The doctor carefully closed the office door, as if he feared that someone else might hear.
I was still standing.
My legs felt weak.
Daniel looked at me, completely confused.
“What object?” I managed to say. “What are you talking about?”
The doctor turned the ultrasound screen towards me.
I didn’t understand the image at first.
I only saw gray shadows, stains, blurred lines.
But then he pointed to an elongated shape, too defined to be something normal.
“This shouldn’t be there,” she said quietly. “It looks like a foreign object.”
My mouth got dry.
—A toy?
The doctor shook his head slowly.
—No. In terms of shape and size, this looks more like a plastic capsule… or a small container.
I stared at him, breathless.
Daniel squeezed my hand.
—Are you going to give me an injection, Mom?
I almost broke inside.
I approached him and stroked his hair.
—It’s okay, my love. They’re just going to give you a thorough check-up.
I lied.
I lied because it was that or collapse right there.
The doctor took a breath.
“We need to transfer him to a larger hospital. This may be causing a partial obstruction. And if that object breaks open or ruptures, there could be very serious complications.”
“Does it open?” I repeated. “What do you mean by that?”
He held my gaze for a few seconds.
—I mean, it doesn’t look like something a child would accidentally swallow while playing. It’s too deep. And judging by its appearance… I have to ask you a difficult question.
I nodded, almost without feeling my body.
—Has your son been alone with someone who might have forced him to swallow something?
I felt a sharp blow to my chest.
An image pierced me like a lightning bolt.
Carlos.
Carlos insisting on taking Daniel “for a manly walk” some afternoons.
Carlos closing the studio door while I was talking to him.
Carlos got irritated every time I mentioned the doctor.
Carlos said, with a strange coldness, that he wouldn’t spend a penny on “a simple stomach ache”.
My hands froze.
“No… I don’t know…” I stammered. “His father spends time with him. But never…”
I couldn’t finish.
Because something inside me had already begun to fear the worst.
The doctor wasted no time.
