It was already evening when he arrived at Baifan Hospital. Reiner asked at the front desk and learned that the injured from yesterday's accident were all gathered in Building 6.
Entering Building 6, Reiner saw tired people. In the corridor, uninjured people were sitting on benches taking care of their families and friends, while in the ward, people with burns were lying on beds. Doctors and nurses were examining him.
"Thanks to Grandma Hedwig yesterday. She discovered the fire first and ran throughout the building to notify everyone, otherwise we would all have died in the apartment."
In the corridor, people exchanged their emotions after the disaster with lingering fear. Having experienced life and death, there was something different in the eyes of these people.
"What a pity, Granny Hedwig..."
A woman looked sad and shook her head.
"Don't talk nonsense, she is still receiving treatment. She has endured so much suffering over the years, and she will be fine this time."
The man next to her said reproachfully, causing the woman to lower her head and stop talking.
"Over the years, if Grandma Hedwig hadn't helped us, we might have died in some dark alley. She has done so many good things, why is she always the one who gets hurt!"
A burly man said angrily, clenching his fists and slamming them against the wall.
"Those drug-addicted bastards, if I catch them, I will definitely skin them!"
"I don't know what the doctor said."
An old man said that he subconsciously took out the cigarette in his arms, but thought that this was a hospital, so he put it back.
At this time, the door of a ward was opened, and a doctor and two nurses came out. People in the corridor immediately gathered around and asked questions.
"How is Grandma Hedwig?" "Is she okay?" "Can you cure her?" "We can raise the money, but please save Grandma Hedwig!"
The doctor was a little surprised. It took him a while to calm the crowd down, and then he continued.
"The patient's condition is not very good. She inhaled too much smoke. The toxic smoke penetrated into the blood through the lungs and caused great trauma to her internal organs. To be honest, you need to be mentally prepared. "
A sigh suddenly erupted from the crowd, people had different opinions and fell into a commotion again.
Reiner walked through the crowd and came to the attending doctor.
"Hello, I am a member of the thesis review committee. I am looking for a lady named Oldman. She should be one of the residents of Belen Apartment."
After showing his identity card, Reiner asked the attending doctor in a low voice. Although he could ask other people present, Reiner felt that this doctor should have the most comprehensive grasp of the situation at the scene, so he came to inquire.
Upon hearing Reiner's inquiry, the attending doctor's eyes widened slightly. He hesitated for a moment before pointing to the ward he had just walked out of.
"If we talk about the residents of Belen Apartment, then there is only one person named Oldman, and that is Mrs. Hedwig Oldman of this room."
Reiner was stunned for a moment, then walked into the ward.
This is a single ward. On the bed in the center of the room, an old man with gray hair lies.
When he walked to the bed, Reiner recognized that this was the old woman who was in the commercial street that day.
In an instant, many things were intertwined in Reiner's mind, and he immediately figured out many things.
Sirius Oldman passed away a few years ago, and his mother, Granny Hedwig, persistently wanted to have her child's paper reviewed again to fulfill her late son's long-cherished wish.
Yesterday, Granny Hedwig was supposed to bring the paper to Reiner for review, but she was delayed due to some things, and finally discovered the fire, so she was unable to make the trip.
"Sirius?"
Grandma Hedwig's consciousness was hazy. She vaguely saw a figure walking towards her, and asked subconsciously.
Reiner was stunned.
He didn't know how to face the old man. Judging from what he saw, Granny Hedwig's body had been severely burned in many places. According to the doctor, the harmful gases produced by the combustion had affected her blood and internal organs. Originally, these could be treated with some expensive methods, but Grandma Hedwig's body was already too weak and she could not bear such surgery.
Reiner sat on the chair next to Grandma Hedwig's hospital bed and gently held her hand.
The calloused hand was a little cold, but it held Reiner's hand back with firm strength.
"Sirius, listen, I have received assistance from a kind person who gave me the address of a reviewer who can help you re-review the paper."
Grandma Hedwig said, with a bit of joy in her weak voice.
"Sirius, mother believes in you, you are right."
She said, with her other hand, she gently patted an iron box placed beside the bed.
"Yesterday's fire was too serious. I couldn't put it out by myself, so I had to notify others and ask them to run away. After I finished notifying them, I remembered that your paper was still in the house, so I went back to get it. It’s so hot in there, there’s fire everywhere, but don’t worry, mom will protect your thesis well... Cough cough cough cough... "
Grandma Hedwig was interrupted by a cough. Her short body was trembling, which was unbearable to watch.
"Alas, our home was burned down, but it doesn't matter. When your paper is published, we can live in a better house. You have always disliked the mess at home. Then, you can call Lysa over. I haven’t met her yet, I’ll make you your favorite pork pie..."
She kept talking, like a mother seeing a child she hasn't seen for a long time.
Maybe Granny Hedwig herself knew that she was not facing Sirius, but maybe she was willing to be deceived like this, because at least in the hallucination, she could still see her son.
"Sirius, the doctor said that I will have to stay in the hospital for a few more days. You can go and deliver the papers yourself."
Grandma Hedwig picked up the iron box with trembling hands, opened it, and carefully took out a stack of parchment from inside.
The title is "Research on Unified Equations of Curvilinear Motion", and the author is Sirius Oldman.
"Look, this is your paper. I can't understand the complicated ones, but I know your name. What a beautiful word, Sirius."
After taking the paper from Granny Hedwig, Reiner found that a small piece of paper fell from the paper.
He leaned down and picked up the piece of paper.
It was a yellowed piece of paper torn from the corner of the notebook.
On it, there was a sentence written in some crooked but clear handwriting.
-I'm sorry, Mom, I love you.