CARMEN
By the time Dr. Dan returned to free me from my cast, my nerves trembled at the edge of panic.
The clinic room felt different from before. Not worse, not better. Just changed—it carried the knowledge we would be leaving. Every sound seemed sharper because of it: the soft squeak of shoes in the hallway, the rustle of paper, the muted clink of metal instruments, even the hum of the overhead light. Each noise felt loud enough to make my shoulders tense.
This was the first place I’d felt truly safe in years, but now that the devil was closing in, dread crashed over me, and I was desperate to run again.
I sat on the edge of the exam bed. Dr. Dan worked carefully on my leg. The cast came apart in sections with a small, mechanical hiss. Beneath it, my skin was pale and fragile. The mus
