The world was due for cancer screening. A century prior, it had barely survived. From the fallout, symptoms were documented, and as the years of testing passed, the world was content that it would not return. Attention turned to its autoimmune disease. If left untreated, fever would come, and kill. A screening was missed while the autoimmune treatment plan was drafted, but the symptoms were minor, and the world was content.
The cancer, it turns out, had returned. Its presence accelerated the autoimmune disease, and the fever had started.
The world is dying, but it has survived worse. Have hope.
Drabble is a form of extremely short storytelling, where you are limited to exactly 100 words. This one was written for Lawrence Simon’s Weekly Challenge, on 2024-11-07.