Stories tagged “illness”
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Awakened
“Not too fast, it’s really bright!” It was too late; the bandages fell to my lap, their weight landing surprisingly heavy on the light summer bedclothes. “Uhhh… Doctor?”. The nurse sounded worried. I felt the Doctor&...
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Like a light switch
I gingerly touch the small skin-tone button at the base of the skull. They said to wait four days for the circuitry to fully implant itself into my nervous system. What do they know? They’re only trained professionals. I can’t afford to wai...
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Way of Life
I can’t ever remember a time when he wasn’t sick – it was a fact of life. Daddy needs to sit down for a bit, Daddy’s going to bed early, Daddy can’t pick you up from school so go home with Jamie’s mom and someone wil...
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Grim Reality
“It’s not pretty,” Mom warned me, careful to stand between me and the family room. “He…” She paused, and I could see her training as a nurse kick in. “He fell when he went. He didn’t feel anything.”...
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Chronomentrophobia
I do not know what time it is, and I don’t appreciate you asking. There are a thousand things in the world more intimidating than clocks, but not for me. I suffer from chronomentrophobia, the fear of clocks. A clock gives me the heebie jeebies wi...
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On Call at the Hospital
“Dr Dow!” Jenny squealed. “You’re needed in emergency room 204.” Her blonde curls bounced about her petite shoulders as she bobbed beside me. I rubbed my eyes before replying. “I’m aware of that, Jenny. HowR...
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Taken: A Draft of Air
It was not a house of any repute, but it had suited my ailing father, before his unfortunate departure from mortality, and it had suited me. Beyond that the urgent, cryptic post from my sister had demanded – no, begged a hasty return. The busines...
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Men Don't Know the Sex of Cats
A limp greyish mound, lay draped over a ditch’s frozen lip. Painful golden eyes tracked me as I rode by. My pony, Buttons, lowered her muzzle and blew a steaming kiss over the Blue cat. It twitched. I gently placed it in my paper-route sack and l...