TITLE: Studying the Dead
AUTHOR: Elanor G
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: 155 Words
SPOILERS: Pre-XF
SUMMARY: Again, it would be longer than the story.


The body lies open before Dana like a book only she
can read. Carefully she studies the mottled liver,
noting the signs of alcoholism.

No one else stays here this late. She likes the
silence, the solitude. She is alone with the corpse
but the dead do not frighten her. Here in the
methodical, precise work comes clarity. Here she
finds refuge from the critical voices outside and in,
from other people, from the impossible standards she
feels she must live up to.

Here she can think clearly.

As she cuts through muscle and sinew, she thinks
about how tired she is of *pleasing* people - her
parents, her teachers, her lover. Especially her
lover. She sees now that he is just one more person
she has to please.

As she sews up the body cavity, she thinks of the
application to the FBI Academy lying on her desk.

And she feels ready to please herself.

End


Did anyone else think 155 Scully words were harder
than 155 Mulder words?

Elanor G
ElanorG@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/elanorg