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looked all that different, it was just that I hadn't really seen myself in a few days. My long, dark blonde hair was in a low ponytail, and I had on no makeup whatsoever. There was indeed a large wound on the left side of my forehead. It seemed to me like an inch of it was in my hair, and a couple of inches extended out onto my face. It was a fresh wound with black stitches holding it together, but I hoped that once it was all healed up it wouldn't be that noticeable. I figured I could always cut bangs.
    I was only in there for a few minutes, so it didn't surprise me when the nurse and orderly were still in my room when I finished. They'd just finished changing my bed linens, and the orderly was headed out with the old ones bundled in his arms. The nurse was the only one in my room with me at that point. My dad had gone home so he could get back to work, and my mom was downstairs getting a snack from the cafeteria.
    "Looks good, doesn't it?" the nurse said when she saw me coming out of the bathroom.
    "I guess it does," I said. "It looks bad to me considering I didn't know it was there, but I guess it's good compared to what it was."
    "It's healing up nicely," she said. "You'll barely even notice it after a few months. Dr. Cramer's the best."
    "I like all my doctors," I said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
    "Dr. Ross is amazing, too. You've been treated by the best of the best."
    "I haven't met Dr. Ross," I said.
    "You'll meet him for your follow-ups, I'm sure. He's amazing. You'll probably have full function of that hand."
    "That's what Dr. Crawford said. He's the only ortho I've talked to."
    "Isn't he great?" she asked. "He's the real deal, too. I hope he sticks around once he's done with his residency."
    "How much longer does he have?" I asked out of sheer curiosity.
    "He's in his last few months, I believe. He focused on pediatrics last year, and I was down on that floor, so I worked with him all the time."
    She helped me position all my tubes and wires as I settled back into my spot.
    "He's wonderful with children," she continued. "He knows how to fold paper into animals—you know origami or whatever. The kids loved him. He's a total clown. He still gets requests down there from families who know he works here. He must have a patient down there now because he was at the nurse's station earlier asking us if any of us happened to know where he could get his hands on an eye patch."

 
    Chapter 5
     
     
    Dr. Crawford did not have an eye patch on when he came into my room the next morning. That didn't stop me from assuming he had been asking about one for my sake.
    "I heard you know how to do origami," I said after we spoke about my latest set of x-rays. I knew I should probably refrain from saying too many personal things like that to my doctor, but I just couldn't help it with him.
    "I do," he said. "I'm not a master or anything, but I've got a few things memorized—enough to impress most eight-year-olds."
    "I'm easily amused," I said.
    He smiled. "You want me to make you something?"
    "I thought you'd never ask," I said.
    He sat on the foot of my bed and began rifling through my chart for a piece of paper. "I'm just gonna do the crane since it's fast, and they'll get on to me if I take too long in here."
    Less than two minutes later, he handed me a paper crane, complete with wings that moved up and down when you pulled the tail.
    "This is so cool!" I said.
    He smiled again, but it was tinged with something odd. Regret? Disappointment? "I'm glad you like it," he said simply.
    He left as soon as he finished folding it for me. I thought he was acting standoffish compared to our other conversations, but I had to remind myself that he was a doctor and I was his patient, and I should not set my expectations too high. He had come and gone so quickly that I began to doubt whether or not the whole eye patch thing had anything to do with me.
    My mom, who had been at my apartment getting changed and showered, came in not long after