Wednesday 23 May 2012

Specimen


Specimen

The delicate yet firm slice of the scalpel penetrated deep into the flesh at the join of the neck and jawbone revealing through the seepage of blood and the fibres of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and under that, the tough outer capsule of the Parotid gland. It was here the doctor had to delve, here the suspected cause of death lay. He pinned back the fresh corpse matter, neatly out of the way, and gently washed the tissue, preparing for the final incision, directly into the fibrous, near unyielding flesh of the gland with a tiny serrated tool, rarely used. And then he found the cause.

               The discovery in the dead woman’s Salivary gland had caused a huge stir in the medical community. The doctor was touring the great universities of the civilised world with his findings. The theories abounded as to what this tiny creature could be; with its tiny delicate form, limbs almost see through, and tiny feet, and hands clutched in tiny fists, its face with no mouth, nose or ears. But it’s eyes were what confused everybody, multifaceted and glittering as bright as rubies, even as it floated, lifeless in the jar of formaldehyde, peering still, yearning for whatever its miniscule four inch body desired and needed in life, floating in congealed saliva.

I wrote this today in about half in hour. Still needs some work, but I hope you like!

No comments:

Post a Comment