Nausea rose in her throat like a familiar tide. Sophia barely had her eyes open before she threw back the comforter and sprinted to the bathroom, managing to slam the door just before her stomach emptied itself completely. For 2 months, every single morning had begun the same way, with this exhausting ritual over the toilet, after which she felt utterly wrung out. Splashing her face with cold water, Sophia stared at her reflection in the mirror. A pale face, dark circles under her eyes, sharp cheekbones. In those two months, she had lost 15 pounds, though she’d never been overweight. Her colleagues at the pharmacy had already started whispering behind her back. She would catch fragments of conversations about anorexia and nervous exhaustion. The bathroom door creaked open, and Alex’s worried face appeared.
“Again?” he asked softly.
Sophia nodded, unable to speak. Her husband came closer, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and she smelled the familiar scent of his woody cologne with notes of bergamot.
“What if we see another doctor? Mom says she knows a gastroenterologist, a really good specialist.”
At the mention of her mother-in-law, Sophia tensed involuntarily, but tried not to show it. Eleanor was a delicate subject in their marriage, the only cloud in the clear sky of their relationship.
“I’ve already seen five doctors, Alex. They all say the same thing. The tests are fine. My organs are healthy. Maybe it’s psychosomatic.”
“So you need a psychologist.”
Sophia pulled away and looked her husband in the eyes. Was it her imagination, or did a flicker of doubt cross his gaze? No, she was probably imagining it. Alex loved her. Of that, she had no doubt.
“I’m not crazy,” she said quietly, but firmly.
“I’m not saying you’re crazy. It’s just that Mom thinks—”
“And what else does your mother think?”
The question came out sharper than she intended. Alex frowned, and an uncomfortable silence settled between them. Sophia immediately regretted her words.
“I’m sorry. I’m just tired. This nausea is draining me.”
Her husband nodded, but she saw a shadow of hurt in his eyes. He could never take her complaints about his mother calmly. To him, Eleanor was the ideal woman, strong, wise, always right. And Sophia… Sophia was just the wife who, for some reason, couldn’t find common ground with his family. As she got ready for work, she mechanically touched the pendant on her neck, an elegant silver oval with an engraved ivy leaf. Alex had given it to her for their third wedding anniversary two months ago.
“So you can always feel my love close to you,” he had said then, fastening the chain around her neck.
Since then, she hadn’t taken the piece of jewelry off for a minute. The pendant was cool and pleasant against her skin, and Sophia smiled involuntarily. Whatever happened, she had Alex, the man who had changed her life 3 years ago.
On her way to work, as usual, she went down into the subway. The morning crowd, the smell of coffee and perfume, the murmur of voices, all of it had become the familiar backdrop to her days. Sophia leaned against the handrail, closing her eyes. The nausea had subsided a bit, but the weakness remained.
“Excuse me.”
The voice was very close, and Sophia jumped, opening her eyes. In front of her stood an older man, tall, with a neat gray beard and an attentive gaze in his dark eyes. He wore an old-fashioned but well-kept suit, and on his ring finger was a wide gold ring with an intricate engraving.
“Do I know you?” Sophia asked, bewildered.
“No, but I must tell you something.”
The man spoke softly, almost in a whisper, leaning toward her. He smelled of old books and faintly of metal.
“I’m sorry. I’m not interested.”
Sophia tried to pull away, thinking he was another city eccentric or a con man, but the man gently touched her arm. He didn’t grab her, only touched her lightly, carefully.
“Take off the necklace. I see what’s in the pendant.”
Sophia froze. Her fingers went involuntarily to the piece of jewelry.
“My husband gave it to me for our anniversary. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Open it in front of me,” the man said quietly. There was no threat in his voice, only a strange, terrifying certainty.
“It doesn’t open. It’s a solid piece.”
The stranger shook his head.
“Yes, it does. Do you see that line on the side edge? It’s a mechanism.”
Sophia wanted to argue, to walk away, to call the police, anything. But something in the man’s eyes made her hesitate. He didn’t seem like a madman, and he certainly didn’t look like a scammer. The train slowed, the doors opened, people around them moved, getting on and off. The man took a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. Richard Sterling, jeweler and antiquarian, 40 years working with jewelry.
“If you don’t believe me, check for yourself. But if you value your life, take that pendant off and never put it on again.”
He stepped out of the car, and the doors closed behind him. Sophia stood there clutching the card in her hand, her heart beating so loudly it felt like the whole car could hear it.
The workday dragged on unbearably long. The pharmacy where Sophia had worked for 5 years was in a residential neighborhood. Regular customers, familiar prescriptions, familiar faces. Usually this routine calmed her, but today every minute was a struggle.
“Sophia, you’re so pale,” Lucy noticed, coming up to the register during a lull between customers. “Morning sickness as always? Have you taken a pregnancy test?”
Sophia smiled bitterly.
“About 20 times. All negative.”
Lucy frowned. They had been friends since their first year of pharmacy school almost 10 years ago. Lucy was a nurse at the clinic next door and knew more about Sophia’s health than the doctors themselves.
“Maybe a hidden infection. Parasites.”
“They’ve tested me for everything. Nothing.”
“What about a toxicology screen?”
Sophia looked at her friend in surprise.
“Toxicology? You think someone is poisoning me?”
