Six days ago, (March 16, 2022)

***

Dr. Shiam had a few drinks the night before, or maybe not a few, but who cared. She felt worn. When her niece disappeared, her fragile relationship with her sister—the only relative she had left—fell apart. She shouldn't have been surprised. Despite her efforts to extend her undying support to her drug-addicted sibling, Shiam still became the devil when Estella- her sister's daughter-disappeared under her watch. She shouldn't have been surprised, she knew her sister would find blame on her whatever explanation she may serve. A relationship like theirs was like the pieces of a broken mirror, forced to stay together by glue; fragile and damage-inducing to every party involved.

That afternoon, she rose from her bed, unaware of the explosive discovery just a few kilometers from her house. She ran her bath and sank her body into the tub. The scalding water was a breath of fresh air. She needed that. Every day that she wakes from a strong hang-over, she would swear never to touch a bottle of wine ever again, but only hours after that resolute promise, she'd find herself drowning in bitter liquids and suffocating from the swirling smoke of her cigarette once more. She has fallen so low. Not that she failed in life... no, it was her choice to fall. Even as a child, Shiam had been the protector, the sacrificial lamb, the shield and cushion of her siblings. And when her niece disappeared without a trace, whatever remaining sanity or strength she had left went with it. She was tired of it all. She'd exist and that was it. She won't have to live.

Perhaps, her sister was right. She took her niece under her wing not because she cared about her, or because she wanted her sister to get better. She took Estella because she needed something to keep her together. She needed a living, breathing glue beside her to give her life meaning and propel her forward; to have the push she needed to rise from her bed every morning, be at the hospital, smile, and pretend as though she cared about every person who ever came to her for help.

Maybe her sister was right. Now that Estella was gone, she had fallen because there was nothing to keep her together.

She submerged herself entirely inside the tub and barely made out the sound that came from her front door. It took a couple of minutes before she rose, wrapped a robe around her body, and made her way to her living room. Once there, the continuous ringing of the doorbell almost caused her previous headache to re-emerge.

With a scowl on her face, she yelled, "Who the fuck is it?"

"That's a batch of harsh words, Sam."

She mentally cursed when she heard the voice of Barnaby. That man was as fucked up as she was. What could he possibly want from her, she thought to herself and as she made it to the front door, she had to suppress a chuckled that bibbled behind her throat. She could only wish that the man-with his belly fitting the generous limits of his work shirt and a pair of floppy legs poking out from an overused pair of shorts-wasn't there to ask for private medical assistance. She wasn't in the mood to work pro bono.

"I figured you haven't heard."

"I don't need your crazy antics right now Barnaby. What do you want?"

The man in front of her bowed his head and then said, "They've been found."

Nothing registered in her, so she questioned, "found?" Make yourself clear man. I have a serious hangover and I swear if you don't start speaking sense, I'd slam this door on your face."

There came a pregnant silence from the man before he spoke again, and when he did, the impact of his words made Shiam feel like she had downed ten bottles of tequila. Her legs wobbled and her sight spun. She raised her hand toward the man's shoulder and wedged her arm on it, praying her hand would find strength on him to keep her body from falling.

"Say that again, Barnaby," Shiam murmured after the man before he snaked his arm around her waist to assist her shaking body.

"They found them. All of them. My child included."

At that moment, Shiam had to pant and almost failed to catch her breath. But with the aid of Barnaby who took it upon himself to guide her back into the living room, she managed to steady her breathing and calmed down a little.

"They found them on the bank of the river underneath the bridge. They were buried there, or something like that. But I heard people talk about how they must have been washed there by the current of the river from the night before."

"We searched that place, Barnaby. We searched every nook and cranny of this goddamned town but we found nothing! How could they be there?"

Barnaby shook his head as Shiam sat on a sofa. When she was settled comfortably, Barnaby made a beeline, leaving the doctor on the couch, and made his way to the kitchen. He knew his way around the doctor's house because he'd often come to see her when he was not feeling well. He never liked the hospital, and besides, even if he did visit the hospital, it would still be Shiam attending to him, so what was the point of shelling money at a huge building if he could choose to visit the doctor directly at home?

After a full minute, Barnaby returned to Shiam's side with a glass of water. He held it out to her and for the first time, the proud doctor didn't look at him like a pest in her everyday life. She smiled and took the glass of water she offered.

"I think you're here because the mayor wanted me to do the autopsy?"

Barnaby's face instantly looked grim than it did when she told Shiam about the corpse. He then bowed his head and replied, "No, a matter of fact, they asked me to come here to make sure that you don't come to the hospital today. They don't want you near the remains."

The man jumped back when Shiam-in lightning speed-stood from the couch. The glass of water in her hand fell to the floor and shattered into pieces as she yelled, "He said what?"

"Look," Barnaby began as he raised his hand up front, intent on calming the doctor. "They said something about something being a conflict of interest, or close to that. I can't be certain. But according to them, you must be kept from performing the autopsy in case..."

"In case what?" Shiam questioned.

"You know, in case you get some funny ideas because your niece when in front of her remains."

Shiam raised an eyebrow and though she felt like her heart and brain had fragmented and turned to soup at that very moment, she held the tone of her voice professionally when she said, "I'm no fool. But you are aware that the other doctors in this town are nothing but paid actors! A bunch of leeches and pretentious insects who pose as professionals with fake medical degrees just so they could earn a proper wage. But we all know the truth don't we, Barnaby?"

Barnaby shook his head. Yeah, he knew the other six doctors, even the town's dentist was not board certified. To be honest, some of them didn't even finish medical school. The majority got as far as their third year and that was it. It was only Shiam who truly studied medicine and he could confidently say that it would only be her that he would trust with the remains of his daughter. He need not a fool to peruse his daughter's corpse.

"Well, if you need to do something, better do it now before they start going through the remains."

"Oh I will, Shiam replied and without batting an eyelash she stormed out of the house-still in her robe, jumped inside her vehicle, and drove toward the morgue.

It didn't take long for Shiam to reach the morgue because she drove like a criminal under pursuit by cops. The Tarika morgue was originally located in the basement of the town's hospital, but after a few complaints by superstitious assholes, the mayor decided to build a separate edifice for it. On normal days, the morgue was a desolate place, but as Shiam parked her car in the usually lonely lot in front of the building, she had to click her tongue at the number of cars that looked like sardines squeezed in a small area by how closely parked they were with each other.

A minute later, she found a spot that was enough for the width of her vehicle, she got out-robe flapping against the wind and walked past curious and dumb-looking people. Some faces were awe-stricken by her attire. The majority of them were virgin boys and husbands who probably hadn't gotten any from their wives for months. As a doctor, she easily recognized those looks and body movements. What it implied and what was running through their murk-infested heads was a thing she was sorry for, and felt disgusted with.

As she made her way to the building's entrance, she was immediately stopped by an officer who barely knew how to handle the crowd that was forcing their way inside the building.

"Doctor, I was told that your service was not needed."

Shiam didn't respond and took hurried strides until she found herself inside the building. Instantly, the scent of various disinfectants mixed with burned coffee and snack foods from people standing in the lobby wafted by her nose. Despite her attire, though, the people inside didn't notice her as they were too busy murmuring to each other some words that Shiam could only deduce as self-made theories and assumptions about the so-called unearthed corpses.

When she made a turn to her right and traveled a narrow hallway, she was met by another officer.

He smiled at her before he said, "Shiam, you're not supposed to be here."

The doctor pinched the bridge of her nose before she replied, "I know. I was told by Barnaby, but..." She paused for a while, looked the officer directly in the eye, and said, "Would you trust those corpses in the hands of dimwits like them?" Her hand was pointed at the remaining stretch of the hallway in front of her where a man in a white lab coat was bending over a potted plant, smelling its leaves.

The officer slowly turned to look, and there, just a few meters away from where they stood, his eyes landed on the muse of the doctor's pointer finger; a man by the name of George Humphrey. He knew him to be a pothead, though never arrested because low and behold, Humphrey was the godson of the mayor.

"You know what I meant, right? Shiam muttered as she walked past the officer.

"But my orders were..."

"We all want results as soon as possible officer. If you don't trust my judgment then accompany me, or would you rather stand here, block my way and let half-knowledgeable pretentious yahoos perform an important procedure?"

The officer-Daniel Dulhan-shook his head in defeat. He knew the doctor had a point. Hell, if he ever gets sick-god forbid, he'd rather have Shiam tend to him than any of the other doctors. He wasn't ignorant of the fact that the other so-called doctors and pathologist in their town hooked their position in the hospital because their parents were friends with the mayor or some other government officials.

"Well, this could get me in trouble but I trust you. Better you than them. But promise me one thing, doc; look at this like any normal corpse.

Shiam knew what he meant, and yeah, she wouldn't deny that she may find herself in a predicament once she sees her niece's remains, but hell, she is a great doctor and she knew more about pathology and bones than any person residing in their town. With a bob of her head in the direction of the officer, the two of them made their way toward the autopsy room.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Shiam slowly turned the knob of the door-a thing which at that moment felt colder than the previous instances that she held it. The smell of bleach wafted by her nose as she made her entrance. The inside of the room used to hold a single metal table. But on that day, Shiam found the room stuffed with three rows of metal beds. Two have three metal beds and one with a single bed.

"Shaim, it's not wise to be here. We don't need anyone compromising our..." Before the man-Jonathan Brith-could finish his words, Shiam cut him off with, "You don't want to start with the word compromise with me, Jonathan. You're all standing near those bones, hovering without gloves or hair nets. Not to mention, a mask. Your saliva is probably all over those bones by now. Leave and let an actual doctor take care of this."

"Don't be so full of yourself, Shiam."

Shiam turned to her right and met the eyes of Adelene Vargas, the daughter of the mayor's cousin. Shiam raised an eyebrow, clicked her tongue then shook her head. "I'm allowed to be full of myself, Adelene, because, I have something that backs me up and that is called a degree. I can't say the same for you."

"Why you self-righteous..."

"Enough," Officer Dulhan yelled. He may not hold a lot of authority but he had proven himself to be worthy on many occasions and that was perhaps the reason why all the doctors inside the room shut their mouths and looked away. "I understand that everyone inside this room wants to find answers and as a resident of Tarika, I thank all of you. But right now, we need to work together, as a team. Doctor Shiam is the best, even the rest of you would acknowledge that. I may not be as smart as the rest of you, but I know when to back down when needed. Now please, allow doctor Shiam to join you."

"Excuse me? Join?"

Officer Dulhan looked at Shiam and gave a sad smile. I know you'd rather work alone doc, but I can't throw them out. They have been tasked by the mayor. It wouldn't be wise to act brashly."

Shiam took a drag of breath. If there was something in the words of Dulhan that struck her, it was the thought that yeah, she wasn't stupid to not know when to back down. So she bobbed her head and replied, "Alright."

"We don't approve," Adelene yelled. But her words did not weigh as the others had already murmured their approval.

"Well, the mayor would hear of this!" Those words were the last words Adelene muttered before she stormed out of the room. And with that, Shiwm made her way toward the first row of beds. Instantly, she scrunched her nose and a crease appeared on her forehead. She walked over to a cabinet, pulled out a set of gloves, wore them, and made her way back to the metal bed she gazed at seconds prior.

"Had any of you noticed this?"

"Noticed what?" A collective of voices replied.

"That there's something weird and wrong with these bones."