A boy wakes up in a hospital room. His head hurts, and when he touches it, he realizes it's bandaged. Still a little disoriented, he sits up in bed and looks around.

Mold spreads throughout the room, from the floor to the ceiling, and the peeling walls reveal the old colors they had been painted over an unimaginable amount of time.

The boy gets up and notices he was lying on an old hospital bed. Next to the bed is a rusty infusion stand and a small white nightstand, which seems to be the only thing still in good condition.

The wind blows through the barricades that cover the window. Then, feeling cold, the boy decides to search the nightstand for better clothes than the hospital gown he's wearing. When he opens the drawers, he finds a small pack of cookies, long-sleeve shirts, gray sweatpants, a pack of cigarettes, and a crumpled paper with an image of a thin angel with dark circles and beautiful black hair. He dresses in the gray clothes and takes the pack of cookies with him.

He walks toward the door and touches the cold doorknob. As he turns it, the door opens, and the doorknob falls off, hitting the floor and making a loud metallic sound that echoes down the empty corridor ahead.

The boy leaves the room and realizes the corridor isn't much different. A white light from weak bulbs illuminates the space. The walls are moldy, and the floors are covered in dust. On the walls, there are some posters that say: "Be quiet. Don't disturb other patients!" "Smoking is strictly prohibited in all hospital areas to ensure the health and safety of all. Thank you for your understanding," and a map of the hospital with letters faded by time. The boy examines the map, straining to understand it, but can only identify where the elevators, the stairs, and the reception are. At least it helps him know how to leave if no one comes for him.

There's no sign of any other living soul in the corridor, not even nurses or doctors who would typically be rushing around with their work. The boy walks following what he memorized from the map while shouting through the corridors like a foolish character in a horror movie: "Hello, is anyone here?" Until he hears a voice from one of the rooms:

"Mom, Dad? I'm awake."

The boy then approaches the room from where the voice came, knocks on the door, and opens it. He sees a little girl with honey blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a hospital gown just like his, curled up in her bed. Her expression falls when she sees that it wasn't her parents who opened the door.

"Hi, I'm glad I'm not alone here," the boy says, giving a small smile.

"Have you seen my mom and dad? I want to go home, I'm so cold," the little girl asks with a sad expression.

"You're the first person I've seen around here. This place seems abandoned. I can help you look for your parents. But first, you need something warmer, you're shaking from the cold," the boy says as he walks over to the nightstand next to the bed. He opens the drawers, but they're empty.

"No, I already looked in there," the little girl states.

The boy looks under the bed but finds nothing there either. He then decides to search the other rooms.

"I'll take a look in the other rooms to see if I find more clothes or a blanket," the boy says, then closes the window and exits through the door, gently closing it behind him.

The little girl waits anxiously, still shivering from the intense cold. Perhaps she's more sensitive to the cold than usual. Maybe because of her age, or who knows how long she's been without warm clothes.

The boy with the bandaged head walks through the corridors, entering rooms in search of something that might protect her from the cold. But all he finds are old papers, pens, and abandoned personal items in drawers. Nothing that can help them at the moment. Until, in a room near the one he had just left, under one of the beds, he finds a box with an old checkered blanket inside. He picks it up, gives it a few taps to shake off some of the dust, and heads back toward the girl's room.

In the corridor, he hears the sound of glass breaking on one of the lower floors, and the lights, which were already weak, start flickering, giving off some flashes. A sense of unease and fear takes over the boy. He starts thinking, "What if we're not alone?" And with every turn, he hopes not to encounter something bad. By the time he realizes it, he has already reached the front of the little girl's room, but he hadn't noticed when he arrived, as he was lost in his thoughts.

The boy tries to open the door but can't. So, he knocks on the door.

"Who's there?" the little girl asks, concerned.

"I'm back. I only found a blanket," the boy replies in a tone that she can clearly hear from the other side of the door.

She opens the door. The boy notices her expression of fear turning into relief upon seeing him.

"Did you hear the noise and see the lights flickering too? Here, take it!" the boy says, handing her the blanket.

"Thank you," the little girl responds as she wraps herself up to try and keep warm.

"Did you go outside? We're alone here, and this place is falling apart. I haven't seen any nurses in the corridor," the boy explains.

"Did Mom and Dad leave me here?" the little girl asks, her eyes starting to fill with tears.

"No. That's not what I meant. We'll find your parents. We just need to find help first. I heard a sound downstairs. Maybe it's someone who can help, right?" the boy says, trying to comfort her.

"What if it's a monster?" the little girl asks with a frightened expression.

"Don't be silly. Monsters don't exist. I'll go to the reception downstairs to see if I can find someone who can help us."

The boy leaves the room, and right after, the girl locks the door again, still scared by the loud sound of glass breaking.

He heads toward the elevators. Upon arrival, he sees a sign indicating he's on the third floor. He presses the button to call the elevator and waits patiently. However, the elevator doesn't arrive, and there's no sign of movement. So, the boy decides to use the stairs.

On the steps between the second and first floors, ahead of him, the boy sees a nurse hurriedly descending the stairs. He asks her to wait, but she continues toward the first floor, and he follows her.

Upon entering the reception, to the left, there are several black chairs with torn upholstery. On the dusty floor, there are nearly faded colored strips that were originally meant to help people navigate the hospital. To the right, there's a marble counter with a white CRT monitor, piles of papers, and a young nurse in a white and blue dress, a white triangular cap, and comfortable low-heeled black shoes.

The boy with the bandaged head approaches the nurse, who is immersed in her work, organizing files and typing furiously on the computer keyboard. Before his eyes, she fades away. And in less than ten seconds, she reappears, entering through the same door the boy passed to get to the reception. Then, she returns to her incessant work.

Only then, when they face each other, does the boy notice that the nurse has a beautiful face, but her eyes are completely black and empty, from which a dark substance occasionally drips, staining her face. Although the boy feels a little scared, her presence is somewhat comforting. She gives a faint smile, probably because she sees that he's conscious, and the boy feels comfortable enough to ask.

"Where am I? How did I end up here?"

While typing frantically with one hand, she pulls out a pamphlet from one of the stacks of papers with the other and pushes it toward him. He takes the pamphlet and reads the larger letters that say, "St. Lucia Hospital."

"Yes, I understood that this is a hospital. But why is it all abandoned? Where are the parents of that little girl upstairs? Is there anyone else here besides us?"

With one hand, the nurse points toward the exit door, indicating that there's someone outside.

The typing and silence are abruptly interrupted by a thud, followed by the scream of a little girl. Without thinking twice, the boy runs, climbing the stairs, nearly stumbling.

As the boy arrives at the girl's room, he spots a tall, thin creature, its body completely wrapped in white, stained bandages that stretch down its arms and coil around the little girl, tightening around her.

Desperate and unsure of what to do, he throws the only thing he has at the creature: a small packet of cookies.

The creature shifts its attention toward him, staring at him and revealing an empty space where its face should be. Then, it slowly walks toward him, twitching spasmodically as it unwinds the little girl, who begins to regain her breath.

The boy freezes in fear as the creature approaches, and its bandages begin to coil around him. What initially feels like a warm and comforting embrace soon turns into a suffocating grip, trapping him in a cocoon of bandages.

Lying on the ground, too weak to stand, the girl watches as another being suddenly enters through the door. With a swift move, it strikes the creature in the head with a wrench until it releases the boy. The bandages slowly loosen, and the boy is free to go. However, instead of running, he lifts the girl with the blanket, places her arm over his shoulders, and hides behind the mysterious being that saved him.

The being wears a worn black overcoat with a hood that covers its head, black jeans, and boots—black as the darkest night.

The creature, with the emptiness of its face, seems to be staring directly at him. The hooded figure stands firm, showing no fear. It drops the wrench, which clatters to the floor with a metallic sound, and steps toward the creature, embracing it. In the embrace, the creature's bandages wrap around the hooded figure completely. It would suffocate if it needed to breathe. The cocoon tightens, and the sound of bones cracking can be heard from within. Finally, the bandages unravel on the floor, leaving only black clothes and bones wrapped in bands.

Before the children, the hooded figure reassembles itself, with each bone returning to its place as it adjusts its clothing and taps off some dust. It pulls the hood back up and turns, revealing a skeletal face, where small green flames flicker in place of eyes. At that moment, the children realize that, more terrifying than the creature, is the face of the one who saved them.

"Don't worry, despite this horrendous and peculiar appearance, I won't hurt you. Are you okay?" asks the skeleton, trying to comfort them.

"Thank you," says the little girl, strangely beginning to ignore its appearance.

"I'm fine, but what the he... are you?" asks the boy, carefully avoiding curse words in front of the girl.

"Where are my manners? My name is Chárontas, but you can call me Charon. And I am... or I was, some sort of guide here. At least, in my time of glory in the shadows of this place," explains the hooded skeleton.

"Nice to meet you, I'm... I'm..." the boy repeats quietly, trying to remember.

"I'M ALYSSA!" interrupts the little girl suddenly, excited.

"That's a beautiful name... Alyssum," says the skeleton.

"So, you're dead, Charon?" asks the boy, strangely fascinated as he watches Charon's attire and the comforting green flames in his eyes.

"Who isn't, at least a little bit, these days?" replies Charon.

"Wait... us?" asks the boy, panicked by the realization.

"Yep. We need to hurry. Come with me," says Charon, extending his hand to the girl with the blanket. She doesn't seem to understand their conversation but takes his hand.

As he holds her hand, Charon experiences a déjà-vu, and long-forgotten memories linger in his mind. He looks at the two children, and the green flames in his eyes dim for a few seconds before strengthening again.

"Are you going to take me to Mommy and Daddy?" asks the little girl.

"I'll try... my best, little one. I'll try my best," replies Charon, uncertain whether he truly can. Then, the three of them leave the room.

As they descend the stairs, Charon takes an obol from his pocket and begins to spin it between his fingers, flicking it into the air with his thumb. Over the course of his eternity, he learned many tricks with coins, and it became a recurring habit.

"What was that thing back there?" asks the boy, referring to the creature that had just attacked him.

"We call those creatures Solos around here. Before passing on, they were people who never received love throughout their lives, and so, they would cling to others at the smallest signs of affection. And that need persists, even now. These creatures aren't malicious, they just don't understand how tight their hugs are," explains Charon.

"That's really sad. I can't even imagine what kind of life someone would have to live to become something like that," replies the boy, thoughtful, his expression melancholic.

"Yeah. And that's why I only allow myself to be hugged when I'm unlucky enough to bump into one of them on my way. If I can offer them even a little comfort, maybe it helps. I don't know where they go after they fall apart. Do they ascend to somewhere better, maybe? I hope so," Charon tries to explain. There are things that are a mystery even to him. All he knows is the life he had and the life he is cursed to have. Forgotten by Olympus and other celestial dwellings.

On the first floor, the reception is initially empty until the same nurse appears before them, making the little girl hide behind Charon in fear.

"Don't worry. She was the one who took care of you until you woke up," says Charon to reassure Alyssa.

"I met her earlier when I went down to look for help. But she didn't stop to talk. She just handed me a hospital pamphlet and pointed outside."

"Because I was waiting outside for you to wake up," replies Charon as they approach the nurse.

"Good afternoon, Grace. Thank you for taking care of them earlier. I'm going to try to get these two visitors back home. Is it alright if we leave now?" asks Charon to the nurse, who is typing furiously. For less than five seconds, she looks up at them. Although the conditions are usually unfavorable for visitors, Grace knows that Charon's help is the best chance those children have, so she nods, confirming that it's fine.

"Thank you, miss," the little girl says, which makes Grace look at her with a sweet smile before returning to her work and fading away again.

"Grace is like me. Destined to perform a role for eternity. She doesn't talk much, but she has one of the kindest hearts I know. I don't know what the asphodel hospitals would do without her because she works at all of them at the same time," says Charon as they leave St. Lucia Hospital.

As they step outside, they are greeted by a cloudy sky and thick fog that almost obscures the beauty of the maple trees. Snow is falling, accumulating on the frozen asphalt. A weathered, dark blue Plymouth Arrow, slightly rusty, is parked by the sidewalk. The boy with the bandaged head feels quite comfortable in this weather, but Alyssa clings even tighter to her checkered blanket, shivering with cold.