-Little Madame At The Dentist’s-
Original Fiction — Part 1
Little Madame Lavoisier had just been to the apothecary. It seems that there was a shy tooth in her lower jaw, hiding itself beneath the gum soil. A benign thing, but hampering the natural rhythms of the body. Doctor Vincent, a friend of the Lavoisier’s, suggested getting it removed. When Madame turned up at the apothecary with Monsieur Lavoisier, there was a dark, shimmering liquid waiting for her in the hands of the helper. They usually prepared this concoction to intoxicate the patient, made as it was with moontoads and twiddleberries to allow for painless surgery. People who have been under its influence report being transported to a world quite similar to ours, but where one has the unmistakable impression of being underwater. Many find the slowness and silence of this realm a great relief from their exhausting life, a feeling akin to being back in the amniotic embrace of the mother’s womb. But, several others report negative feelings like not knowing what to do in their aquatic surroundings and persistent paranoia about the water being contaminated by people secretly peeing in it. Either way, these visits to the water world have enabled doctors such as Vincent to carry on merrily with whichever gruesome routine the patient has come in for. Little Madame, however was a lady who exercised fastidious control over what she ingested. She flatly refused the dark liquid, now starting to froth, and proceeded to demonstrate a trick of her own.
‘Watch’, she said, and pressed a few pressure points by the side of her neck and promptly fell back into her husband’s arms, her countenance greatly relaxed. Monsieur Lavoisier explained, that she had always had the ability, to fall into deeper and deeper states of unconsciousness. He said it a little ruefully, but only the wise doctor sensed this and let slip a smile at the reason of his discontent. They proceeded to uproot the shy tooth out of its bearing, and ended by applying a thick paste at the gum to stem the flow of blood. When the time arrived, she came to herself, slightly irritated at the haziness of her mind and soreness at the spot of the tooth’s hiding place. Monsieur Lavoisier let her know that they eventually did administer a little of the twiddle berry potion, if only to prevent her from shrieking more than she usually did. She threw something at him.
