CHAPTER 3: THE MOMENT EVERYONE FROZE
CHAPTER 3: THE MOMENT EVERYONE FROZE
The medical team finally made the difficult decision.
Because of Sophie's severe distress and pain, she was lightly sedated.
Within minutes she drifted to sleep.
The room became quiet.
Doctors gathered around the examination table.
Nurses prepared medical equipment.
The surgeon took a deep breath.
Then reached for heavy surgical scissors.
The boots were so damaged and swollen that they couldn't simply be untied.
They would need to be cut apart.
The first cut sliced through the leather.
Immediately a horrible smell filled the room.
Several nurses stepped backward.
The surgeon continued.
Another cut.
Then another.
As the boot opened, everyone stared.
And froze.
The inside wasn't filled with toys.
Or socks.
Or hidden objects.
It was filled with layers of rotting food.
Old bread.
Crackers.
Candy wrappers.
Half-decayed snacks.
Months of food packed tightly around her feet.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The food had attracted insects.
Hundreds of them.
Small beetles.
Larvae.
Maggots.
The surgeon immediately stepped back in shock.
One nurse gasped.
Another covered her mouth.
The insects scattered as light entered the boot for the first time in months.
Nobody in the room had expected anything like this.
Then they saw Sophie's feet.
The skin underneath was severely damaged.
Raw.
Infected.
Covered in sores.
The room fell silent.
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How could this have happened?
