Chapter 2

In a dream

Misty was standing on a field, a bucket full of water in each hand. She heard the sound of thousands of nickering horses around her. When she looked around she saw the animals bony and cachectic. She walked to the nearest horse watered it until both buckets were empty and the nickering of all the others got unbearable. All horses approached her while she spoke to them.

"I don't have water anymore. I'm sorry! I … I don't have water anymore! Go away!"

She felt the warm breath of one horse on her skin. She heard them chomp at the bit. She got desperate whirling around and telling every horse to go away while she just heard their death screams and saw them drop dead one after another.

"Noooooooooo!" Misty screamed and sat up straight in her bed. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that she was in her own bed, her own bedroom, her own apartment. She let herself fall back into the pillow and tried to breathe calmly. She wiped some sweat out of her face with the sleeve of her pajama before she realized that it was soaked as well. It was the fifth night in a row in which she suffered the same awful nightmare. She kicked her duvet off her body with her feet, stood up and walked into her bathroom. There she washed her face with some hands full of cold water. Afterwards she looked at herself in the mirror. She saw the dark circles around her eyes, her skin almost translucent showing her veins on her forehead and chin. "Go back to bed!" she said to herself. "You can't save'em all!"

oooOOOooo

Misty walked through the front door of the hospital at 8.30 am the next morning. She was late. Only thirty minutes until her dermatological surgery hours began and she still had some preparations to make. She was almost running down the hallway to her consulting room when she saw her friend and co-worker leaning against the door frame of her consulting room.

"What are you doing here?" Misty asked.

"Well, good morning to you, too Dr. Day!" Cordelia said and smiled at her. She stood and let her co-worker unlock the door to her consulting room before she slid in after her. She closed the door. Misty threw a pile of letters on her desk, changed her jacket with her white coat and checked the batteries of her dermatoscope.

"Would you please stop blinding me with your….mole-looker." Cordelia said when a ray of light hit her eyes. She pretended to be blind when she felt for the visitor's chair to sit down.

Misty shook her head laughing and sat at her desk across from her.

"We'll do a hepatic transplantation at 3 pm together." Cordelia said and rubbed her hands in anticipation.

"I thought I had to do it with Dr. Woolf!" Misty said furrowing her brows.

"He called in sick. I take over all his surgeries today including the transplantation."

Misty nodded.

"It's easier to replace the surgeon than the anesthesiologist, right?"

"Right!" Cordelia responded holding both her thumbs in the air.

Misty yawned loudly.

"How come you're always in such a good mood and highly charged." Misty waved both of her hands in front of her to strengthen her last words.

"Hmmmm my job's prevailed and I got a better wage?" Cordelia winked at her obvious tired friend.

"Uh ha ha, very funny." Misty began to switch her dermatoskope on and off. She knew it would annoy Cordelia and this would be pay back.

"Seriously, I thought you had some goofball for me? I really need to calm down."

Misty leaned back in her chair and thought.

"Ethylenediamine." She suggested.

"Antihistamine?"

Misty made some offering gesture with her hands while she nodded at smiled.

"They'll make you tired. I promise. "Misty stood up and walked to the incubator behind her. She took out some culture media and examined them by holding them up before the lamp.

Cordelia stood up.

"Okay I don't want to know what exactly you're doing there, I have to leave anyway, I am so very sorry because it was, as always, such a pleasure to see you…" she trailed off.

Misty turned around to see her already turning the doorknob.

"Briefing will be at 2.30 pm! " she said and Cordelia nodded.

When the surgeon walked out the door she collided with a young man. He was maybe in his twenties. Dark wavy hair, mediterranean look and a big smile on his face.

"Oh, Dr. Day?" he said and reached out his hand to shake Cordelia's. The surgeon just shook her head and gestured thru the open door with both of her hands. "There you are, my friend!" Her eye caught Misty's gaze so it was not quite sure whom she addressed with 'my friend'.

The young man entered the room and reached out his hand to greet Misty who took his hand reluctantly.

"Dr. Day?"

Misty nodded, her lips slightly parted, not understanding what this was all about.

"Hi. I am Dr. Younes Sharom. I'm your trainee for dermatology." He smiled.

"That was today?"

Younes just smiled at her.

Misty gestured to the chair across her desk and the young doctor sat down at the edge of the seat, obviously nervous.

Misty cleared her throat and scrutinized the young man.

"So you wanna become a dermatologist?"

Younes nodded vehemently.

"More than anything else in this world, Dr. Day!"

Misty rolled her eyes.

"Who put this bug into your ear?" she whispered more to herself before she beckoned the trainee.

The young man stood up and walked to stand beside his tutor.

"You ever examined mycological cultures before?" Misty asked.

"No Ma'am."

Misty turned to face Younes and stared him down.

"Don't Ma'am me, okay? I am not old enough for that."

"Yes Ma'am. I mean Dr. Day."

Misty sighed.

This is going to be a very long shift.