~A liar's candle is said to burn until bedtime~
Blood flowed through my gloved fingers, and my heart pounded. Soon the claws of pain would sure slither up to my throat and smother me, and....
"Lunara."
Chills surged through me, and I reoriented myself. I turned my head to face Dr. Egemen, my mind unwilling to register his words.
Gesturing to me, I found his his steel gray eyes to be unforgiving. "Can you help close and dress the wound, Lunara?"
Ignoring my mind's swirling of thoughts, I hesitantly plastered a gentle smile to my face. "Yes -sorry," I stuttered.
But he didn't hear me. No one ever did.
Dr. Egemen strolled out of the surgical room while my breath grew heavy, and my hands trembled; I felt on the verge of collapse. Reaching for the needle on the tray beside me, I sighed and gently shook my head -- as not to be seen as idiotic by the accompanying nurses.
As I turned back to the patient under anesthesia, I began to work quickly, clamping the torn skin and suturing it.
~~~
Upon completion of my task, I hurried out of the room, hastily tearing off my bloody gloves, suffocating face mask, and hair cap. My lungs finally released the air they had held captive due to my fear of messing up the procedure.
But none of this liberated me. Staring at the mirror on the hallway's wall, I stopped, stunned by my reflection.
The patient undergoing the appendectomy was a young female my age, but her features were unmarred. I, on the other hand, flaunted dark eye circles and ghostly pale skin with sunken in cheeks.
I looked like a porcelain doll.
Yet I could not shatter, despite my desire to. I was perceived a role model by others, like these dolls that children played with.
Nevertheless, while they appear perfect, every doll has its unnoticed flaws that taint their beauty and reflect the fragile material they are made of.
I might as well be made of glass. Maybe then others would truly see me.
Maybe even care.
YOU ARE READING
A Chest of Lies
Teen FictionMy fingers wrapped around the fraying rope of the wood swing; which was tied to the ancient, decaying chestnut tree. I swung, allowing gravity to play as my legs swayed up and down. "Lunara," my mother called, slipping her head out of the house doo...