The Dentist

David went to the dentist that morning. He was always early to appointments, however more often than not, those he was scheduled to meet would be late. Regardless, he liked to be early because it made him feel prepared.

Today would prove to be no exception, and as anticipated, David waited in the foyer. After some time had passed, David found his thoughts drift to the familiar sterile surroundings. Despite an abundance of furniture and people, the room appeared vacant.

The nurse interrupted this thought, and asked David to accompany her to the dentist’s room. He followed her down the corridor to Dr Chin’s office. Greeted by a familiar nod, David seated himself in the operating chair. Today he was to have his teeth removed.

Dr Chin was not a particularly charismatic fellow, partly because his small, colourless eyes seemed to be sliding down his face, and partly because he had nothing to say. David sat in the chair and watched Dr Chin administer the anaesthesia.

When David woke up, the doctor did not receive him. Instead a man dressed in blue stood before him, and he bore the crest of austerity. As the fog of the anaesthesia dissipated, David was informed that his Doctor had committed suicide.

David felt an unbearable sense of loss, for he had felt he knew the doctor quite intimately. In his despair he called his wife Katie.

Katie did not know Dr Chin, nor did she understand David’s reaction, he was, after all, just David’s dentist. She got off the phone with David, and momentarily contemplated the death of her own dentist, before she started searching for another dentist for David.