{"id":1440,"date":"2018-10-18T19:00:34","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T19:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/?p=1440"},"modified":"2022-10-26T13:48:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T13:48:35","slug":"the-living-vampire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/the-living-vampire\/","title":{"rendered":"The Living Vampire"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Stanley<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he city of my birth is renown for the prestigious medical university which graces it with ivied walls. I am proud to say that I graduated with honors and took up a coveted internship under one of the city’s finest practitioners. Though I seemed on tract to realize my dreams, that is, building my own practice, I found myself nonetheless quite uncertain and anxious about my prospect.<\/span><\/p>\n

For in such a city, as one might imagine, there are doctors to be found on every street corner. A fledgling like myself could never hope to command the same appeal as the long-established and well-respected residents. A practice of my own was doomed to be a small one, and in my youthful exuberance, I had designs to save the world, one person at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

As my apprenticeship neared its conclusion, this trouble weighed heavily on my mind. I even feared that my mentor would toss me out so woefully unprepared, but in this I did him a great disservice. One evening as I made my final rounds for the night, Dr. Stockman’s door opened and he leaned out into the hall.<\/span><\/p>\n

“A word.” he said, his voice and face emotionless, making me assume the worst. And when we spoke, it was indeed about the imminent end of our arrangement.<\/span>
\n“What are your plans?” he asked, drawing out my fears and the confession that I had no real plan. He chuckled.<\/span>
\n“I can understand your plight. And if I may be honest, I would never recommend that this be the place a promising young doctor should start. Here, a doctor has to fight tooth and nail to get a foothold and cling fiercely to every patient.”<\/span>
\nThe sullen look I wore spoke for me and he continued.<\/span>
\n“As it happens, however, I have been contacted by the committee of a small village. It seems they have suddenly been left without a doctor and write to me in search of a recommendation. If the opportunity suits you, I would be glad to send you on your way with a letter of approval.”<\/span>
\nI sat flabbergasted, unsure if I was dreaming.<\/span>
\n“I hope you understand that I think you’re as skilled as any other in the city, and I do not mean to suggest that you don’t deserve recognition here in the city…”<\/span>
\n“No, no.” I exclaimed, “You may tell them I will be happy to start as soon as possible.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The words were scarcely out of my mouth before I started to doubt them. I would have to leave the city that I loved so dearly, and part with the friends and family I cherished. I wondered if I could tolerate the conditions of a country life, especially in a village as isolated as this one.<\/span><\/p>\n

But an entire village to look after offered me the solution to my problems and gave me hope of realizing my dreams. A few short weeks later, I enjoyed a bittersweet farewell party and said goodbye to the only life I had ever known.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early morning mists of the next day, I boarded a train. The sooty gray skyline that was my world vanished, the cluttered buildings gradually replaced by green and wide-open spaces. The long hours that passed left me alone with my thoughts which dashed back and forth between hope and fear. More than once I was convinced that I would get off at the next station and head home.<\/span><\/p>\n

But then I thought of the villagers and their need. It simply would not be right to abandon them. I would press on. Stepping off the train, I was met by a coachman. He was eager to depart, he told me, as our destination was still a lengthy journey away.<\/span>
\nAs the stagecoach bumped along bare, dusty tracks, I was struck by the endless wilderness that stretched out around me. I had no idea that any place could be wilder that the country I had seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

next part<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

back to previous episode<\/a><\/p>\n

back to list of stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Stanley The city of my birth is renown for the prestigious medical university which graces it with ivied walls. I am proud to say that I graduated with honors and took up a coveted internship under one of the city’s finest practitioners. Though I seemed on tract to realize my dreams, that is, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[8,196],"class_list":["post-1440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-joe-stanley","tag-joe-stanley","tag-the-living-vampire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1440"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2924,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions\/2924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}