Fluke

Part 1

"What is it doctor?"

Maria stood in the surgery, her shirt pulled up to just under her breasts, exposing her midriff. There, in the otherwise smooth flesh of her abdomen, was a small lump. It had appeared a week ago - a minor discolouration - and had grown and solidified until it had become what it was now: a gelid mass that seemed to quiver with every breath she took.

The doctor pulled on a pair of latex gloves. "May I?" she asked. "I just want to feel around the area. Tell me if there is any tenderness." With a practiced touch, the doctor began to probe Maria's stomach. "Anything?"

Maria shook her head. "No."

"Hmm." The doctor extended a finger and prodded at the lump. As soon as her finger touched the skin, the mass flowed away. "Interesting." Then the doctor took her finger away and watched as the lump returned.

"Well, what is it?"

The doctor looked up at her patient. "I can tell you what it isn't. It isn't a blister. It can't be a fibroid as it's too fluid. It might be a sebaceous cyst. Do you have a history of those?"

"No. Well, I don't think so."

The doctor put a little pressure on the bump. "Can you feel this? Any pain?"

"No. No pain. But there is some discomfort."

"Go on."

Maria took a deep breath. "It's like something is burrowing into me. It's not painful. It's just uncomfortable."

The doctor stood up and took off her gloves. Maria rolled her shirt down and tucked it back into her trousers. "I'd like to have some tests done on that thing," the doctor said. "It might be a benign cyst, but then again it might not. You say you've had no unusual discharges or bleeding around it?"

"None," said Maria. "Just this lump."

The doctor sat down at the desk and tapped something into her desktop computer. A few seconds later, the printer next to it began to hum and spat out a printed sheet. The doctor scribbled her signature on the form, then handed it to Maria. "Get this filled at the pharmacy. It's just some antibiotics. If this is an infection then the drugs should keep it under control. In the meantime, I'll make an appointment for you to see a specialist, get some tests done. You'll get a letter letting you know when?"

"Thank you." Maria picked up her bag and left the doctor's office.

At home, Maria stood in front of the bathroom mirror, examining the lump. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed to move of its own accord, wriggling just under the surface of her skin. She prodded it, and felt the mass retreat back into her body. "Alright," Maria said to it. "Let's see what these pills do." She opened the box of pills and squeezed a capsule out of its packaging, then swallowed it.