Quoted By:
06 – 28 – 1999 | SOUTH SIAM | WEEK 1
Your last patient fidgets on the exam table, sun-weathered hands thumbing through a chain of jaap maala prayer beads with practiced dexterity. Her daughter watches you with eyes that are a measure too sharp for her age. Dark pupils scan across your face for traces of ill-intent – an instinct that has barely mellowed over their past few visits.
“Red. Skip days….and the blue, take daily?”
She runs her finger down the page as she translates for her mother – speaking in a south Asian language you cannot easily identify.
“Yes. Remember to finish the entire pack. Macrolide with a modified bacteriophage booster. Reds and blues.”
She nods.
“…her cough?” she asks.
You consider your answer carefully. “It’s a new strain, but she should still improve with time. If your mother isn’t doing better within a week, come back as soon as you can.”
“You will be here.” She phrases it as a statement more than a question, reaching into her bag to retrieve your usual payment.
You smile, accepting the proffered item.
“Of course. Where else would I go?”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
