Sapphic Tea

Eye Doctor

"I'm late for my appointment", she says to herself while driving.

"I'm late for my appointment". Again. She keeps repeating it over and over until she reaches the front desk. A tear rolls down her right cheek. She wipes it away before the lady at the desk looks at her. She doesn't want them to think she's crying. Because she's not.

"Hi, I'm Elena. I had an appointment with the doctor at 10?"

The lady stares at her red eyes for a while and says, "You are late. You'll have to wait till the next 2 patients are done."

"No problem. I have time." She takes a seat at the waiting chairs. Another tear rolls down her left eye. She doesn't notice.

She picks up a magazine. Flipping through magazines is a new hobby she has picked up since Sujana left. That's all she would do to pass her time. She can't read it because of the tears. They just won't stop falling. Since her vision gets blurred by the tears, she just flips through any book she picks up. That's what she does until the desk lady calls her name. "Two hours? That wasn't long", she thinks to herself looking at the clock. She enters the doctor's office.

The doctor were washing their hands in the sink. "Good afternoon miss Ele-", they stop in their track. "Someone has a massive red eye!" They chuckle small to make the mood lighter. But it does next to nothing to lift the atmosphere.

"Doctor, my eyes. They won't stop tearing up."

"Uh huh?", they sit down.

"My head hurts from all the tears. I keep drinking water to stay hydrated. But it all just comes out."

"Do you have any allergies?"

"No. But it keeps watering when I start thinking. I think that's an allergy."

"Do you scratch your eyes?"

"I used to. A lot. When it first started and won't stop, I would rub the hell out of them. But now the tears don't bother me anymore. So I don't scratch them anymore. Not knowingly."

The doctor takes a look at her eyes through the weird machine and writes her a prescription. "Don't scratch your eyes anymore. And use this medicine for a week. And if you can, take some time out for yourself."

"Okay", she replies and starts walking away. The doctor suddenly stops her, "What triggers them to water?"

She stops for a moment. Sujana, she thinks to herself and leaves.