The archive of the forgotten

Doll doctors

I grab my white coat. The assistants close the several rows of buttons on my back again. I adjust the turtleneck that almost suffocates me. I put on the black gloves and the black combat boots. I take a deep breath before grabbing the mask. The porcelain mask is painted with blue and gold paint. It looks like a beautiful angelic doll. It reminds me of the masks at venetian carnival. They started painting the masks in an effort to make the children less afraid, but it's only even more terrifying. All magiphysicians who work with the disease of Fuil wear one, it's standard procedure. Most magiphysicians are busy working jobs that have to do with the disease of Fuil since the Spread started. 

I can't lie and say I am not absolutely terrified of the illness. But as someone who is blessed enough to be able to do magic you need to choose between your fear and saving lives, we gifted with the knowledge of magic have a duty of curing. We are one of the few who actually can. I take a deep breath and put on the mask covering my whole face and transforming me of the porcelain doll all the patients are at least slightly terrified of. Who can blame them? The treatment is extremely painful and we are assesing at every step whether the patient should live or die.

 I stepp into the neutralising room. A blue smoke releases from the ceiling and neutralises everything. It smells like peppermint and lemongrass. It is strangely enjoyable, it's a bit of rest before you step into the warzone that is the Departement of the DOF (Disease of Fuil). I step into the department, the wooden dark walls are constantly being scrubbed and the blue mist enters the hallways every two minutes to keep the doctors and orderlies as clean as possible. You can see the difference between orderlies, magiphysicians and student magiphysicians through their mask. The magiphysicians have the colour code of blue and gold, the students or red and gold and the orderlies of purple and gold. You can recognise the person by their mask, each mask is made to resemble their face in some way and the paintings are all unique, and of course, you can see their hair. Set into shape by a protective spray but still in an effort to make us seem.... beautiful? Or perhaps respectiful and human.

My assistant, a student which already has their magimedical license but is specialising walks up to me. His bright fiery red hair matches the red on his mask. "A new patient has arrived, he's in stage four of the sickness, but he doesn't seem to be dying." Mansueto says, I look up at him and frown "How old?" "Nineteen at most." I nod. "What region?" "Traveller." I roll with my eyes, great how many has he infected. I wonder. I walk up to his room. "Oh and his name is orestes," Mansueto says. "Why would I need to know that?" I ask him. I can sense his akward smile through the mask.

"Good morning!" I say to the patient and walk up to him. I snip in my fingers and shine in his eyes with the magical light. "What's wrong with me?" The drowsy teenager asks. "You haven't been reading the news. That is what is wrong." I say while I grab a needle and poke in his finger. "Ouch, What do you mean?" "You have the disease of Fuil. And as far as we know you should already be dead." I answer while looking at the blood with a slight green colour. "Yes, you definitely have it. How many seizures has he has since admitted?" I ask Masueto. "Only one, but....." "What but?" Masueto shakes his head. "Useless am I right." I say as I look at the eyes again. "What colour are your eyes normally?" I ask as I look at his neon green eyes. "Brown or Hazel. Depends who you ask." I nod.

I grab the syringe with bright purple medecine. "Please turn on your side. I need to inject this in your spine so it'll travel through the whole body." I say, he turns, I open the buttons on his hospital gown. "Don't worry, this'll only hurt very much." I say as I put the copper needle into the skin. The poor boy whimpers but I cannot lose my focus. His body goes limp all of a sudden. I pull the needle back and check his hearrate, which is quite normal. "Fortunato?" Mansueto says. "What?" I groan in frustrations. "His skin looks like it's being burned from the inside." He says and shows me his arm which is bubbling and seems to have unpromted first degree burns. The boy starts seizing. "Get me three pours of pormartical, one fermd root and an orderly. Strap him to the bed!" I say as I run to my office, I snip in my fingers and the golden universe begins to turn. I need it to think.

Orestes

I look at the burns on my arms and try to get my vision to unblur. The doll-doctor walk into the room again. It's the blue one, he doesn't like to say much to me. The sweat is rolling down my forhead. "Why is it so hot in here doctor?" "It isn't, we think your body is boiling and destroying itself while they think they're destroying illnesses" "Why do you think?" "Because no one survived these symptoms Ares.." "It's Orestes." I say with a slight smile. "Where is your family Orestes, maybe you should say goodbye." "I have done that a long time ago." I answer. "Why are you called magiphysicians?" I ask. "We are doctors that use magic as a resource, we can sometimes cure people with it. Like the medecine we gave you, it is a variation of the elexir of life." "Why doesn't it help than?" He shakes his head slightly. "Because we do not know everything." He stands up and runs the black glove through his white hair. "Doctor?" "Mh?" "I think I am crying," I say as I look at my hospital gown and the stains slowly appearing. "You're dying, crying is allowed." I shake my head, "No, they're red." I say before my mouth fills with something salty and releases a blackish red liquid that tastes like copper. I look at my hand, where is all the blood coming from?

I hear voices but I cannot open my eyes. "Fortunato, you cannot get into his head without his or his families permission." "He doesn't have family and if he would be a john doe we would, and if I am in his head I can ask him" He says. "I am here." I say, but they don't seem to hear. "Hello! I am here!" I yell another time. "How many days does he have Mansueto, we could solve this, perhaps even find a cure." "You know what could also happen Fortunato. You could catch it! Don't you realise that?" "You know what this boy is feeling? His consious is alive but hs body is dying. I would sacrifice my life for that!" "Not true! You would sacrifice your and his life for a cure so you can be remembered as a great scientist. You too are killing this kid!" 

Am I dying? I finally open my eyes, but I don't see a hospital, I see a claustrophobic, crumbling, dark dusty room. Without any doors. I am trapped in my mind.