"Half a day", said the doctor, "I also recommend that you get some rest now. It's a pure miracle that you survived that stabbing".
"How bad was it?", asked Maka.
"Well, you should know that already", said the doctor, "You were bleeding to hell. If they had brought you in only a second later, you'd be dead now. In fact, one could attribute your survival to divine intervention".
"What's divine intervention?", asked Maka.
"There's an idea that there is an omnipotent being watching over us", explained the doctor, "if this being used its omnipotence to achieve something on earth, that would be devine intervention".
"And what is hell?", asked Maka, "I heard that word several times, but I don't know what it means".
"Well, the idea is that there is a live after death", explained the doctor, "the so called afterlife. This afterlife is divided into two sections, heaven and hell". Maka had heard about heaven, too, but she didn't know what it meant, either. "After you die, the omnipotent being decides your faith. You either go to heaven, or you go to hell. If you have displeased the omnipotent being, it will send you to hell, where you will suffer the most horrible and excruciating tortures for all eternity".
"And what is heaven?", asked Maka, now worried.
"In heaven, you will enjoy the most wonderful pleasures for all eternity", said the doctor.
"And how do I avoid getting send to hell?", asked Maka.
"I don't know", said the doctor, "There's this book, 'The Bible', which details the rules one most follow, break one rule once and it's an eternity of torture for you".
"Did I break a rule yet?", asked Maka.
"Did you ever look at someone you're not married to with desire?", asked the doctor.
"What does that mean?", asked Maka.
"Did you ever have a crush on somebody?", asked the doctor. Maka thought about the boy from the neighboring village whom she found very attractive for a while.
"Yes", said Maka.
"Then you're going to hell", said the doctor.
"No, it can't be", said Maka.
"Don't worry so much, according to President, the omnipotent being doesn't doesn't exist", said the doctor.
"So there's no hell?", asked Maka.
"No there isn't", said the doctor, "don't worry".
"But there's no heaven, either?", asked Maka.
"No, but to me, the important thing is that there is no hell", said the doctor, "And, now you should get some rest, you're hurt pretty bad". The doctor left the room. Maka rolled over in bed and closed her eyes. She was surprised how tired she was, she quickly fell asleep.
"A, you're awake again", said the doctor as Maka woke up, "You have some visitors, should I send them in?".
"Who?", asked Maka.
"Your roommates", said the doctor.
"Okay, send them in", said Maka. The doctor gestured Patty, Tsubaki and Liz to enter. Tsubaki and Liz quickly ran up to Maka.
"I'm so glad you're okay", said Liz.
"I can't believe Dorothy would do that to you", said Tsubaki. They continued to babble excitedly for quite some time. Maka decided to wait until they had calmed down. She noticed that Patty wore a medal on her chest. A round plate with a serrated edge, showing a star. The Wyoming star in bronze. The lowest medal for bravery awarded by government of West Wyoming. Her father had it in bronze, silver and in gold. There was also one in platinum, but that one was almost only awarded posthumously.
"Thank you Patty, for saving my life", said Maka
"You're welcome", said Patty.
"And congratulations on your medal", said Maka.
"Thanks", said Patty.
"Anything new?", asked Maka.
"They scheduled a collective caning", said Liz, "tomorrow we're gonna get it".
"Except for me", said Patty.
"While the commander pinned the medal to her chest, somebody shouted an accusation", explained Liz, "'That wasn't self defense', to be exact. The commander then asked who did it. And let me tell you, she's scary, with her eye patch and her uniform. So the commander was angrily demanding for guilty student to come forth. But nobody made a sound. The commander then said, 'fine, you all get twelve strokes'. Then she said that Patty would be exempt, due to her medal. Then she announced the time when it would be".
"That's bad", said Maka, a caning was the last thing she needed right now.
"Don't worry", said the doctor, "You're exempt because you're in the infirmary, and I'm not letting you out until you've healed up a bit".
"Thanks doc", said Maka.
"Well, that's my job", said the doctor. Maka resumed talking to her roommates. They talked about quite a few things, mostly about other inmates. After some chatting, the doctor told them to leave because Maka needed her rest. Maka though she could easily talk a bit more, but the doctor said no, and took out a cane. It was a rather short and thin cane. Maka assumed that it was a category five cane. But the thought of getting it while she was still in the hospital bed scared Maka. She didn't even think that they were allowed to do that while she was in the infirmary, but apparently, they were. Tsubaki, Liz and Patty, upon seeing the cane, said their goodbyes and hurriedly left. Maka spent the rest of the day lying in bed, rolling around and trying to sleep, while being bored.