I am sitting at this waiting hall, patiently waiting for my turn to see the doctor. I was stressed lately and thought that my mind was about to burst. All my friends said it was the stress finally getting the best of me, and slowly eating up my body. The doctor is the solution; whatever is wrong with me, he will diagnose it, give me the appropriate drugs and everything will be over within a few days.
I have been waiting for 30 minutes now; I have read 2 magazines from the nonchalant pile at the table. I grew tired of reading so I let my eyes wander around the place and my mind run its course. This room seems familiar but I can’t remember why. The harder I think about it, the more my headache gets irritating so I just stop for the moment.
A girl walks in, slowly, supported by 2 crutches. I can’t help but try to guess why she is here. Was she in a car accident? Did she injure herself while playing sports? Was she beaten by someone; maybe her husband? Maybe something much simpler than this?
She sits right across from me, arranges her crutches to her side and tries to reach for a magazine. I help her and she smiles at me. I decided to ask her what happened to her legs when it hit me: she is here to see the doctor as well! Maybe I got mixed up with the appointments and came to the traumatologist’s office instead of visiting the general practionner. I just stoop up, abruptly and aimed for the door.
I was thinking that I won’t be able to empty another time slot in the upcoming 3 weeks so I’d better go to the correct doctor before it was too late.
I was almost running to the door now. As I passed by the secretary, I muttered a “sorry, I have to go” while briefly looking at her surprised face.
She run after me and reached my arm as I was opening the door to leave.
“Is anything wrong Miss Emily?
–How do you know my name?
– Sorry for keeping you waiting but the doctor is ready for you now.
-What?“
She didn’t listen to me and she is dragging me now to the doctor’s office. The girl with the crutches is observing the scene from her place, as my mind goes completely blank on what is happening; there must be a confusion somewhere.
The doctor welcomes me with a bright smile and ushers for me to sit in the cozy sofa. I just stood by the door, trying to explain that this wasn’t the doctor that I want to see. The smile fades from his face as he says “The results from your test came back“.
“Now, clearly, there is a mistake. It is the first time that I lay foot in this office and I don’t recall taking any exams…” .
As I try to think harder, my mind keep spinning and I foind myself running towards that sofa, the same one that I declined seconds before, just not to fall to the ground. There is also the sense of panic, that something is off, weird, but I can’t quite pin point it, not with all the hammers knocking inside my head.
The doctor is now near me, a sense of urgency in his eyes.
“The results are back, you have Alzheimer’s.”
windinabox 
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