The Problem with Puzzles
Allena tapped her quill against her chi as she examined the parchment on the table before her. It was written in her fatherâs immaculate hand. She Squinted harder at the words, prying at them to yield there answer.
"Patient number 17. Ylian male. Age: 31. Profession: Miner. His symptoms are difficult to gather accurately do to mixed speech. He is suffering from impaired brething and motor function of the limbs. In addition, he complains that his eye glasses no longer function correctly and bouts of loss in consciousness. During examination, the patient exhibits nausea and vomiting. He cannot offer an explanation as to what made this occur. Diagnosis the patient."
Allena gripped the side of her seat and let her feet that did not reach the floor kick underneath her. There is lots going on here, she thought. Father is really throwing a lot at us this time.
âYouâre enjoying this, arenât you?â Larntuna asked incredulously. His gaze was locked on his little sister, examining her much the same way Allena regarded the parchment.
âWhat? No!â She replied all too defensively.
âYeah, RightâŠâ
The truth was she loved her fatherâs puzzles. They let her pretend that she was a real healer; each patient a challenge to unlock. Every morning when a piece of parchment lay next to their meal at breakfast, she had to hide her excitement from her brother. It was just so hard. A smile slid over her face as she reread the morningâs problem.
âGodâs, you probably even got this one figured out already!â Larntuna exclaimed, his frustration boiling over.
Allena flushed âWell, maybe. I got an idea.â
âThe Child Prodigy does it again.â He said with a roll of his eyes
âI am not a pedagogy!â
âThat is enough!â Heilda, heavy with child, interrupted as she spun from her work on the dishes. âLarntuna, be nice to your sister.â
âYes, motherâ
Heilda gave a thankful nod and regarded both with a smile before turning back to her work. Larntuna gave Allena a leveling stare while she stuck her tongue out at him. With a huff, they both returned to their respective parchments. Allena let out a quiet sigh. Her thoughts were not so much on her problem, but on her brother. It had been a while since he had gotten one of their fatherâs puzzles correct.
She had been so proud the first time sheâd gotten that Larntuna had failed too. Now she just wanted him to get this one. She longed for her brother to get his confidence back. To see him smile again.
Larntuna didnât look up from his parchment. âSo what do think it is then?â he prodded with a hushed tone.
Come on, Larn. âFather said I am not supposed to tell you anymoreâ
âYeah, youâre just saying that âcause you donât knowâ he goateed
Donât look at each symptom as it is. Look at the whole picture. âLarn, youâre gonna get us in trouble.â Allena nodded to their mother just a few yards away.
âCome on, just a hintâ
So many symptoms across that many systems... âLarn, stop it. I canât. It isnât so hard, you can do itâ Allena smiled at her older brother encouragingly.
Larntuna slammed his quill on the table and stormed out of the small kitchen. Heilda sighed gently, folded her towel, and followed her son out, cradling her swollen stomach, leaving Allena at the table to herself. She hugged herself and regarded the now empty chair beside her with a heavy sigh.
âNervous system. It has got to be in the nervous system to affect all those systems on a sensory level and, if it were spinal, the eye wouldnât be affected as it would be above the spinal injury. That leaves the brain.â Allena turned her gaze to her parchment. Taking up her quill and slowly began to form the letters on the bottom of her page.
âCarabella Edamââ Allena looked at the words with a frown before scribbling them out. Next to the scribble she tried again âBrain Swellingâ and grinned. She swung from her chair and moved toward her fatherâs study. As she moved from the kitchen and into the long hallway leading to the stairs, Allena was stopped by her mother.
ââLena, did you finish already?â
Allena smiled sweetly to her mother. âMhmm, going to see if I got it right.â
Heilda quickly swooped up her daughter in a tight embrace. âOh, âLena. I just need you to know just how proud of you we all are.â
Allena stood stuned for a few seconds before patting her mother on the back âUmm, thanks mom, you too.â She offered, hoping it was the correct response.
Heilda held her daughter at armâs length and nodded to her as tear welled up in her eyes. She let go of Allena and gently urged her on. Allena looked back, confused and turned back. It wouldnât do to be too slow in her response and climbed up the stairs. She could her voices coming from the crack door of her fatherâs office.
âPneumonia? Are you certain, Larntuna? You believe that satisfies all the symptoms?â She heard her father ask through the door.
âYes sir.â Larntunaâs voice came through the door weaker. Not only was his back to her, but his voice was tentative. If he wasnât going to be correct, he might as well be first.
âAnd the eye sight?â
Allena stranded her hearing but the answer was unintelligible.
âPsychosomatic? That is a very risky diagnosis at best.â
Allena heard enough. She hated the idea of Larntuna squirming under her fatherâs gaze. She pushed herself through the crack and walking in quietly. Her fatherâs gaze shifted from her brother to her.
âAllena, I trust you have your own hypothesis on todayâs puzzle?âAllena offered no direct reply, instead crossed the red rug to her fatherâs desk and slid the paper to him and backed away. Saumur scanned his daughters note âInteresting. Allena, what do you make of the diagnosis of Pneumonia?â
Allena flushed and looked away. She hated being in the middle. She couldnât lie; her father would know and call her on it and to be direct would mean to diminish Larntuna. It was a delicate line to walk to keep everyone equally unhappy.
âI was thinking it may be something else. Pneumonia may fit a few of the aliments, but I believe something related to the nervous system may be more likely.â
Saumur smiled and looked back down at Allenaâs parchment. âFor your assignments for today, I would like you both to visit the library and look up treatment options for cerebral edema. Allena, from now on, I would like you to offer a treatment proposal to your diagnosis on these puzzles.â
Allenaâs eyes light up. âJust like Larn?â
Saumur nodded and continued. âLarntuna, you will be responsible for preparing todayâs rooms as well as this eveningâs clean up. Heilda will be assisting me with todayâs patients.â The two siblingsâ eyes went wide simultaneously. They always split the responsibilities Larntuna was assigned. Occasionally they would both be responsible for them on the same day if there were a great number of patients for the day, but never was only one assigned both alone.
Larntunaâs shock wore off first âWhy do I need to do both? That is not fair!â
Saumar raised a finger to cut off any further protest. âLarntuna, I have arranged for you to have your first patient tomorrow. I want you to prepare for it.â
Larntunaâs eyes burned with pride and superiority as he regarded his sister âThank you father. I shall not disappoint you.â
Saumur left his eyes on his son for a few seconds âSee that you donâtâ and turned his body to regard Allena âAllena, you too shall receive your first patient tomorrow.âAllena was dumbfounded. Me? Did I hear him right?
Before Allena could voice her concerns, Larntuna voiced his âHer? Father, you must be joking. Allena canât have her own patient. She has only seen her seventh name day.â
Saumur offered his son a dismissive wave âShe will be eight cycles next weekâ
Allena pipped up weakly, âNext month, sirâ
âOh, yes, quite right, next month. Regardless, my decision standsâ
Larntuna took a defiant step forward âFather, reconsider. I had barely even seen your offices at her age. What will people think? What will people say?â
âLet them talk. I said my decision stands. You are dismissed.â Saumur turned to his desk and regarded his papers.