She clenched the stethoscope tighter in her hands. It was supposed to be the last patient for this shift. An hospital O.P.D. can be the most tiring place on earth. When she asked what brought him here, "Cold and slight fever," he said. Just cold. And slight fever. Paracetamol, amox, and maybe a couple of painkillers; and then she'll be done today , she thought. But her mind was wondering somewhere else. The way he had promised she would never be able to lose him even if she wanted to, she had thought it was true. There was something about him that made her think about a forever together. But no one knows how short some forevers can turn out to be. She inquired for any relevant negative history; of course she wasn't expecting anything substantial out of it. She never expected much. Ever.
She told him sit straight, told him to take deep breaths. She could hear the air move in and out of his lungs. It was his recently updated picture that made him cross her mind. He was looking even more better since the last time they had met. But it was no reason. She had not left him because he didn't look good enough. Vesicular, normal, as expected, the patients' lungs sounded. She was thinking of seeing someone else. Someone else who had already swept her feet off the ground. But he was so much good at convincing everyone everytime he tried, it was even more difficult to get him right. Everytime she looked into his eyes, she drew a complete blank. Complicated to understand, he was a paradox of life itself.
She realised she was searching for the patient's heartbeat, since a tad bit longer than usual. Even a tiny impulse would have sufficed. But she could find none. People lie when they say their trust is lost, she thought. And it struck her like lightning, she placed the stethoscope on the left, same distance from his sternum. She heard his heart lubb-dubb in peace. She had got it. Dextrocardia. She couldn't remember the exact numbers, she didn't know how many people among millions were born this way. But she knew now for sure, trust is just misplaced. But things work just fine even if u don't understand them. His heart had lied on the wrong side, since years. But there were no complaints, just cold. And fever..
