The same friendly nurse pricks my finger. Moments after taking my sample, she tells me my white blood cell count is up to 4.0 greater than normal.

Then she leads me to an exam room with birchwood paneling and a framed photo of a sand dune. Where I still wait.

overheard stories …
unnoticed branches
sway in a breeze

Photo by Bill Oxford

first published in Image Curve, October 24, 2019