The Girl Who Shook The Skies

Chapter 9

“I’m aware it’s a lot to take in, but…”            

“Sssshhh!!”   Let’s just say that it takes one hell of a shock to shush one’s doctor.  

This. Is. So. Weird!!!  

I lift my arm into the light, like a toddler discovering its limbs. Freckle status: normal. Then I throw a zillionth glance into the mirror. Facial freckles: inexistent.              

“Erm… Did you have a look at other areas… of my body?” I ask with an empty, half-awed, half-freaked out voice.            

“Obviously. And it’s a very interesting patchwork...”   Of all the ways I’ve been described…            

“Patchwork?”            

“Yes… The freckles seem to have vanished from all the heavily wounded parts. Needless to say, it’s… uncommon.”            

“But… why hasn’t anyone else noticed?” I wonder. My parents know me by heart, and it seems unlikely for them not to have noted my… defrecklement.             

“Well, perception tends to adapt to the next logical theory: to others, the current overall redness of your skin must surely be hiding the freckles. They haven’t seen this many wounds very often, so to their mind, this is ‘what wounds do’!”  

Not very convincing, especially knowing Erik and his attention to detail. Yet, he’s no doctor, and he might probably be distracted by all the swelling and bruises to wonder about vanishing melanin. That might even be a good thing too, since it’s the kind of detail which, once noticed, quickly becomes the elephant in the room.            

“Have you seen any… change in the time I’ve been here?”                      

“You mean an increase or decrease? That is exactly what I’m here to talk to you about. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to put you under prolonged observation, in order to figure out why this is happening, and to establish a pattern. Is it a permanent or temporary alteration? Is it in progress, or just an isolated incident? There are many unknowns to explore…”    

In progress!!! I feel panicky all of a sudden. It will take me some time to fully comprehend this whole situation, and now she’s suggesting the patchwork might get even less…patchy?! I was never a fan of the freckles, but there’s this horror-movie-like dread one gets when they’re faced with a potentially irreversible change of their very constitution, no matter whether or not they liked it in the first place.             

  “What would this…observation involve? And do you think you may be able to stop this thing?!”            

“Calm down Miss Brandt, I promise you, I will try to get to the bottom of this. All I need from you is to sign these forms, allowing me to. Here, use my pen…”    

Boy, she looks eager. I wonder what it would mean for her, to treat a practically unique case by herself… I’d do anything to find out what the hell is wrong with me, but there’s a thought I just can’t shake… she was hiding the mirror between the pages of her clipboard!             

“Tell me, Dr. C… Why isn’t nurse Joséphine with you today?” I don’t even know where I’m going with this, but I suddenly feel very uncomfortable around the good doctor. Her expression remains neutral, but she waits two seconds too long to answer.              

“Nurses don’t gravitate around me all day, Miss Brandt.”            

“What about my parents? Have you already talked to them about this?