It was one o'clock in the morning. The convenience store nearby was still open.
I comforted her softly. "Mom, if you're hungry, I'll go buy some snacks first."
Elizabeth shook her head slowly like a robot. "I just want to eat the croissants you made yourself."
It would take at least four hours to go back and forth from the hospital to home.
Elizabeth saw my hesitation and rang the emergency bell in her hand.
"Don't worry. This is the hospital. Benjamin is on duty tonight. I'll call him over if anything happens." Elizabeth begged me for a long time. I had no choice but to agree.
Before leaving, I found that there was no one in the duty room.
I guessed that Benjamin might have gone to inspect the ward. So, I hurried home without thinking much about it.
When I came back with croissants, Elizabeth's fingers, which were holding the emergency bell, had become stiff.
The morgue doctor speculated. "Your mother died not long after you left. But next to the ward is the duty room. There was an emergency bell at hand. Didn't the doctors and nurses notice it? Maybe they could save your mother."
There was some regret in his tone.
I had nothing to say and lowered my head to settle Elizabeth's body.