Chapter 8

“I am like the king,” the little girl whispered after I read the tenth chapter of the book.

“How so?” I asked. She didn’t seem to be someone who orders others to do things for her. So I cannot imagine her as the king.

“This room is my planet,” she answers. “And the people who enter this place are my subjects.”

“So I’m your little prince?” I joked.

She hesitated for a bit, but answered shortly. “Yes, you’re my little prince,” she smiled, but her eyes revealed a sad expression. “In the end of the day, you will leave, even when I don’t want you to.”

My chest tightened at her words. She didn’t have other visitors coming in to see her, so I and her nurse might be the only people she could talk to. And the nurse clearly doesn’t spend much time in the room. One day each week, I come to visit. But at the end of the day, I leave her. What about the other six? It was obvious - she was alone.