The Queue

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The first thing Tarek did when he arrived that morning was ask the head nurse for the file. She brought him a transparent plastic folder that appeared to be sealed around the edges, with the words Suspended Pending Approval by the Gate written on the cover. He contemplated this weighty phrase, printed diagonally across a corner in bright red ink. The name Yehya Gad el-Rab Saeed was written on a rectangular white identification card affixed in the very center, and at the bottom of the card was a seven-digit number. The first half was probably part of the patient’s national ID number, and the second half was a code referring to a type of file, something only the filing personnel really understood. Below the number came the name of the attending physician, his own name: Dr. Tarek Fahmy. Hundreds of times he had wished it would be struck from the label, but there was nothing to be done. It would remain there, a thorn in his side, until fate willed otherwise.

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