If you’d like to start reading from the beginning, check out A Grave Mistake: Chapter 1
Naturally, there are gatekeepers and walls of protection around any secret because it isn’t meant to get out. It isn’t meant to be stolen or shared. But, what would happen if there was a breach in that wall? Those responsible would inevitably fight to regain control and lock the secret back in it’s cage. No one wants the reputation of being the one who let the secret out. Especially if that secret is magic.
CHAPTER 6 – NATASHA Gill
Day 3, 9:40 am
After her second memory lapse, Natasha had made an appointment to see the doctor again and was surprised how quickly she was able to get in.
She pulled into the parking lot 5 minutes early and noticed that the normally busy lot was empty. There were two doctors at this clinic: her doctor and his wife. They not only schedule appointments, but they also ran a walk-in clinic, usually trading off days with each other.
She was only a few steps away from the front door when she noticed a closed sign hanging in the window and that most of the lights were off. Confused, she pulled out her phone to check her calendar as she walked slowly back to her car.
Behind her, the door opened. “Mrs. Gill!” her doctor called after her. His normally well-groomed appearance was disheveled and he looked like he hadn’t slept or showered in a few days. Dark circles ringed his eyes and his dark hair stood up on end in greasy waves.
“I’m sorry Doctor Thomas, I thought my appointment was for 9:40,” she said, taking a step back as a faint smell of BO wafted towards her.
“Yes, yes, you do. Sorry, we’re having a minor crisis. I have the closed sign up because we aren’t accepting walk-ins at the moment,” he said, straining to smile. “Nothing to worry about though,” he hastily added.
“I can come back another time,” she said, edging towards her car.
“No, no, come in, come in,” he said, waving her forward.
She hesitated another moment, then grudgingly followed him into the office. They walked past the welcome desk which was unmanned and sitting in shadows, and down the hall to one of the waiting rooms. He turned the light on and sat down on the office chair while she sat on the paper-cover examination table. It crinkled as she sat down.
“What seems to be the problem?” he asked.
She told him about how she had been having gaps in her memory, but she carefully skirted around the fact that she had accomplished a week’s worth of work in a few short hours.
“Do you know what you were doing during this time?” he asked.
She clutched her purse on her lap feeling apprehensive. “Just the usual day-to-day things,” she said. “I would find out later that the kids had been picked up when they were supposed to, and that I’d bought groceries because I’d have the receipt in my wallet and the fridge, which had been nearly empty in the morning, would be full.”
She’d been about to tell him she had been recording everything in her journal, but realized just in time that he would probably ask to see it. There was no way he’d believe she got all that done in one day.
“And how long has this been happening?”
“A couple of days.”
He nodded. “Have you noticed anything else unusual?”
“No,” she said, her voice slightly higher than normal.
He didn’t seem to notice. “Alright, I’ll get you to change into one of the hospital gowns and I’ll do an examination.”
“Is that really necessarily?” she asked. “I mean if it’s my head that’s the problem. I don’t really need to change for that, do I?”
“I’d like to see if anything else is wrong. Blacking out may just be a symptom of something more serious.”
She nodded, not liking the sound of that. She changed quickly and was already back sitting down on the examination table when he came back in two minutes later. Behind him, was his wife, the other doctor at the clinic. She looked less disheveled than he did, but apparently whatever was causing Dr. Thomas stress, was also affecting her. Her hair, which was normally sleek and styled, was knotted at the top of her head in a messy bun. Her normally perfectly made-up face appeared to be completely free of make-up, and her lab coat was wrinkled and stained in a couple of places.
“Lay down on your side facing the wall, please,” he said. “Since we are low on staff today, my wife will assist me today.
Natasha did as she was told, but was confused as to why he needed assistance. She had just settled onto her side when she felt a hand on her hip and her gown being pulled up. She started to sit up, but two other hands grabbed her shoulders and held her down.
“Wait, what’s hap—”
There was a sharp pain near her hip. She tried to fight against the hands holding her down, but sleep was quickly crowding in from the sides, threatening to wash over her. Something wasn’t right. But she was starting to not care. She tried to sit up one more time, before giving in to the comfortable embrace of sleep that was enveloping her.
Scrambled Narratives 