Hetty had been so worried about the lump, it had risen under her skin until she had to seek help. As it turned out it was simply a bubble of pus to be drained, that was it. Then she could get back on with all the things she loved doing, all the things that made her "her."
Ravi looked at the lump. It had appeared so fast, now it was impossible to even button up the neck of his shirt. It was the same colour as the rest of the skin, perhaps a little red around the edges but not much. It was firm to the touch, like someone had inserted a rubber ball under his skin in the night and fastened it with invisible stitching. He'd been on the internet all morning and as a result he was almost ready to pre-order his coffin. Most people said it was an abscess, but others of course had cancer horror stories to tell. There was no option now but to call the doctor, either way he had to know. He dialled the number with his head swimming unhelpfully and his mouth uncharacteristically dry. His limbs felt like his muscles had been taken out and replaced with over-stretched elastic bands. The receptionist was talking, time to speak...
Tom reached his hand up to the swelling on his neck and as he did so the ticking from the waiting room wall clock seemed to get louder, counting his life away. It had to be cancer, he knew it would be. He felt his insides grow warm in an unpleasant way and his stomach, though empty, writhed as if struggling with a rich meal. When the receptionist turned from her monitor to call "Thomas Bryant" he jumped. This was it, biopsy time.
The walk to the doctors room seemed long and non-existent at the same time, almost like part of him wasn't really there. The doctor talked, the nurse passed the instrument and he braced for the pain. The doctor pressed gently with her fingers and inserted the device. Almost immediately she said "Oh!" Tom almost fainted, that must be bad. She continued "You have an abscess Mr Bryant, we'll just drain it and put you on a course of antibiotics. "
Tom hardly dared believe his ears, "An abscess? Not cancer?"
"No cancer. There's just a whole lot of pus in here, we'll flush and bandage before you go." Tom felt himself deflate like he was a balloon that had been lanced. His mind flooded with possibilities. With life he could do anything, go anywhere...