1958: Calling the “doctor” was impossible, since he did not work in a clinic. His instructions for overnight monitoring post-procedure had been vague but emphatic: WATCH FOR A HAEMORRHAGE. Tragically, she didn’t realize that even a tiny trickle of blood, steady, minute after lonely minute, for hours, was precisely that.

Amanda Le Rougetel writes flash-length creative nonfiction and micro-length fiction. Find her published work on Chill Subs.