“In medicine,” she said, “we teach our students to identify absence. A missing pulse. A missing reflex. A missing breath. Sometimes what is not there tells us more than what is.”
My fingers tightened around my phone beneath the folds of my robe.
Beside me, my empty VIP seats seemed to grow larger.
“I was reminded of that just now,” she said, “when I looked out at this extraordinary class and saw one of the finest young physicians I have ever trained sitting beside four empty seats.”
A hot wave climbed my neck.
No.
Please don’t.
Please don’t make everyone look.
