At the age of nine, I was a frequent asthma patient at the old Tan Tock Seng Hospital. I would know personally each and every nurse or doctor who treated me each time i was admitted.

There was this particular ward which I was usually admitted. Ward 42, 2nd floor of the ward block right at the end situated beside a garden. As it was a children’s ward, there was only one toilet and it had to be locked to prevent any future floods from burst pipes due to us rascals in the ward. So if any of us would like to take a visit there, we would have to go to the nurses’ station at the entrance of the ward for the toilet key. A nurse would chaperone us to lock up the toilet after we’re done with our ‘businesses’.

There was this particular night when I could no longer withstand the call of nature. Well, I just took the toilet key from its keybox without the nurses’ permission because there was no nurses around at the station.

As I was struggling with the key to open the toilet door, I felt that there was someone behind me. I turned around and there was this nurse whom I never met before. She looked exceptionally radiant. She asked me,”Do you need any help with that?” I just handed her the key hurriedly and she waited till i finished my ‘job’.

Well, she locked up the toilet. That’s normal for me but then, she handed me back the key, telling me to return it. Strange, as she would herself return the key back to its keybox since she’s the nurse. Well, she gave me a smile and opened a door leading to a staircase beside the toilet. As what i know of, that door was locked, but she opened it anyway. I just when back to sleep after returning the key.

The next day, I told a nurse about yesterday’s incident. Well, till now I couldn’t figure out who was the toilet-nurse because she told me she was busy attending to a girl who was just admitted along with her two other colleagues. There could be no other nurse in the ward except for them three.

Well, who was that, that night??