THE PATIENT IN ROOM 13
THE LEGACY
Friday, January 19th – 9:00 AM
The office was quiet. The morning light streamed through the windows, casting warm patterns on the floor. Sloane sat at her desk, a cup of tea in her hands, the list of names from the memorial spread before her. She had been thinking about the future. About the work. About the children who were still waiting.
The voices in her head were still.
“You have come far, Keeper,” Marian said.
“I have come far. But there is still so much to do.”
“There will always be more. More forgotten. More buried. More erased.”
“I know.”
“Are you ready?”
“I have to be.”
The first patient of the day arrived at 10:00 AM.
Her name was Willa Cross. She was the great-granddaughter of Eleanor Cross, the woman who had survived Room 13. She was twenty-two years old, a college student studying psychology. She had come to learn.
“Dr. Vance. Thank you for seeing me.”
“Please, call me Sloane.”
Willa sat down.
“I want to continue your work. I want to help the forgotten. I want to be a Keeper.”
Sloane studied her face.
“It’s not easy. It’s not glamorous. It’s painful. It’s exhausting. It will consume you if you let it.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’ve seen it in you. In the way you talk about the children. In the way you carry their memories. It’s a burden. But it’s also a gift.”
“It is both.”
“I want to carry it.”
Sloane was silent.
Then she reached into her desk drawer.
She pulled out a key.
The key to Room 13.
“The room is sealed. The Watcher is at peace. But the memories are still there. The children are still waiting. This key opens the door.”
Willa took the key.
“What am I supposed to do with it?”
“Whatever you think is right. Whatever your heart tells you. Whatever the children need.”
Willa closed her hand around the key.
“Thank you, Dr. Vance.”
“You’re welcome, Willa.”
Willa stood.
She walked to the door.
“Dr. Vance?”
“Yes?”
“Will you be there? When I open the door?”
Sloane smiled.
“I’ll be there.”