"It will be slower to take effect if it's taken orally, but we can apply a cold compress to bring down the temperature as well, so it should be fine." The doctor saw the frightened girl and could not bear to give her the injection as well.
Dipping his head, he told her, "You can avoid the needle, but you have to swallow your medication orally."
"I'll take it… I'll swallow anything… I'll eat anything… just don't poke me… don't poke me…" It was as if she had returned to those days when her stepmother had given her rotten food to consume. As the woman often claimed that her stepdaughter fell sick easily, the girl had to act the part.
Still, she'd rather take in food that had gone bad than to be poked, even though this meant that she'd really fall sick with a bad tummy.
After he fed her the medication, she finally went to sleep.
While dozing off, she would still mumble in her dream: Don't poke me… don't poke…
