A gentle air blew by the waves as an old noisy boat reached its destination, a large island stood proud amongst an infinite sea, for the first time in decades, a new citizen moved into the island, well, "moved" isn't the right word, the man was offered the possession of director for the local hospital on the island, after it was finally documented as an official population, catering for not only the island's medical needs, but all the others around it, it was not cut off from the rest of the world, the island had electricity, running water, a school, and a hospital known to the island's near it as "the cave of miracles", why you might ask ?, because no matter how hopeless and horrible someone's condition gets, the hospital can cure them. 

So of course, the medical organization responsible for their part of the reef decided a young, educated doctor from the big city can only elevate and benefit the already successful hospital. 

The man, "Alan Walker", was rather optimistic and excited for the new experience, and the promotion of course, he was ready to prove himself worthy of bigger challenges, to himself, to the board, and to his father who was rather respected in the medical field. 

The day he set foot on the island, he learned of two things, the first being :the people of the island were very generous and always willing to help with a broken pipe or offer a warm meal, and second, the island was very religious, the decision making was not in the hands of the chief, but rather it was up the monks, the head monk made rounds everyday greeting the town's folk, giving candy to children, praying for a good harvest and spending a while in the leader's office. The first time Alan met the monk, he brought some tea and made it himself as he told the young doctor about the long and detailed history of the house granted to Alan,  

who of course found this meaningless and disagreed with the towns religious ways, as the man believed religion to be secondary to the greater science and logic, he couldn't fathom how the best hospital in the area, winner of many awards, could thrive in such an old minded place, nevertheless, he was ready to work on the hospital and make it better. It had been a week now, and today was the first operation he would lead, as he was preparing, he heard something, something close, it was getting louder, what was it? Music? No, they were chants! Alan opened the window and was shocked to find a circle of people right in front of the operation wing chanting away, he recognized the father of the girl he was to perform on, her grandmother, and her younger brother, next to him were some towns people he couldn't remember, and, leading the chants, was the head monk. 

Alan was furious as he walked, almost ran, towards the exit, there he stopped for a second to look at the circle again, then proceeded to lash out " what is the meaning of this?! This is a hospital! There are patients trying to rest and doctors working in there!" The group stopped their chanting and looked at each other, the monk walked forward "my apologies doctor, I should have warned you, this is a necessary ritual our island holds to insure the wellbeing of the ill ones, it is crucial for us to be as close as possible " the doctor pinched his nose tightly before letting out a loud breath "it would be better if you just left" the group looked at each other, then the head monk, the old man remained calm as he spoke "I hope you understand doctor, this is something we've done for decades, every generation, every home, every family has held this ritual, we ca...." "enough ! This is pointless! These patients need peace and good legit medical care to get better! Not some barbaric ritual! Leave!" One of the men was about to speak up when the monk help up his hand " it saddens me that you see us this way doctor, we will leave if that's what you wish, but..." the monk looked up at the clear sky, the sun was slightly hidden by a large cloud before shining brightly again, the old man then tapped his cane on the ground to get the attention of the group, he bowed lightly to the doctor and turned away, this prompted the group to follow him casting nasty looks towards the doctor. 

The afternoon rolled around the time the surgery was over, Alan was content with his work and his team, the patient was resting, and everything was quiet, the doctor was in his office finishing up some reports when the head nurse walked in, she was a though middle aged women, with red hair held in a tight bun and neat makeup, Alan knew to respect her as soon as he came, she asked for a minute and sat on the chair across his office "Doctor, is it true? Have you really kicked out the head monk from the hospital today?" Alan stopped his clicking and sighted " i did not kick him out nurse. Jane, I asked him and his group to leave the hospital because they were being loud, that's all" Jane frowned as her dark eyes pierced the doctor "were they chanting?" "Yes" Alan saw no point in lying "you shouldn't have done that doctor" she then got up and left quietly before Alan could defend himself, how could everyone be this dense and close minded? 

On his way home, Alan's car broke down, he had to call the local mechanic only for his car to work just fine as soon as he arrived, at home, a cat had sneaked in and ruined the open files on the living room table, the hot water refused to work, and the bread he just bought yesterday was moldy, the doctor had a long sleepless night ahead, full of turning and staring at the ceiling, at some point in the early morning, his eyes were finally shut, he woke to a dark sea ahead, he was on a cliff, all around him were the chants he heard that day, the air was heavy, there was no sun, but he could swear there a fire below, the chants got louder and closer, and the ocean kept getting higher, Alan tried to get up, but he couldn't, sleep paralysis? No, he moved his neck a bit, the doctor was horrified to find all his limbs were cut off, he couldn't feel the pain, but that didn't feel any easier, the chants were now around him, he could feel the cold ocean water drowning him, somewhere in the distance, he heard a cane tapping against the ground. 

That day, all the hospital staff looked worried as the doctor passed them in the corridor, they greeted him trying to hide their curiosity, he made his rounds and finished his reports, he was on his fifth cup of coffee when nurse, Jane knocked, she walked closer to the desk before talking "we don't have any surgeries today doctor, perhaps it would be better if you left early" the doctor wanted to say something but he couldn't, his ears were ringing, and his vision was getting blurry, he didn't remember getting his stuff and leaving the hospital, but somehow, he was in front of his house, for the first time, he looked to the side, he had a perfect view of the ocean, it was calm, light blue, there were some boats here and there, the wind was refreshing, and there were chants in the distance, the highest point of the island were the religious grounds, people often went there to prey, festivals were held there, weddings passed through them, funerals, new Borns in hope of a bright future, the doctor never went there, even as the monk invited him for some tea, the doctor went inside his house, he didn't mind the cats in the living room, or the moldy stench coming from the kitchen, Alan went up to his room, and slept away... 

The next day, the doctor called in sick, he couldn't move, his legs were numb, he listened to the lively noises from outside, the waves on the port, the children excited to get home after a morning at school, the fishermen on their way to the market...the sun had set by the time nurse, Jane came by, apparently the doctor left the door open.. she told him about the day at the hospital, the weather,the market, the cats inside his house

 "I don't want to worry you while you're sick, but the girl, the last one you performed on, she has an infection, we worked on it, she's stable for now" ...for now, that was enough for Alan to know her condition was bad, but then again he was not better. 

That night, Alan was surrounded by water again, the chants were hollow under water, he couldn't swim up, he couldn't see anything, and maybe, he didn't want to, the chants got quitter as he drowned, after a while, there was a loud splash next to him, somehow, he recognized the little girl looking around near him, she was scared, confused, he was calm now, he looked up, there, all the way on the surface, he recognized the old man looking down at him, Alan closed his eyes, and drowned.... 

The next morning, a fisherman found the young doctor's body near the rocks, it was believed his sickness got the best of him, causing him to lose balance and fall into the ocean, a new doctor is expected to arrive next month.