Gemotions

"I... I can't believe it," Mark stammered, his knuckles white against the desk. The nurse's words hung in the air: a mix-up, another man’s file in his chart, resulting in him receiving the wrong diagnosis. A wave of heat flushed his cheeks. This stranger, this other man, now occupied a space in his life. He pictured a scenario where this strange man was in his place, and he would be in the man's.

He found he couldn't stop moving, shifting from foot to foot. It was difficult to keep still. A tightness coiled in his stomach, a strange excitement. The nurse was apologizing again, offering reassurances. Mark, though, barely heard her.

“Can… can I see the other man’s records?” he blurted out, the words bursting from him. It was a request he had never thought he'd make.