CHARLOTTE

Convinced and slightly relieved that I had nothing to hide from Sonia, I let her call the doctor the next day. He ran a few tests, sent some samples to the lab, and assured me that he could tell I was doing better than the last time we had seen each other. He concluded that what I was feeling was probably linked to mental stress. Sonia and I passed a knowing look between us when he mentioned that.

I toyed with the idea of telling him that two people had died because they tried to help me, and I still wasn’t sure how to process that. Instead, I asked...