The Clinic (Karhrie)

Karhrie entered the Clinic.

By the front desk she saw Pam.

"Good morning Pam!" Karhrie said happily. "Have you see my mother around?"

"Oh, hi Karie! Airene's upstairs with a patient right now. So-"

*Footstep sounds descending down stairs*

"Karhrie? What are you doing here?" It was Karhrie's mother, Airene.

"Is it not a good day to visit?" Karhrie examined her mother's surprised face. "I've wanted to see how you were doing is all. It's Wednesday, remember?"

Wednesday was always a day for Karhrie to visit the Clinic & help her mother. But sometimes her mother tends to forget what day it is.

"No, it's alright, come, come." Airene walked upstairs & Karhrie followed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Karhrie stared down at a little girl, with brown curly hair & blank brown eyes, laying motionless on a clinic bed, mumbling something softly to herself.
It was Emily.

"Emily? What-what's wrong her?" Karhrie looked at the mother.

"I'm not entirely sure. Thomas (her father), said she went missing yesterday & suddenly, this morning he found her knocking on his front door & when he went to open it she collapsed." Airene crossed her arms. "She has a fever though, I know that for sure, & she's been mumbling the entire time here."

"What? What was she saying?" Karhrie questioned to her mother as she sat beside Emily and felt her head. It was burning hot.
She applied a wet towel over her head.

"I couldn't get some of it, but I think she said, 'Follow or be punished...' "

Karhrie leaned toward Emily, who stared straight up at the ceiling, & listened.

"....Flawed are the needless, serve or be punished... Damned are the helpless, follow or be punished... Fortune in your mind, soul is ours...."

Karhrie felt surprised hearing these words coming from young Emily.
"What does it means?" Karhrie asked her mother.

"I don't know. But I'm guessing her fever might have triggered this abnormality. She's 103° F... But then again, were did she pick up those words?"

"Strange..." Karhrie waved her hand in front of Emily's eyes & she did not follow it. Emily continued staring straight up. "How is Thomas doing?"

"Beside worrying about poor Emily, his health is fine. He's buying some 'get well' flowers for Emily at the moment. But he'll be back soon if you'd like to talk to him."

"No, it's alright. But if you have anything you'd like me to do-"

"No, I'm fine. I'm all set. You should check the orphanage though, I've heard there's a little girl named Amelia there. I went by to see her the other day, & treated some her wounds I've found on her. But it still doesn't look so good, last I saw. Mind checking on her for me?"

"Of course. Get well, Emily & goodbye mother. Tell me when she's felling better!"

Karhrie left saying goodbye to both the unresponsive Emily & worried Airene.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How's Emily doing?" Karhrie asked her mother as they ascend up the stairs.

"Well, she finally stopped her strange mumblings, her fever's reduced, & she's responsive now, but she seemed to forgot what had happened to her. She only remembered what happened before she disappeared."

"Really? That's strange...." Karhrie replied. "How could she have forgotten?"

"I'm not sure. But maybe it's for the best."

"Maybe."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Daddy, can I go home now? I'm feeling much better."
Emily placed a half drunk glass of water down on her table stand & laid back down in the clinic bed.

"I'm sorry, baby," Thomas, Emily's father, stroked the hair of his pale daughter. "You still have a fever. And I think it's best if you stay here until it's gone."

"Where's mommy?"

"She's at work, remember? She works during this time. She misses you so much, you know that? And she's going to visit you today after work."

Emily yawned. "I'm tired..."

"You should get some sleep, I'll be going now, OK Emily? But don't worry I'll come back again."

Emily nodded slowly before heading off to sleep.

Karhrie & Airene entered.

"She went to sleep." Thomas said as he saw K & Airene. "I'll leave now to gt some rest before work. Goodbye."

They said goodbye & Thomas left.

Airene placed a cool cloth on Emily's head.

"I hope Emily gets better." Karhrie said.

"We all do." Airene replied. " Now, Karhrie can you hand me some fresh blankets?"

Karhrie went to get some new blankets when she heard her mother gasp.

"What? What happened?" Karhrie ran to her mother who stood in surprise, holding Emily's old blanket, looking down at Emily's feet which were black and dirtied.

"Her- her feet.... They're....dirtied! When-when did this happen? I remembered very well, when she came her the day she collapsed that I cleaned her, & she didn't go anywhere after being put to bed, yet why-why is there dirt on her feet?"

Karhrie looked down at Emily's feet & saw the black marks of dirt on her bare feet.

"Are you sure she didn't go out at all?"

"Yes I'm sure!"

"Maybe Thomas took her out when you weren't looking or something."

"I don't know. I'm not sure."

"We should ask her when she wakes up. Maybe she snuck off at night & you didn't know about it."

"Yes, I'll ask, but you don't have to wait with me. Go check and see how Amelia is at the Orphanage."

Emily was fast asleep when Karhrie entered the Clinic.

"Oh, hi Karhrie." Airene whispered these words as she walked towards Karhrie by the stairs.

"Mother, did you see the bulletin board today?"

"No, I haven't yet. I've been busy lately."

"Well, I was on my way home when I suddenly found a strange note on the bulletin board that had the exact same words that Emily had been saying before her recovery!
I think she got up in the middle of the night when you weren't looking to write the note, that's why her feet was dirtied!"

Airene looked at the sleeping Emily and back at her daughter.
"But... why would she do that? She has a fever & barely move about! Why would she get up just to right a little note of... nonsense?"

"Well, maybe it's not nonsense.... if she would go through the trouble of writing that note during the middle of night, while having a fever."

"Or maybe it's just a joke, a prank. Maybe Emily didn't do it."

"But the words where exactly what Emily had said when you found her!"

Airene looked over at Emily, unsure of what to do.
"I.... I'll wait for her to wake up. Then I'll ask her about it, alright sweetheart? But don't tell anybody this alright?"

"But why?"

"I don't want to start a commotion or any confusion. For now, let's just let everything be."

Karhrie sighed.
"Alright then."

And she left.

Karhrie greeted her mother, Airene, who was eating her late lunch.

"Guessing by the empty bed where Emily was, She's gone home, hasn't she? She's better?" Karhrie asked her mother.

"Yes, this morning her fever had disappeared & she seemed well. Her mother came to pick her up about a few hours ago. And I asked her the questions that you and I both were wondering, but it seemed she doesn't remember."

"She doesn't remember? Not even how her feet got dirty?"

"No."

"Did you tell her about the note?"

"I asked her if the words on the note seemed familiar to her, & she said no. Though the words were the same ones she's been chanting before, she doesn't know them. Like I said beofre, her fever's likely to trigger that strange state she was in."

"But It still seems-"

"Strange? Yes, it does. But it's over now. We should just forget about it. It's nothing important. The note was probably just a joke. Other people did come by to see Emily besides her parents, you know."

"Who?"

"Some of her friends, Janice, Hector, Tyron... But I asked them about the note & they all had the same exact answer that Emily had. But you know how kids are." Airene took a bite from her sandwhich. " They like to stir up trouble. So, please let's drop this."

Karhrie still didn't think the note wasn't a joke & she still thinks that Emily's strange chanting meant something...

But Karhrie dropped the subject & left.