Getting a Shot(A “Painful” Trip to the Doctor)

"Sit down," says the nurse. Her hair is pulled back in an unraveling bun and her eyes are frowning as she looks at the trembling five year old huddled at the door. "I don't have time for this"she mutters under her breath. The little girl shakes her head plaintively.

"I don't want to,"she wraps her arms around herself. Her eyes widen as she spots the long, glistening needle on the syringe the impatient nurse withdraws from a drawer. "Why do I have to?"

"You'll be healthy if you let me do what you came here for me to do,"the nurse says with a touch of irritation. She raises the needle; the girl cringes. But it's only to fill the syringe with translucent medicine. The girl relaxes slightly, but watches the nurse take out a sanitary wipe warily.

"Sit down," the nurse repeats herself, now with more force in her tone. The child reluctantly obliges and settles on the chair next to the desk. The nurse opens the sanitary wipe and rubs her client's shoulder with it. After disposing it, she picks up the syringe.

"It's going to hurt, isn't it?"the little girl begins to cry. Something in the nurse's eyes softens as she looks at quietly sniffing child.

"How about I give you the pink Band-Aid with Aurora on it?"she offers gently. "Aurora, the Disney princess?"She takes it out from a box on the shelf above her desk. The girl stops crying and looks suspiciously at it.

"For me?"the girl asks. The nurse nods in silent confirmation. Satisfied, the child obligingly turns so that her shoulder faces the desk and closes her eyes, bracing herself for the pain. The nurse inserts the needle. The girl shifts slightly at the touch of cold metal. A moment later, a prick, and then it's over. A middle aged woman walks in the office.

"Mama!" the girl slips off the chair and runs to her mother. "Look at this!" Proudly, she shows off her bedazzled Band-Aid. Her mother pats her daughter fondly.

"Good job, Madeline!"