Late Hours (OPEN)

Isha rubbed her burning, tired eyes. It was late and long past time for her to have returned home. However, the large file sitting in front of her kept her in her office, studying it's contents. She had received the file from the Head Healer earlier that day with a note asking to review the case study. Apparently a new virus has surfaced, starting in a young girl. Normally Isha stuck to cases dealing with the mind, being the new head of psychosis, but all departments were being pulled into the case.

Reading over the file again for the fifth time that day, Isha underlined the section on the fatigue. If the virus was draining energy, could it be caused by an effect in the brain? A chemical imbalance perhaps?

A knock on her office door pulled her from her study.

"Come in," she called out.

Alistair loathed hospitals. Hated them. Abhorred them. Wished that he didn't have to be a part of them with all his heart, but alas, his mother wanted him to be a Healer, and here he was in St Mungo's as a Healer Apprentice.

St Mungo's was marginally more tolerable by night though. Less noise, less crying, sleeping patients. Alistair was casually making his way past the Psychosis Division, when he saw a gleam of light under the door of the Head office. Looked like someone was having a late night. Alistair knew he should probably drop in, it was his job to get acquainted with all the Healers here after all. Internally, he knew he was curious because it was the Psychosis division. After all, Alistair had a bit of a socio-disorder himself. He found himself unable to lie, or hold back anything, or understand double meanings, hence he was unusually blunt. But of course, he felt like he was the only normal one in the world. Why on earth would someone want to say something and mean something else?

After being granted permission to come in, Alistair stepped inside and smiled politely, "Uh....hello there. Sorry if I'm disturbing you. I'm Alistair Kane, have enrolled here as an apprentice. Thought that I should meet all the Healers."

Isha looked up at the young man who entered her office, happy for the distraction.

"Come have a seat, Mr. Kane," she greeted and indicated to the leather armchairs in front of her desk.

"I'm Isha Malik, the new head of psychosis. Are you working the night shift?"

A glance at the clock showed her that a shift change would be starting soon so she guessed that the apprentice was either starting a shift or just finishing one. She remembered her apprenticeship back in India and sympathized with the man knowing that they usually worked the worst schedules. Not that her current one was much better.

The woman was amiably polite for someone who had been clearly interrupted in the middle of some important work. Although, by the look on her face, Alistair judged that she was probably just looking for a reason to stop working for sometime. Division heads in Mungo's often did the most work, he guessed. When she invited him to sit in the armchair, he did so, internally appreciating the comfort of the leather.

"I would say that it is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Malik, but the fact remains that I have just met you and I am feeling no extraordinary happiness as if yet." Suddenly Alistair stopped, having the sinking feeling that he had just said something he was not 'expected to say', to quote his mother and Healer, even though it was the truth. Hopefully Healer Malik wouldn't be offended, even though Alistair could personally find no wrong in his statement

"Yes, I'm beginning my night shift now." Something in the woman's face told Alistair that she sympathised with his schedule. "I personally love my shift, I hate coming to the hospital on mornings. Nights are so much more peaceful."

Isha's eyebrow rose in brief surprise at the bluntness of the young man in front of her. She had to fight the smirk that crossed her face in amusement. He instantly reminded her of one of her first patients. A young girl who struggled with a mental condition, similar to what muggles have termed as Aspergers Syndrome. The behavior was similar but the cause of in wizards and witches seemed to be a fight between magic and the chemical balance in the mind.

Briefly she wondered in he had tried the new therapy that was being developed for such a condition but quickly pushed the thought away. It wasn't her business and he seemed to be handling himself well.

"I'm happy to hear you enjoy the night shift. I prefer the mornings but I suppose the evening do have their advantage."

Isha sat back in her seat, allowing herself to relax, her back aching from being hunched over the papers for so long. "So tell me, Mr. Kane, what draws you towards a career in healing?"

Healer Malik was barely resisting a smirk, her eyebrows arching up in surprise. Looks like she had figured out his condition. It was expected really, she being the head of the Psyhosis division and all. Alistair shrugged internally, he wasn't bothered by the fact. He had never considered his inability to lie or hide things to be an illness, and he wasn't about to start now.

The woman straightened up, probably with an aching back because of her remaining stooped over her work. Alistair shared an empathizing look, and then proceeded to answer her enquiry in a clear, no-holds-barred voice, "Nothing. Nothing draws me to Healing. I don't like hospitals, or sickness of any kind. But my mother wanted me to be a Healer, and ever since my father's death when I was little, she's been everything to me. So here I am.I know that this isn't the best reason for joining, since I'm not passionate about Healing, but I am determined to make my mother proud, which is the reason why I was the only apprentice accepted by Mungo's till date."

Then after a pause, "But I do suppose there's a kind of satisfaction in helping people at the end of the day. And Healing challenges me, incites me to use my mind far more than any other profession would have, even my preferred profession."

Isha frowned a bit at the younger man's disinterest in healing. She understood that her passion wouldn't be the same as others but the study of the mind was a never ending puzzle to her that she couldn't help but try and figure out.

"I can understand being forced into something you don't love, Mr. Kane,"
Isha shared. SHe had almost been forced into a marriage back in India by her grandmother. However, her father saw the value in his eldest daughter's education and allowed her to pursue her career.

"If you could do anything in the world, Mr. Kane, what would it be?" Perhaps Isha would be able to help this young man find his passion in a way that pleased both him and his mother.

The tone in Healer Malik's voice acquainted Alistair to the fact that even she understood the feeling of being unwilling to do something, and yet doing it. Alistair spoke, as clear-cut as always, "You're fortunate that you didn't actually have to go through with what you were being forced to do, at least that's what I can assume by your dedication to your job. You're passionate about Healing." Alistair indicated the many files littering her desk. "But I'm not going to be unfair on my mother and say that she forced me into this. She had always made her wishes clear, but the final choice was mine. I chose to make her happy.

Alistair smiled faintly when Healer Malik asked him about his passions, his thoughts flying back to the sketchbook lying on his desk in his cubicle right now. "I enjoy artistic things. Sketching portraits, photography....even writing. I suppose if I had not been a Healer, I would probably have joined a magazine, as a column writer or a photographer."