Shadows

Chapter 4: A Visit To The Docter

I went to the doctor that morning, hoping that they weren’t too busy and could take me in without an appointment. It was the middle of the weekday, so I certainly expected there to be less people there than normal, on the weekend, but when I walked in, I was surprised to see that there was absolutely no one in the waiting room.

The receptionist, a kindly old mare that looked like she’d drop dead any minute, smiled at me as I approached the counter. “And what can I do for you today, dearie?” Her voice was so faint, I could barely hear it.

“Well…” I began, “I was hoping I could see a doctor today. I didn’t have time to make an appointment beforehand.” I paused for a moment, and then made a light joke. “But it doesn’t look like there’s much of a wait right now, is there?”

She nodded slightly, a few of the bones in her neck popping as she did so, “Right you are. You got here just at the right time. We do not have any appointments scheduled for the next hour or so, and there’s a doctor free right now who could take a look at you.” She paused, getting some papers from a stack next to her. “Name?”

I told her.

“Ah, right!” She wrote something on the paper and checked in a file cabinet beside her desk. After minutes of fumbling around in the files, she seemed to find what she was looking for and straightened back up, looking at me, smiling.

“We already have all your information, so you are good to go. Unfortunately, your normal doctor is currently occupied, so you’ll be seeing another. Just sit down for a moment. We will be ready for you in a few minutes.” With that, she turned away and handed the papers to a nurse out of sight.

Thanking her, I left the counter and sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs they had. On a table beside me were an unorganized pile of different magazines. Casually, I sifted through them and picked out one about home improvement. I started to read an article about renovating your backyard, but before I even got a few paragraphs in, the door creaked open and a nurse called my name.

I stood and greeted her, before following her down the hall and into the fourth room on the right. My room, for the time being.

There was a silence for a few moments, as I positioned myself on the bed-seat thing, and the nurse did whatever she had to do. The white plastic paper that lined the exam table crinkled loudly as I shifted my weight around slightly.

Then, the nurse began talking, asking me a few questions in a gentle voice. I answered them as best as I could and told her about the reason I was here in the first place, my insomnia, explaining the gist of the situation to her.

As she continued writing on her forms, copying down my words, I glanced at one of the posters on the wall next to me for a moment. It was an infographic showing a few different types of related diseases that affected the brain and nervous system. I didn’t quite understand exactly what it was saying, but I caught the general idea that it was a bad thing.

And then I looked back, fully expecting the nurse to still be there. Instead, the stallion that I could only presume to be my doctor for this appointment was already in the room, sitting on his little wheeled stool, a clipboard in his grasp, and a small pair of glasses placed delicately at the end of his snout.

I blinked.

And yawned.

“So, what seems to be troubling you today?” he started, without even introducing himself. “You’re here about some trouble sleeping, is that right?” The doctor peered at me over his glasses, a calm, professional smile splitting his face.

I fidgeted slightly in my seat, the paper rustling. “Oh... Well...” I hadn’t even heard him come in, let alone sit down, so I was momentarily put off. “I, uh, haven’t been sleeping very well the past few nights.”