One day I noticed a lump on my left shoulder. It had appeared there overnight.
[[It was yellow.]]
[[It was red.]]
I decided to call a doctor to get an appointment about my lump. Since I didn't have any pains, they agreed to see me a week after. If there was any pain, I should inform about it.
I don't know much about cysts, but it didn't feel [[normal]] to have a lump size of your thumb on your shoulder. I think I need to [[think it over]].
I showed the lump to mom. She said aunt Anne had a lump on her knee at my age, and she's still doing fine.
I remember Anne never likes to run though.
[[I should call her.]]
[[I need to think about this.->think it over]]
I wanted another professional opinion about my lump, so I called a private clinic to get an appointment the next day.
The doctor was very considerate and examined the lump thoroughly. It had grown a little since yesterday, but it wasn't painful. The doctor said that it didn't seem like a bad tumor, but a surgery would be recommended.
I don't know if I can [[afford it]].
But I don't know if I have a [[choice]], either.
After work I met Ella at the cafe. She worked in a travel agency. Not as a tour guide, but as a receptionist. I think she would've wanted to see the world, but she'd never been ambitious enough.
I'd met her through a friend when we were teenagers, and kept contact after she moved to the same town. She was good company with her cheerful attitude, though our conversations usually centered around her plans of travelling and constant lack of money to do that.
[[I wanted to tell her about my lump.]]
[[I told her about my lump.]]
In the end, I didn't. Ella was so hyped about some travel convention, so I just let it pass. I didn't know her so well that I would've felt comfortable about telling her something so personal. Besides, I think she's a bit superficial. I don't want her to think I'm some sort of a weirdo.
I'll think of something [[tomorrow->I should call her.]].
Just as Ella was blabbing about the new travel convention coming up, I just blurted out the words: I have a lump.
First, she froze for a moment that felt like a century. Then she bombarded me with questions, how, why, what, when. I think I got about a third of her questions answered, when she decided to take me to a friend of hers, who "knew this stuff".
I don't know what made Ella think that a chiropractic would know about lumps, but luckily the chiropractic had a better advice. He said I should go to a private clinic, so I could [[get an appointment soon->normal]].
The next day the lump had grown a bit. Or then my thumb had shrunk.
Either way, I wasn't sure about leaving it be, so I decided to call aunt Anne to hear how she had coped with the lump on her knee.
I found out that she had just undergone a surgery to remove it, for "aesthetic reasons". I heard it had went well, and she was to get her stitches removed in a week. She recommended me the same private clinic she had gone to. It was overseas, but a lot cheaper than the local ones.
[[I think I can afford that.]]
[[I think that's too far away.->afford it]]
I had to wait for three days to get to the overseas clinic.
The first day the lump had grown as big as my fist.
The second day the lump was the size of a grapefruit.
The third day the lump had grown so big, that I couldn't turn my head properly. I tried to hide it with a scarf, so people wouldn't get scared.
When I arrived at the clinic, the doctor there examined the lump. He seemed grave when I told him that the lump had grown this much only in a few days. He said the surgery would take more time than I had expected. That would most likely mean bigger costs. Still, [[I agreed]].
I didn't know what to do. My boss wouldn't be happy if I suddenly took a leave from work. I could ask mom to lend me money, but I knew she wasn't doing too well financially. After all, she had just lost her job and she was already turning fifty. Dad's pension wasn't great, either.
I decided to sleep over it and do something [[tomorrow]].
The next day the lump had grown alarmingly big. Now it was about the size of my fist, and it had turned some of my shoulder's skin purple. I had to put a scarf on to hide the monstrosity protruding under my jacket. I didn't want to get any strange looks on my way to the clinic.
When I waited for the surgery to begin, the doctor seemed worried about the lump's growth rate as she was talking to the nurse. That's almost all I remember before the [[anesthesia kicked in->I agreed2]]...
I've been told that people don't feel or remember anything while they're under anesthesia.
Somehow, I remember feeling this [[overwhelming terror]] while I was in the surgery.
When I came to, I felt groggy. I could move my head again, but the stitches in my shoulder were itchy, so I decided to keep still.
The doctor said that if I hadn't come sooner, I could've died. For some reason he couldn't identify the tumor. He said it had "an odd inner structure". [[Whatever that means]].
When I came to, I felt groggy. I could move my head again, but the stitches in my shoulder were itchy, so I decided to keep still.
The doctor said that the operation went well. She said that the tumor seemed like it could have spread toward my heart, if I [[hadn't come]].
After a few weeks I got my stitches removed. They examined me again and told me everything seemed okay. They said I should contact a local doctor if I needed.
I am otherwise well, but ever since the surgery, there has been this annoying buzz in my ears. I went to see an audiologist, but it remains [[a mystery]].
I can't take this any longer. The buzzing has got so loud I can't sleep anymore. I barely hear what others are saying.
It sounds as if someone was screaming.
[[>>->credits]]
After a few weeks I got my stitches removed. They examined me again and told me everything seemed okay. They want me to come to control checks every six months.
I haven't had any new lumps, but a month after the surgery I went color blind for two weeks. Then my vision reverted back to normal. The doctors couldn't find any reason for it, but at least they didn't find anything wrong with my eyes.
I think I see more colors now than I did before.
[[>>->credits]]
When I woke up, I couldn't turn my head anymore. The lump had grown enormous during the night. I could feel it against my cheek.
Panicked, I rushed to the bathroom mirror.
It was smiling.
[[>>->credits]]
The End.
Thank you for playing this short text adventure. It was made during the Ludum Dare #34, and it has a total of three endings.
- Ebbasuke
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