Hydrocephalus Humor

A humorous short story I wrote after a shunt series

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Lev did not particularly enjoy imaging days, but he didn’t particularly hate them either. They just were in the blond’s eyes. He dealt with them like anything else. That is to say, with a great deal of attention and a bit of annoyance at the monotony.

Imaging days started off quite normally. A jaunt from the palace to the hospital took about twenty minutes by coach and the check-in process went quickly and smoothly.

However, there was a bright spot in these trips. Lev got to visit The Donut Machine.

A large white imaging machine with a circular hole in the center and what appeared to be a generally cylindrical frame would naturally be rather donut-like. So, at six, Prince Lev of Spadia had dubbed it The Donut. It stuck.

“Good morning, Your Royal Highness,” smiled one of the nurses.

“Good morning, LouEllen,” said Lev with a grin. “I’ve got a visit to The Donut today, right?”

“Yes, precisely. Come along,”

Grinning broadly, Lev followed the much taller woman down the hall. “First, a quick check of your height and weight, standard protocol,”

Lev stopped. “Oh, right, haha. Let me just take off my shoes,” he said, unzipping his boots. Once they were off, he stepped flat against the wall.

“One hundred and sixty-four centimeters precisely.”

Lev frowned. “Really? I could’ve sworn I got taller,”

“Hmm, no, Your Highness. Weight is standard, however, nothing to worry about.”

“Cool, cool,” said the prince. “Anything else?”

“Not at all, I know you’re excited to see The Donut.”

Lev blushed, averting his sapphire eyes. “I really wish you’d stop calling it that. I was six. That was almost ten years ago.”

“Why stop? Everyone loves it, Your Majesty. It’s quite a fitting name, and certainly helps the younger patients, seeing as it’s quite loud sometimes.”

Lev grinned. “Well, that’s definitely true. It’s very loud. And it is shaped like a donut.”

Maybe he would enjoy this imaging day.