RECONCILIATION

"Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failures are two of the surest stepping stones to success.

— Dale Carnegie"

The sterile, white walls of the doctor’s office seemed to close in around them as Cassandra and Helen sat opposite the somber-faced physician. He was an older man with a kind but weary expression, the weight of his profession etched into the lines on his face. His white coat was immaculate, and his hands rested gently on a folder—one Cassandra knew contained their mother’s medical records.

Their mother lay in a nearby hospital bed. Though she was conscious now, she was too weak to join them for the conversation.

Helen fidgeted in her chair, her knees bouncing as she shot anxious glances toward the door. Cassandra, by contrast, sat still as a statue, her hands folded in her lap, her sharp gaze fixed on the doctor.

“Doctor Patel,” Cassandra said, breaking the silence. Her voice was calm but edged with tension. “You said you had her test results.”