like a thief in the night.

The wife starts to cry. Her husband protectively shields her from my gaze. She begs and pleads with me. She basically grovels at my feet. The husband stares, the livid fire in his eyes tries to consume me. I tell them that I am sorry; that I don’t want to be the one who robs them. She wails in despair. Later, when they have left the surgery, I think to myself: “Why should I be made the villain? Cancer is the real culprit, coming like a thief in the night.”