Tag: Fiction
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The silence of Dona Zefa
Guilherme CoelhoSão Paulo, Brazil Josefa Maria do Carmo—Dona Zefa to everyone—was the kind of woman you knew before you met her. The whole favela spoke of her like a patron saint: with respect, affection, and a reasonable fear of not wanting to disappoint her. Seventy-two years old, the widow of Seu Agenor, she was mother…
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I, Baldwin: Leper king of Jerusalem
Óscar Lamas FilgueiraValencia, Spain Baldwin IV (1161–1185), known as “the Leper King”, was king of Jerusalem during the late twelfth century. Despite developing leprosy in childhood, he ruled during a period of intense military and political instability and personally led his forces to a decisive victory against Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177.…
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The novels of Karl May: Myth, adventure, and cultural impact
Karl May (1842–1912) remains one of the most popular and widely read authors in the German-speaking world, renowned for his prolific output of adventure novels that captivated generations of readers. Although his name is less familiar outside of Europe, his imaginative works—particularly those set in the American West and the Middle East—have left a lasting…
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Leaving medicine
Dean GianakosLynchburg, Virginia, United States It is February in Boston, and the snow is coming down hard. From his office window, Tom shakes his head and watches a car spin its wheels in the middle of the road. Next week, he will be in southern California for a medical meeting. “I’m so done with this,”…
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Meshamorphosis
Leo GordonLos Angeles, California, United States As Dr. Sylvia Samsa, Chief of Surgery at the Metropolitan Medical Center, awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, she found herself transformed in her bed into a piece of synthetic mesh. Dr. Sylvia Samsa, Chief of Surgery at the famed Metropolitan Medical Center, awoke last Tuesday morning, lying flat…
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Roots and routes
Prasad IyerSingapore Dr. Arjun Mehta stood at the balcony of his Mumbai apartment, gazing out at the chaotic tapestry of the city he once called home. The cacophony of honking horns, aroma of street food, and vibrant saris in the bustling streets below stirred a complex mix of emotions within him. After two decades in…
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The surgeon
Joseph RumenappChicago, Illinois, United States He kicked the scrub sink again—only a trickle. He missed the smell of the iodine in the morning, almost as much as he missed the chill of the operating room itself. “Don’t bother, Doc,” the scrub nurse chimed behind him. “You won’t be touching sterile anyway.” He walked into the…
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Burn
Arthur WilliamsCincinnati, Ohio, United States Adapted from a chapter of the novel Krooked Ketamine (self-published, 2024) by Arthur Williams. As a surgeon, I have performed a fair amount of skin grafts over the years. To need a skin graft, a person has to have sustained a serious injury, usually a terribly painful burn or an…
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The Painted Veil: Death from cholera in China
The 1925 novel The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham derives its title from Percy Shelley’s 1824 sonnet, which begins “Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life.” The action takes place during a cholera epidemic in which a missionary doctor quotes on his deathbed the final line of Oliver Goldsmith’s famous…
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Lonely physician
Dean GianakosLynchburg, Virginia, United States Jack wakes up early Sunday morning to walk along the Carolina shore. The sand feels cool under his bare feet. He passes a fisherman preparing flies for his pole. He stops to watch the brilliant orange sun rise over the horizon. The blue green ocean is still. Gently kicking the…