Permeable Erin Popelka First Place Sudden Fiction Winner

FIRST PLACE SUDDEN FICTION PERMEABLE

ERIN POPELKA

Te science makes sense. Bacteria entered her ten-month-old body and found a hospitable environment. Neonatal sepsis ensued. Te bacteria overwhelmed her bloodstream, and the blood vessels dilated in response. Her blood pressure dropped. Organ ischemia was followed by cardiac arrest.

I don’t have to think about her when I’m at work. I can examine my patients, their translucent skin, the wrinkles pulled by gravity at every joint, the litany of their pains. I can put my hands on their cool skin, prescribe the next round of drugs, watch as their bodies, one by one, succumb.

Te science makes sense. Decomposition is the process by which dead plant and animal matter is broken down into smaller materials. Earthworms, insects, and snails are primary decomposers. Tey produce detritus. Bacteria and fungi consume detritus.

We don’t talk about her at home. My wife doesn’t ask how both of us missed the symptoms. She doesn’t say you – you – you’re the doctor. She doesn’t say many words at all. She’ll answer the phone and say the same phrases over and over. She’ll let me hold her in bed and all I can feel is her cool skin.

Te science makes sense. Tears are produced by the lachrymal gland and are used to lubricate the eye. Increased lacrimation due to emotion is ofen accompanied by facial coloration changes and irregular breathing. Tears contain lysozyme, preventing the growth of bacteria in the nose and eye.

If tears can stop bacteria, why couldn’t I?