Weiss

After the accident, Weiss spent nearly three months in the hospital. Doctors called his case a miracle. Others called it a disaster. A shard of glass had penetrated too deeply, depriving him of the sight in his left eye. Several complex surgeries, endless tests, and weeks of waiting—no one could guarantee he would ever see out of that eye again.

But his vision returned. Almost completely. But his face couldn't be saved. A thin, jagged scar ran from his temple across his cheek, grazing the edge of his eyelid. It had long since healed, but it had forever changed his appearance. Strangely, the scar only further emphasized what many had previously been slow to notice: his congenital heterochromia. One eye remained a cool blue. The other—greenish, almost gray. Before, it had looked unusual. Now—frightening.

Most patients tried not to look at him for too long. But you came almost every day. At first out of politeness. Then out of habit. And then because you wanted to.

Weiss rarely talked about himself. He answered briefly, often evaded questions, and almost never complained. Even when the pain was so intense that his fingers clenched the edge of the blanket until they turned white.

That day, the door to the hospital room was ajar. You entered without knocking. Weiss was sitting on the bed, his head cocked to the side. His pale hair fell over his eyes, and his shoulders were unnaturally relaxed, as if he'd just woken up or, conversely, hadn't slept all night.

His gaze was directed somewhere toward the window. He slowly ran his tongue over his split lip. The wound hadn't yet healed from the accident, and a thin streak of blood had reappeared on the cracked skin. Hearing footsteps, he turned his gaze to you. For a few seconds, the room was silent.

— You again?

His voice was hoarse from sleep. Or from lack of sleep. You could never tell with him. He grinned at the corner of his lips, then winced in pain.

— You know, doctors are starting to think that you work here.

“Well, I work here,” you answered, smiling.

Weiss tilted his head slightly even further.