Insomniac Nightmares

(If you missed the beginning of Dr. Gale’s tale, you can find it right here!)

The two women sat in silence on opposite sides of the faux ancient apothecary table (only $199.99 from Ikea, the last Dorothea had checked), each eyeing the other. The scrawny blonde on the side closest to the door was tucked into herself, limbs pulled up in a protective manner as she gnawed an already ragged thumbnail, bloodshot brown eyes flicking between various aspects of the room’s decor, her own feet, and Dorothea’s face.

Dorothea’s posture was straight but relaxed, legs crossed at a demure angle, leather-bound notepad perched on her lap and silver pen poised to scribble as need be. Her light blue pantsuit stood in sharp contrast to the other woman’s ragged tank top and Lycra shorts. Her blue eyes were steady, focused, moving slowly along the other woman’s frame as she took in the small details – a series of hair ties and rubber bands, several with shafts of wheat or straw hanging from them, along the woman’s left arm; a latticework of scar tissue on her right shoulder; an odd dent in the right side of her skull that the stringy reddish-blonde hair couldn’t quite conceal despite a mighty effort.

After a long moment, Dorothea cleared her throat. The sudden sound in the quiet office provoked a startled squeak from the other woman, who narrowed her eyes and brought them to sharp focus on Dorothea.

“Miss… Crowe, correct?”

A noncommittal grunt came from the other seat.

“S. Crowe. Is there a reason you haven’t given a full first name?”

“Don’t know it,” the other woman mumbled, her eyes drifting downward while her teeth went to work on another fingernail. Dorothea saw the woman’s right hand creep up to one of the hair bands and tweak it, producing a small bead of blood as the end of the straw tangled in it prodded the thin flesh beneath.

I know it’s short, and perhaps not all that interesting. For that, I apologize. We’re trying, though! Dr. Gale isn’t going anywhere, so rest assured we’ll hear more from her and her quartet of patients in the near future. Until next time, folks!