and that she would soon wake up. But time passed, and there were no improvements. Yesterday evening, her husband called and demanded to disconnect Inna from the machines.
«I have been living in limbo for a long time! Honestly, I mentally buried her. Even if you ever wake her up, she’ll likely be like a vegetable. And that’s in the best case. More than three months have passed. I am her heir, and I demand to close this issue.»
It was unpleasant to talk to this person. But he indeed had the right to such a demand. However, the final decision remained with the council. If the majority votes ‘for’, then the machines will be disconnected. If not, the process may drag on for another three months. And everyone understood that the man only needed the money. He himself was a lazybones and a layabout.
As Roman Yevgenievich expected, opinions were divided. Half of the doctors believed that they needed to continue fighting. What kind of ‘vegetable’ could be talked about if the brain functions? All hemispheres are working. We need to find the reason why the patient does not come out of the coma.
One of the young doctors smirked.
«You think in an old-fashioned way. Look at the situation from another side. What about the relatives? How should they live?»
Roman Yevgenievich got angry.
«What do the relatives have to do with it? It’s not their life. Deciding to deprive a person of life or not can only be done by higher powers.»
«Roman Yevgenievich, you might as well suggest praying.»
«Some wouldn’t be harmed by praying a bit, to cleanse themselves of sins.»
The young doctor looked meaningfully at the patient’s husband, as if twirling his finger at his temple. He stepped forward.
«Listen, why do you need extra problems? You understand, sooner or later they’ll disconnect her anyway. I am the heir, and I will remember who hindered me. She doesn’t move, doesn’t react for more than three months. Isn’t it obvious that this is the end?»
The doctors looked at each other. Of course, there were indications, but in some ways, the man was right: after such a period, the chances of recovery were practically zero.
«Well, colleagues, your opinion?»
There was silence in the ward for a minute. And suddenly it was broken by a child’s voice:
«Not true. This beautiful auntie opened her eyes, smiled at me, and then this uncle came, she got scared, he gave her an injection, and she fell asleep again.»
Roman Yevgenievich rushed to the source of the voice.
«You? Do you come to Elizaveta Sidorova?»
«Yes, and every time I visit this beautiful auntie. Yesterday, she opened her eyes and smiled.»
«This is nonsense! Are you going to listen to a child?»—the patient’s husband grabbed the girl by the shoulder, intending to push her out of the ward, but the other doctors intervened.
The head of the department said sternly:
«Everyone, leave the ward. Put a guard at the door. Roman Yevgenievich, find an adult to stay with the child while we question her.»
«I won’t leave until you disconnect the machines!»—the man backed away under the doctor’s gaze. «You’ll regret this.»—He ran out of the ward.
One of the doctors returned with Viktor. He looked scared.
«Nastya, sunshine, what have you done?»
Roman Yevgenievich reassured him:
«Don’t worry. The girl didn’t do anything bad. We just need to ask her a few questions. We can’t do this without your presence. Let’s go to the doctor’s office.»
«Nastenka, tell us again, only in more detail, what you saw.»
The girl sighed, looked at her father, and sighed again.
«When we came to visit Liza, I always went to look at the sleeping princess. This time I went again. I was looking at her, and suddenly she opened her eyes. First, she looked around, then smiled at me. She whispered something, but I couldn’t hear. Then that uncle came. The princess got scared, he gave her an injection, and she fell asleep again.»
Viktor nodded.
«Yes, yesterday my daughter asked if princesses could be given injections by ordinary people. I didn’t take it seriously. I thought it was just child’s fantasy.»
The head of the department exclaimed:
«Wait, where was the nurse? Nastenka, did you see the nurse?»
«Well, yes, she was there too. But when the uncle came, they… they kissed, and she left.»
There was dead silence in the office. Then Roman Yevgenievich said:
«Could it be because of this that the journal disappeared?»
Everyone looked at each other, and the chief physician said:
«Alright, I’m calling the police. You all go to the patient. Conduct all tests, take all readings, but find out what he injected into her.»
Now real chaos began in the hospital. Doctors and nurses scurried about as if everyone had jet engines. Then the police arrived. Then the head of the department brought the nurse to his office.
She was taken out of the hospital. All patients who could move on their own poured into the corridor. You can’t hide a sewing needle in a bag, and many began to go home on their own. The noise was as if it was not a hospital but a madhouse.
Viktor sat with Liza for a long time. He didn’t understand whether he and Nastya could go home, or if they were still needed. Just before the hospital closed for visits, a tired Roman Yevgenievich came to them.
«Liza, home tomorrow. Could you leave your phone number? You will probably be called to the station along with your daughter to give a statement. Yes, of course.»
Viktor wrote down everything required and handed it to the doctor. Nastya touched his hand.
«And did the sleeping princess wake up?»
The doctor smiled.
«Almost. Very close. Just a matter of hours. Imagine, you saved her life. Or at least woke her up.»
The doctor left the office, and Liza and Viktor simultaneously said:
«Well, Nastya.»
She, out of habit, chattered:
«What about Nastya? Why Nastya all of a sudden?»
Then she fell silent, confused. She wasn’t being scolded, was she?
Almost a month had passed since the day Liza was discharged from the hospital. She had already forgotten that something had once been removed there. Today was Nastya’s 7th birthday. And at home, they were preparing for the celebration. Nastya’s birthday was on the eve of Victory Day. And so the mood was somewhat festive.
They sat down at five. Nastya’s friends came, their parents, and just as they started cutting the cake, someone rang the doorbell. Viktor raised an eyebrow in surprise. Who could it be? Liza waved her hand.
«I’ll open it.»
She returned a minute later with wide eyes.
«Nastya, you have guests!»
Behind Liza, an incredibly beautiful woman entered the room. Behind her, two short-haired men carried boxes and bags.
«Hello! Hello, my savior!»
Nastya jumped up and clapped her hands.
«Hooray! The sleeping princess woke up! And you’re even prettier than when you were sleeping!»
Inna sat down and hugged her.
«Thank you, my dear. I will never forget this. And always, all your life, I will help you. Rather, all my life.»
«Inna? No way.»
She straightened up, looked at Viktor in surprise.
«Vitka, Sidorov? How? Wait, is this your daughter?»
He nodded, then couldn’t hold back. He hugged Inna, and she hugged him back.
«Vitka, you always protected me from everyone at school, and now? Now your daughter saved me.»
Absolutely no one understood anything. Viktor explained.
«Inna and I went to the same school. Everyone was in love with her, including me. But since I was an athlete, only I was allowed to accompany Inna and fend off her persistent suitors.»
She laughed.
«And then we moved, I had no protector, and I married this one. Well, let’s not talk about the sad stuff. Guys, bring out the gifts. I hope there’s a place for me at your table.»
Liza winked at her older brother and whispered:
«It looks like I can peacefully return to my career now.»
Viktor blushed, showed his sister a fist, and rushed to help Inna. Chaos reigned in his head. Only one thought was clear: «The princess woke up, the princess is alone, and she’s here.»
And a year later, Nastya’s mom became the princess. And also, she promised that soon she would have a little prince-brother.»
