Gemotions

“He just… left?” Maya asked, her voice cracking. The receptionist, a woman she’d known for years, simply nodded, offering a tight-lipped smile that did nothing to soothe the tremor in Maya’s hands. Dr. Chen, her mentor, her lifeline, had vanished from the clinic. No farewell, no handover, nothing.

She wandered through the empty examining rooms, her footsteps echoing in the sterile silence. She had been on call all night and now, the exhaustion was settling, but so was a more profound unease. She checked her phone for any missed messages. Just the usual spam and appointment reminders. She felt a cold dread creep into her bones. What would she do now?