Pocketville Lost Diamonds: VOLUME 2

Chapter 6: at vet's

Kate was sitting on one of the cold chairs of the waiting area.
She could feel the cold metal through the pajama trousers. Her parents and she had no time to wear more than a sweater on it, desperately trying to waste less time as possible.

She never liked the vet clinic so much, despite the doctor being a very sweet and gentle man: the scent of wet fur, powerful disinfectants and medicines, the view of empty cages and medical objects and, if she was wearing the Friendship Heart on her wrist, even the scared voices of the animals.

But now it was the last of her problems: she just hoped the door she was staring at would open and the doctor would say Eva was fine.

She couldn’t stop thinking about the bony and broken cat, who all suddenly fell now and started shaking badly after those creepy words…

No matter if they used to be enemies and now they were just cold collaborators, it was a scene which would have shocked anyone.

Kate always hated seeing suffering animals.

Added to it, Eva was so similar to Ava… it wasn’t difficult to imagine the sweet and wise princess in the same conditions.

How was she now?

She heard her desperate voice through the shell, before kicking it under the bed to hide it from her parents.
She truly hoped to be able to come back home, where Magic was waiting for her, and giving her good news.

But was it possible?

The doctor looked so worried… he understood Eva was in critical conditions.

Could she make it through the night?

Dad Peter read the sadness on her face and sweetly hugged her:
- Don’t worry, sweetheart… I’m sure she will be fine!
- Peter - murmured Maria, sat next to her.
Her eyes were teary and Kate could understand what she was saying to him: “don’t give her fake hopes”. 

They rested in silence for a long time, unable to speak.
The little girl did her best to not cry.

Why, now, was that sad for the mean cat?!
Well, she couldn’t say she wished to Evar such a thing, but… she could have deserved it.

The door finally opened and Kate stood up.
The short and bald doctor made a step toward, hesitating for a few seconds. Then, he smiled:

- We stabilized her, but she’s still not in the best conditions. I think she may make it, with a bit of luck.

Kate realized she started crying for relief only when Maria hugged her and the doctor smiled again.

- You can come if you want, but it’s…  - the vet didn’t even end the sentence that Kate almost trampled him, running inside. 
-...not a good view.

The room with peach walls and white floor, filled with shelves with medicine bottles, didn’t even have Kate’s attention. She reached the small table where the only animal in there was.

Eva was lying on one side, surrounded by weird tubes and threads, which entered her body in many points. Her eyes were closed, similar to two black cuts on her face, and her mouth opened to let an oxygen tube go inside and help her to breath. Her injured paws had a new bandage, clean and perfect.

Kate stared at her, wondering if that… poor thing… was the cat she used to see.

- Kate… - said Peter, trying to pull her away, but she resisted.

- W-will she die? - asked the girl with broken voice, without looking at the doctor.
- Well… - the man hesitated, but then whispered and chose to be sincere: - Maybe. We can’t know, until she’ll breath by herself.
- Will she?! Can she restart breathing?!
- I…

- Eva is the only one who knows it, I guess. - said a female voice.

Kate looked up: standing in a corner, there was a woman she didn’t even notice while getting in.

She wore a white lab coat with a paw-shaped symbol on the left, identical to the doctor’s one. Her brown hair was curly and tied above the head by a green headband and some strands were falling on her cheeks. She was younger than Maria, but they shared a similar slim face. She had green and lovely eyes, which shined even without make-up.

She stood up and approached Kate, touching her shoulder with one hand:
- Doctor Main told me you have a special affinity with animals, don’t you, Kate?

Kate nodded, surprised.

- Let me introduce you to my co-worker, doctor Claire Handwine. - said the shortest vet - I asked her help because she has a special… knowledge about felines. She’s the best specialist and she did a lot to help Eva.

- Thank you, doctor Handwine. - said Maria, shaking her hand.
- It’s been a pleasure. Now, if you agree, doctor Main will illustrate to you Eva’s therapy in future. You can go to the office. - the young woman pointed a door on the opposite wall.
- Sure. - nodded Peter - Kate, come with us.

The child wouldn’t move a single centimeter anyway, but she didn’t have time to answer: doctor Handwine approached her with another big and kind smile.
- I wanted to show you a nice book about German Shepherds, would you like to?

Kate’s parents hesitated, not sure if leaving their daughter in that painful scenario, but the lady’s calm and caring manners got their trust. They followed doctor Main in the office and closed the door.

- My workmate told me you want to be a vet too, is that true, dear? - the young woman crossed her arms and tilted her head, confident.

- Mh. - she nodded, not even looking at her.

- You know what? I think the Friendship Heart may be very useful in this work.

Kate jumped back, feeling a thunderbolt hitting her back. She instinctively touched the bracelet with one hand, protective, and gazed at the doctor with a surprised and terrified expression.
- How do you…?!

- I couldn’t believe it when I saw it on your wrist, but now I have the confirmation I wasn’t wrong. - the brown-haired woman giggled, then raised both hands as a sign of having no will to harm.

- How do you know it?! - Kate hid arms behind her back. She wanted to move to the door where her parents entered, but something stopped her: she couldn’t leave Eva there! - How did you learn about Pocketville?!

- Calm down, sweetheart, no need to panic. - Handwine moved a step forward - Let me introduce myself:

my name is Claire Handwine, Hearts Secret Ally and Protector of Feles Aulicus on Earth. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kate, rescuer of Princess Ava. -