The Surgeon Who Drew the Line

Synopsis

In September, the corridors of the Harmony General Hospital's Department of Neurosurgery smelled of disinfectant, as they always did. I had just finished a four-hour craniotomy. After changing out of my surgical gown, I returned to my office. This was my third year at Harmony General Hospital. I was an associate chief physician, a doctoral supervisor, and the youngest attending surgeon in the department. I was very satisfied with my life as it was. My phone lit up. It was an internal notice from the Medical Affairs Department. It said: [Dr. Natalie Jenkins, the list of applicants for this year's standardized residency training program has been sent to your email. Please confirm the list of candidates you will accept by Wednesday this week.] I opened my computer and clicked on the attachment. A list of twelve names, all outstanding graduates from prestigious medical schools. My finger slid across the trackpad as I reviewed them one by one. Then I stopped. Cindy Sawyer. That surname. I looked down at her alma mater, her supervisor, and her undergraduate grades. Everything matched. The girl in the photo looked five or six years younger than her older sister, but the curve of her smile was practically identical. She was Claire Sawyer's younger sister. Seven years. Eric Lewis and I had been together for seven years. From university to our careers, from renting an apartment to buying a home, from an ordinary couple to discussing marriage. In the end, my best friend and the man I loved most stood together and told me, "I'm sorry. We're truly in love." After that, I quit my job at my previous hospital, passed the civil-service recruitment exam for a position at Harmony General Hospital, moved to this city, and deleted every means of contact with them. I started my life over, completely clean. I thought I would never have anything to do with the surname "Sawyer" again. My mouse moved toward "Reject" and clicked it.