January 17th, 2028

"But I don't want to get my Shot!" A small child with short dark hair complained as she was led into the tall, white building.

"You have to," an older woman with similar hair color but longer spoke as she held the child's hand with a firm yet gentle grip. The child's finger rubbed against the woman's skin, the softness of her palms was smooth.

They entered the building, doors sliding with a hiss as a gush of cool air was blown against them.

"It smells funny in here!" The child complained again, the older woman, presumably her mother, rolled her eyes and continued walking through the long hall to a desk with an elderly woman sitting in front of a screen, her fingers sliding over it with passing second. Her skin was wrinkled and dotted with freckles, her silver hair framed her face as if drifted over her shoulders. She turned to look at the amber-haired woman and gave a smile.

"I'm here for a VDM." The woman responded as she let for of the child's hand. The smaller girl went up to the counter, barely every to see over it as she has to tiptoe to even take a peek.

"I need a patient name." The elderly woman said as she turned back to the monitor and tapped it a few times and waited.

"Lora Ronet." She spoke slowly, enunciating the letters and she spelled them. The older woman taping with each consonant and vowel she uttered.

"Okay, I see a Lora. You must be Vita, her mother?" The mother nodded as the receptionist went backing to tapping away at the screen.

"Please have a seat to your left and Dr. Rose will be with you soon." The woman smiled and looked away. Vita makes her way over to the waiting area with her daughter's hand in hers. The chairs were colored beige, a rug-like screen with ethereal designs of the stars and constellations that moved and twinkled, and in a corner was a rack of magazines and a box of books.

Vita took a seat and let out a calm sigh as her daughter went dancing on the floor. The stars on the screen moved around her shoes and she stepped and stomped and spun. Her yellow skirt floated in the air as she swirled and twirled, the light below her spiraling around her. She twisted until she got dizzy and fell on the screen giggling, the stars diverting around her body and flowing along her arms and the bends and curves of her shoulders and knees.

She stared at her daughter, a smile curling across her face. A feeling of delight and love filled her chest as she watched her daughter play.

A woman in a matching pair of white scrubs walked towards the waiting area. A clipboard in her hand and stern look on her face. Her black hair fell through the hat she wore, her nose perked up, her cheekbones high. The distance between her and them quickly closed as her voice, like a whip, lashed out:

"Lora Ronet?" She shook her head as she struggled to announce the name. Vita stood quickly, Lora still laughing on the floor.

“Us.” Vita stood up to make herself recognizable to the nurse, "that's us." The nurse gave the mother a smal nod and s quick smile.

"Lora, let’s go." She brushed her daughter's flowery dress and walked behind the woman who guided them from the waiting area and through a set of doors, twisting around corners and into a room with a red circle on the door.

"I am Nurse Anna. I will be preparing your VDM today, Dr. Ross will be here to administer the shot." Anna pointed to two chairs next to a desk with another screen; a red circle bouncing around a white background, popping off of the four sides. Vita and Lora took their seats. Lora's hand holding tight to her mother as her legs kicked back and forth, her head looking down at the tiled floor sprinkled with dark spots.

Nurse Anna stood over a counter, pulling a syringe and a bottle from the cabinets that hung above. She prepared the injection, poking the syringe through the bottle top and pulling; filling it with liquid. Lora stared at the needle, thin and long, sharp at the end, easy to poke and poke and poke. She stuck her head into her mother's side, her legs just hanging over, barely touching the floor.

"It's going to be fine," her mother reassured her, her hand gently caressing her cheek.

"When I got my Shot it didn't hurt at all. It was like a tickle." Her fingers crept down to her daughter's neck, tickling her as she giggled and laughed.

The door opened and closed. Anna had left and another woman with long auburn hair. Her skin as white as snow, her eyes as blue as the sea. Her face sculpted to perfection. Vita stopped tickling her daughter and sat up straight.

"Hello, I'm doctor Rose. I'll be giving you your Shooooot," the words dragged on as she scanned the clipboard in her hands, searching for the young girl's name.

“Lora.” Dr. Rose smiled at Lora. She sat at in front of the screen and tapped a few times, swiping left and right, and finally, a beep lets out.

"Are we ready?" She rolled over to the tray that held the syringe with the clear liquid in it, a speck of silver floating around it. Lora shook her head and wrapped her arms around her mother. Dr. Ross grabbed a packet from the tray and tore it open and pulled out a wipe.

"It'll be simple. Watch." Dr. Ross rolled over to Lora and took one her arms, wiping it down her upper arm.

"Mommy, I'm scared." She whimpered and dug her face deeper.

"It won't hurt. I promise." Lora let out a small groan and waited. Her legs shook as she sat patiently, waiting for her a sharp pain to run through her arm. But she might as well wait for a while because she never felt a single thing.

"And done. You're all set. She will never get lost again."