**(DONOVAN)**

"Where is she?"

Those were my first words as soon as I saw him sitting in one of the chairs in the hallway. His expression was one of pure anguish.

"She's in the room," he replied, his voice choked.

"What happened?"

"She drowned." His deep blue eyes seemed dull as they stared at the wall.

My hands trembled. I tried to keep my breathing regular and my mind focused, just as years of therapy had taught me to handle stressful situations.

"S-she... She's alive... Right?"

The door near us opened, and Dr. Solloman came over to us. He had been responsible for my treatment when I was ill, and there were no words enough to express the respect and admiration I felt for this man.

The renowned doctor looked at me and gave a warm smile of recognition. Now there was a big problem to solve. I nodded for him to report the situation to us.

"Her condition is... Concerning. We have given her pain medication, put her on an IV to reduce malnutrition, and there appears to be no liquid in her lungs."

Gavin crossed his arms, listening intently. Anxious, I put my hands in my pockets.

"As you said, Mr. Gavin, she probably has a long history of self-harm. We applied antiseptics to the most recent cuts to prevent infection, and like all floors of this hospital, she is being monitored. If she wakes up and tries to harm herself, we have professionals to restrain her."

"Will she recover?" I asked.

"The injuries are not serious, and now she is not in danger of dying even after attempting to drown herself." He paused, his brown eyes and worried wrinkles fully expressing his thoughts. "But these symptoms are very severe. I can't make a precise diagnosis, but it is evident that she might have depression. I strongly advise you to find her family and tell them how crucial it is for her to receive support and intensive therapy."

"About that, Dr. Solloman," said Gavin. "We don't know who she is."

"What do you mean?"

"We saved her yesterday on the beach. She was about to throw herself into the sea. We thought it would be safer if she stayed with us long enough to recover, say who she is, and who we could contact to find her family. But she says nothing."

"She refuses to speak?"

"Actually, she just doesn't speak." Gavin made a pained expression as he looked away, probably remembering something. "She understands perfectly what I say, but she simply doesn't respond."

I looked at Gavin in shock. He hadn't told me any of this. Well, there hadn't been time either. I decided to let it go.

"What do you think could have caused this?" I asked Solloman.

"As I said, I can't make such a quick diagnosis with so little information. These things take time to be properly labeled and treated. If I could say something preliminary, however, and that might be dismissed in the future, to make it clear, is that perhaps this loss of speech is due to a traumatic event."

"Trying to jump from a great height seems pretty traumatic," murmured Gavin.

"Actually, I mean before that. What led her to even consider that possibility? People don't think about dying in such a casual way. No one who attempts suicide hasn't resisted the idea for a while. A major shock or several of them, however, can destabilize the mind enough for that... protection, that self-preservation to be annulled."

We fell silent. Gavin looked at me for answers that I couldn't give him.

He was asking me if that lost protection could be recovered.

Fortunately, Dr. Solloman put into words exactly what I was thinking:

"Each person has their uniqueness. Some can recover faster than others, and all of this depends on many factors. There is no rule. This girl tried to kill herself twice in less than twenty-four hours, which is very serious. In the long term, this can be resolved, but in the short term, we have few options. The first is constant surveillance, which we can do while she is under our care."

"And the second?" I asked.

"The second is to create a rehabilitation environment. By this, I mean avoiding obvious triggers, such as reading or watching films that depict explicit death and talking about it irresponsibly; also getting rid of blades, ropes, and things like that."

"But how can we talk to her about these things if we can't mention suicidal desires?" Gavin seemed slightly exasperated.

"You misunderstood. Sorry, I must have expressed myself incorrectly. What I mean is that you need to be delicate in your approach. For example, instead of asking, 'Why did you decide to jump into the sea?' try saying, 'I know you have problems and I want to help you. Do you want to talk about it?'"

"That's what I did with Donovan," he said quietly, looking at me again and then back to Dr. Solloman. "So I guess I can do that."

"So, for now, you are responsible for her, aren't you?"

"We are," we answered together.

"I believe there is no problem with that, except that later we will need more information about her. The longer she remains anonymous, the more problems we might have in the future."

"Like what, for example?" I wanted to know.

"All patients admitted here have a file known to most doctors. Many already know that this girl was brought in by Mr. Gavin, who is very popular here, and this can spark... gossip. I know it's none of my business, but things like name and age are very important."

"We will do whatever is necessary to avoid bad situations."

"And we will do whatever is necessary for her health and well-being. She is awake now. I will let you see her for a few minutes. I need to talk to the nurses about the next medication schedules."

We said goodbye to the gray-haired and respected general practitioner and psychotherapist, who walked away from us. Then Gavin and I looked at each other, anxious and silent.

I took a step forward and opened the door without knocking.