Gemotions

The air thickened with each passing sentence. The young nurse, flustered and apologetic, was meticulously explaining the accidental swap. He sat frozen, the blood draining from his face. His carefully constructed life, or, at least, his perceived image of himself, seemed to be crumbling before his eyes.

He imagined the wrong medications being dispensed, the wrong decisions being made. The other patient’s detailed history – chronic fatigue, a history of self-harm, a series of failed relationships – felt like a venomous snake, coiling around his ankles. He could barely bring himself to look at the paperwork.

He felt a sudden, desperate urge to flee, to escape this room, this situation, to rewind time to before this devastating revelation. He wanted to shield himself, to build a wall against the intruding details.