The Devil's Harem

“Excuse me,” Martha asked out loud. She was confused, looking at the uninvited and unfamiliar face that had barged in. Also, Martha was not alone. A lady sat in front of Martha. Maybe, she was there for consultation.

“Oh, sure,” Audrey nodded and then turned towards the lady, “Do you mind? The doctor has just asked you to excuse us.”

The lady, confused by how fast things progressed, stood up, obeying Audrey on the spur of the moment.

“Hey, sit back,” but Martha was not fazed in the slightest. She asked the lady to sit back before turning back towards Audrey, “You are interrupting us, young lady.” Martha calmly and indirectly asked Audrey to leave.

“But I am in pain,” Audrey said softly, as gently as one could, unlike her usual smug self when she conversed with Turtle or the other guy named Johnny. Her tone was that of a spoiled little girl who has been wronged after being sheltered and pampered all her life.

“Still, you can’t just barge in like that,” this time, even Martha was a bit affected by her words. Her gaze immediately turned towards Audrey’s shoulder, which she was holding on to.

.....

“I know,” Audrey’s head hung low, and she slowly turned around to leave, “I shouldn’t have done that. It was just that the pain had me scared.” Audrey whispered loud enough for everyone to hear as she pulled open the door, ready to leave.

“Wait,” it was not Martha but the other lady in the room who called for Audrey to stop.

As Audrey stopped, the lady turned towards Martha, “I am almost done here, anyway. You should examine her first. Look at the poor girl. She is obviously in so much pain. You can’t just turn away those in need because of your stupid regulations. I will come back next week for my routine checkup,” the lady picked up her bag and turned to walk away from there without letting Martha talk back.

But the lady then stopped in front of Audrey and stared intently at her shoulder before giving her an assuring smile, “Don’t worry, you are in good hands. Martha... She is one of the best you can get. She might get a bit cranky from time to time, but overall, she will try her best to not let you suffer.” The lady said.

“Are you done?” Martha interrupted their sweet moment, “At least be courteous enough to bitch me behind my back.”

“Oh, c’mon,” the lady waved her hand, blushing, “All I am doing is praising you.” The lady laughed it off. She then pulled out a card from her purse and pushed it into Audrey’s hands.

“... You are such a beautiful girl. Call me whenever you are free,” the lady winked at Audrey, “My son would go head over heels for you. Let me go over it with my son, and then we can discuss more about it over a cup of tea.” And with that, the lady walked out of the room, leaving Audrey stunned while Martha could only shake her head weakly.

“Ignore her. Come, sit.” Martha quickly brought Audrey out of her stupor and said.

“Yes...” Still acting a bit confused, Audrey slowly walked up to Martha’s desk and sat in front of her.

“So, what happened?” Martha asked.

“You see... I was walking around, minding my own business. True that I was lost in some thoughts,” Audrey started but soon acted shy, narrating the events, “There is this guy... You know, I like him a bit. So, I was thinking about him and how I should go forward and talk to him. You see... He is kind of. No... Not kind of. He is actually very good looking. Every girl would skip a beat around him. So you see, it’s hard for me to take the initiative to go talk to him...” Audrey completely sidetracked from the point she had to make.

“Listen... Ummm...” Martha interrupted Audrey, but since she did not know her name, she paused and looked at Audrey, hoping for her to introduce herself.

“Audrey... My name is Audrey,” Audrey said as a sweet smile bloomed on her face.

“Yeah, Audrey. Can you skip...” Martha spoke, but this time Audrey interjected. .c

“To the good part?” Audrey snapped her finger and, winking at Martha, asked. Her face was all blooming with excitement.

“No... To the point,” Martha corrected Audrey in a snap, “Can you tell me how and where you got injured?” Martha asked, looking at Audrey’s shoulder.

“I was getting to that only before you interrupted me,” Audrey said, pouting at Martha’s interruption.

“Yeah, but can we... For example... Fast forward it to how and where?” Martha asked.

“Fine...” Audrey shrugged, “So I was lost in thoughts, thinking about him as I was on my way when I got off track unknowingly because I was lost in my own world, right. I am sure it must have happened to you as well. It’s a common thing. And so I suddenly got off the footpath and was on the road, distracted, when a taxi driver bumped into me. Not like bump into me literally, but more like he hit my arm. He didn’t even apologise,” Audrey pouted, “Not like he was at fault, but I knew it, he didn’t. He should have stopped his taxi and apologised.”

“... But I let it go. I didn’t really feel much at that time. But as I moved forward, I felt pain here in my shoulder, “Audrey said, pointing at her shoulder with her eyes, “I panicked. It has never happened to me before. What if it was a fracture or something? So, I asked around and, with the help from the people, got to the first hospital I could find.” Audrey told Martha.

“Aren’t you from here?” Martha asked. Unexpectedly she also prioritised prying into Audrey than treating her.

“Oh, no. I am here visiting a friend,” Audrey shook her head.

“Don’t you have a phone with you?” Martha asked.

“I do...” Audrey said as she twisted her body a bit and pulled out her phone, “Why do you need it? Want to click selfies?” Audrey asked, and as she mentioned the word selfie, a smile emerged on her face.

“You don’t use your phone for anything but selfies? Like Maps or something?” Martha asked.

“It has a map inside of it?” Audrey looked surprised at Martha before staring at her phone as she flipped it around, “A map? Huh... Never really thought about it.”

Martha, on the other hand, could not believe what she just heard. She wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl in front of her as well.

“Let me examine you first,” finally, Martha decided that it was better to pay attention to the cause of Audrey’s pain first.

“... Come, sit here,” Martha got up and asked Audrey to move and sit on the elevated bed in her chamber. Audrey also complied and, without any more nonsense, climbed up the bed.

Martha gently pulled Audrey’s jacket down her shoulder, and in front of her was a red, swollen shoulder.

“It looks bad,” Martha muttered, “How are you bearing the pain without an ufff?” Martha asked as she looked up but found Audrey biting her lips, trying to hold herself back from letting out a groan.

“Does it hurt?” Martha softly pressed the swollen area around Audrey’s shoulder and asked.

“Hiss...” This time Audrey could not hold back, and biting her lips, she vigorously nodded. Martha could even see Audrey’s eyes turn watery at that moment.

Not implicating any more pain to her, Martha pulled back her hand and stood straight.

“I think you have a torn ligament,” Martha shared her opinion with Audrey.

But before she could continue, Audrey interrupted her.

“Is it bad? Will I have to live with it all my life?” Audrey got anxious and asked, “Don’t tell me I won’t be able to use my hand in the future. Aunhhh... I don’t want to be a cripple. Who will marry me then?” Audrey almost wailed in front of Martha.

Martha wanted to console her, but before she could, Audrey stopped on her own. The tears that were about to shed out of her eyes were back in.

“But it’s alright. I will strive hard to excel, even with my disability,” Audrey tightened her fist, “I will be a role model for many others like me.”

“Calm down, and listen to me...” Martha tried to get Audrey off her galloping horse, but Audrey was not paying attention to her. And the expressions on her face changed once more.

“But what would people think of me when they get to know that it was all because I bumped into a taxi, thinking about a guy. Won’t everyone make fun of me?” Suddenly Audrey had one more problem to take care of, “I need to come up with a story. I know God, it is bad to lie, but a tinsy bit of lie won’t harm anyone,” Audrey looked up, confessing to the almighty.

“You...” Martha was stumped. She could not fathom the number of thoughts going through this girl’s mind. One moment she is scared for her life ahead, the next moment, she wants to be an inspiration for others like her and the very next moment, her concern is the backdrop of her story.

“Do you think I can sail past these obstacles in my life?” Audrey looked at Martha and asked with a lot of hope.

“Yes, you can,” Martha nodded as she put her hand on Audrey’s other shoulder, “Thankfully, I think it’s just a torn ligament, and the bone is fine. If it’s just a torn ligament. And you will be alright in two weeks.” Martha told Audrey.

“Huh...?”

“Hmmm...”

* * * * *

(A/N: Martha and Audrey face to face. One saved Alex, but the latter wants to kill him. What do you think the relationship between the two ladies will be like?)