I kindly waved a red headed man farewell as he walked away from my home clinic. Another client with a new pep in his step and a few flowers embedded in his hair. I closed my door and sat at my study table. Looking at all of these illnesses and diseases is somewhat overwhelming in a large perspective. But when broken down to the basics, it is quite simple! It’s been almost 14 years since I’d begun practicing healing magic on humans.

Originally I was a veterinarian and studied birds like pheasants and crows. I only upgraded to humans after the local village doctors had begun retiring rapidly. Leaving me no choice but to switch professions. But regardless, I sit here proud of my career knowing that I’ve healed yet another client with my magic.

Getting up from the table in my office I head to my upstairs bedroom. It's a mess, untidy books and papers in tall stacks rested in large piles against my desk. I pinch the bridge of my nose at the thought of cleaning but I can’t find the energy to even think about it. I push the thought past me and walk over to snatch the newspaper that is still warm from off the windowsill.

Sitting down on my large stress cushion, a large bag filled with beans, and opening the paper to today's top news. My eyes skimmed through the words until I landed on a strange article snippet.

‘Strange cases of bird flu! How to stay safe!’

Bird flu wasn't anything I've ever heard of so what is this all about. I flipped to the page for more information and I just began to become more and more mortified. In the article it stated she had somehow begun to sprout feathers and down feathers, similar to a baby bird, all over her arms and down her back. She became deathly sick after a few months, she died yesterday, supposedly due to Bird flu.

But, I happened to recognise this old woman from 2 years ago.

 I treated her for a basic skin infection caused by fairy toads, which caused small pink blisters on her hands up her shoulders. It was harmless, a simple fix that could be solved with a simple healing spell to cause the skin to shed then create a newer layer of healthy skin. Sad to hear the news. Maybe I could have helped if she came back to me.

I looked further down the article to see more cases. A man, 32 years old, diagnosed with bird flu after similarly sprouting feathers just like the old lady, though he progressed further having patches of long black feathers on his chest. His pupils dilated to cover almost all of his sclera and the rest of the whites that were left turned yellow. He's been bed ridden since

Another woman, mid twenties, also diagnosed with bird flu after a recurring unwanted voice stimulation to caw. Along with the same recurring long dark feathers and down of the last two. Of course there were more. It recommended quarantining for the safety of us and our children, blah blah blah. But there was one big problem that occurred in this article. I have treated all of the people in this article.

The man in his 30’s, skin irritation. The woman in her mid 20’s, rashes on her arms and chest. The old lady, her blisters. All of them I treated for a skin condition, along with a few of the other names on the list.

Ofc this was all years ago, months ago! This couldn't have been me. It couldn't have-

Oh.

Maybe using the same spells I used on the bird I worked with on the people I worked with was probably not a good idea…