Some of them were just about to receive the usual bloodcurdling news one would receive at an Oncology ward, such as "You've got cancer" or "We have to continue with chemotherapy" -- the "we" was very important, as Susan's experience had taught her. The patients' faces were wrinkled with worry while their bodies appeared crippled under the burden of possibility. Susan knew they were wondering how much time they had left, but so was she. Mrs. O'Ceallaigh, one of her late patients, had once told her she would have given anything to know her exact time of death, stick to the schedule and thus end her tormenting tribulations. She was one of the most down-to-earth and mentally balanced people Susan had ever met, but death had still caught her by surprise.
Her office was on the sea side and when she opened the window she could both hear and smell the waves carving into the base of the cliffs down beneath, at the bottom of Carrick's Bluff. Carrick House, once home of the old O'Cullen clan, had been built right on the edge, providing good defense in case of attack. Nowadays, however, the sole enemies left charging on the building were the stud farms of waves the sea was sending to undermine it.
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The Sphere
Short StorySusan lives on the lush coast of eastern Ireland, taking care of her daughter and her many patients. But an enemy Susan is intimately familiar with begins a full on assault on her duties as a mother and a doctor. **This story received 2nd prize at t...
