"I have been feeling a little bit better each day." Anna sighed. "Sometimes my hunger would creep up on me, but I'm not sure if it's because of that… you know… or just being stressed." She added.
Dr. Yano nodded and wrote her statements on her progression notes.
"Dr. Yano, don't you think we should amp up the dosage of my medication?" Anna bit her lip as she realized she was already overstepping her boundaries.
Dr. Yano looked at her and sighed. He stood up from his table and took her vital signs once again.
"First of all, you've already doubled your dosage without my permission." He said. "You're a nurse, right? You should've known better what would happen if you got too trigger happy with your medications." Dr. Yano raised his eyebrow while staring at her.
Anna didn't answer. She knew how dangerously lax she has been with the dosage of her medicine. However, she was becoming too desperate and anxious with every hunger she felt. She was afraid that the monster inside her might come out and play once again. She took a shameful glance at the doctor before staring at the floor.
"Oh, Ms. Sanbwan." Dr. Yano sighed as he sat on his table. "I know how stressful this may seem, but you have to trust me on the dosages. If you ever do it again, I guess you have to find another doctor to help you with it." He warned.
"N-no, please… don't! I-I'll make sure to follow your dosage moving forward." Anna pleaded.
"I hope I am making myself clear with that." He said.
Anna nodded silently.
"Good." The physician nodded back. "As for that hunger of yours…it's caused by stress, and nothing related to your condition." He added.
"Thank goodness." She mumbled to herself.
"Has your work been that stressful lately?" He asked.
"ERs, and wards…the usually stuff." She answered.
"Why did I even asked." Dr. Yano scoffed. "Of course, our job is stressful, especially yours…! That's why I preferred doing private practice."
Anna couldn't agree more. Unfortunately for her, nurses don't have the same luxury that doctors have in terms of job options. She just has to make do of the job she had at the moment.
"Normally, I would've asked you to get another less stressful job, but I could sense how you love your job so much. "The physician said.
"I wish there was another way, Dr. Yano. But I can't leave, doctor. It was my dream to become a nurse and it was a promise I kept to my mother before she died." Anna said.
"Hmmm…if you say so." Dr. Yano said.
The session ended another hour later, after the doctor gave her new dosages for her medication and some other relaxation techniques, she has to do to keep the monster inside her at bay.
As she left his office, the secretary reminded her of the next date of her appointment.
"That would be on the 25th, 2 weeks from now. Make sure to call a day before if you need to cancel or if you want to change the schedule, okay?" Ms. Dagondon reminded.
"Of course, Ms. Dagondon!" She smiled while looking at the puppy sitting still on her desk. "I-is it just me, or is your puppy not growing at all?" Anna curiously asked.
"He just looks like that." The secretary defended.
Anna blushed. It seemed like her last comment wasn't a welcomed one. She could see it in Ms. Dagondon's eyes a bit annoyance and anger at the same time. She had always been attached to her pet and most of the time, she was very protective of it.
"Maybe I should stop commenting about her pet." Anna told herself.
"That would be most appreciated." Ms. Dagondon smiled.
Anna nodded silently and was about to walk out of the door when Ms. Dagondon stopped her once again.
"Oh, Ms. Sanbwan!" The secretary called out. "I just would like to ask… Is there anything else you might've not told Dr. Yano about?"
It was a weird question. It was as if she knew Anna was hiding something. The question made her fluster and uncomfortable, but she answered it, nonetheless.
"Oh…ugh… yeah… that's… ummm… all." Anna awkwardly smiled.
The secretary smiled back and bade her goodbye. Anna went out of the office, a little bit baffled but satisfied with the new treatment that she had.
On her way home, Anna decided to do a stroll a bit in the shopping mall. Since it was her day-off she decided to splurge a little bit for herself. She texted Rico to join her for dinner in the mall. It has been months since they last had a good dinner and she thought it would also be a good way for them to heal by rekindling their romantic spark.
"Babe, u vcant 2night?" She texted Rico.
"Yes, Beb…later 6pm." He texted back.
"Eat at resto @ 8pm?" She asked.
"G! Be there, Beb! I love you" Rico replied.
She smiled reading his text and was excited of that evening's event. She strolled around the mall, looking for the perfect restaurant to eat. She was looking for something fancy yet worth it for her price.
Would a Korean barbeque restaurant do? But she hates too much spice! A ramen date, maybe? But Rico is allergic to seafood and that includes konbu. How about steak (she likes medium-rare)? Errr…it might trigger something inside her that she wished NOT to be awakened.
She also went inside some few boutiques to kill the time. She went on and fitted some clothes that she might like to buy in the future. But store after store, she wasn't able to find the perfect fit for her. The clothes were either too big, too small, or just in a color she never found appealing. Finally, she was at a store where she found beautifully designed clothing that fit her.
She took some of their dresses and tried to fit it. The saleswoman even chose some clothes for her and asked her to fit them as well. It fitted perfectly on her. She fitted a couple of dresses and chose only two of them since the prices were too expensive for her budget. She walked to the counter and gave the clothes she chose.
The cashier was very welcoming and smiled at her while she placed the clothes on the counter. The saleswoman came rushing towards her holding all of the other clothes she fitted.
"Ma'am! Ma'am!" She called her out. "You forgot these." She said.
Anna was confused. She clearly told the girl that she was only buying two clothes.
"I am sorry, Miss." Anna said. "I only ordered for these two." She added.
"Oh, no! That wouldn't do, Ma'am!" The saleswoman said. "Take it! It's on the house!" She smiled.
"On the house?!" Anna raised her eyebrow. "That is insane!"
The saleswoman went to the counter and spoke with the cashier. They huddled right in front of her and exchanged words through whispers. After a short discussion, the cashier's expression looked dumbfounded and shocked.
She took the two dresses Anna chose and immediately packed it.
"Ma'am, this is on the house." The cashier said with a smile. "Please let us wrap these other items along with what your chose." She added.
"No! I am not taking those!" Anna was adamant. "Here's my money. I don't care if you tell me this is free, I will pay for it!" She took the sum of money from her wallet and placed it on the cashier's platform before grabbing what she brought, then stormed out.
The saleswoman tried to chase her, but Anna immediately went down the escalator and made a turn to the other building of the mall complex. She still couldn't believe that a shop would purposefully give her all that clothing, especially because it was worth more than ten thousand pesos.
Anna was freaked out of the idea but tried to remain calm and just focused on their date later that evening. Just as she thought the day wouldn't go much weirder, she was wrong…
So damn wrong.