Dr. Mallory began her shift on March 14, 2019. She has not left.
At first this was a staffing issue. Then a scheduling error. Then a phenomenological one. The hospital has changed names twice since she clocked in. The coffee machine has unionized. The paper cranes on her desk whisper diagnoses to each other at 3am, and she pretends not to hear.
Her patients are mostly children who cannot sleep, plus the occasional adult who has forgotten they are not a child. She treats them identically. The paper is the same weight. The folds are the same folds.
Credentials
- — MD, Unnamed Eastern Institution, 2014 (certificate water-damaged)
- — Board-certified in Pediatric Somnology (certification has a typo she has stopped fixing)
- — Fellowship: The Long Hallway of Endless Doors, 2016–present
- — Licensed in the state of Being Awake
Selected Publications
- — “On the Therapeutic Value of Paper-Folding in Pediatric Sleep Disorders,” Journal of Tired Things, vol. ∞, pp. 1–1.
- — “Why the Ceiling Fan Is Looking At Me: A Review,” Annals of 4am Medicine, 2021.
- — “The Coffee Machine Has Demands,” unpublished memo, taped above the coffee machine.
Philosophy of Care
She believes every bad dream is already a little folded. Her job is just to help you fold it the rest of the way — into something small, something quiet, something you can put down.
(The cranes are listening. They are always listening.)