"Miss Marque, I'm Doctor Freeman it's a pleasure to meet you. Please, have a seat," the man gestured to Maria.
"How has your stay with Yellow Woods been so far?"
"I hate it here. Everyone is crazy."
"Do you know why you're here, Miss Marque?"
Maria looked down, unable to answer the Doctor.
"You tried to kill yourself, Maria--"
"I didn't try to kill myself."
"So then why did you finish an entire bottle of painkillers?"
"Look Doctor, everyone is fucking crazy here I would like to go home. I'm not crazy!"
"Nobody said you were crazy," said the Doctor as he scribbled in his large book.
"Finish your treatment and you'll be able to go home before you can say,'Home'."
---------------------------------------------------
The patients huddled in the Television room watching the night's Bingo game.
A young girl sat close to the TV set and yelled
"Bingo" every three seconds.
"Maria, you've got company." said nurse Min.
A young man with jet-black hair and a scruffy, overgrown beard walked in and stood next to nurse Min.
"Jasper?" a wave of excitement washed over Maria. She ran up to the young man and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I've missed you. Come, let's talk." Maria took him by the hand and led him to her shared room and closed the door.
"When did you get back?"
"Yesterday. I leave tomorrow though."
"Why do you have to go?"
"It's my job, Maria. It's what I have to do."
"But you don't."
"I was drafted. I have to go."
"Promise me you will stay safe."
"I promise, Maria."
"Promise me one more thing."
"Anything."
"Promise me that no matter what happens, you run. You hear me, Jasper? You run. Run like it's the end of the world. Do it for me. Please. I can't lose you."
"I promise."
"Cross your heart?"
"Cross my heart."
"Does mom and dad know you're home?"
"Yes. That's how I knew you were here. Listen to me, Maria," Jasper turned Maria to face him and put his hands on both of her shoulders.
"You are not sick. There is nothing wrong with you. Nothing at all. Mom and Dad don't know what they are talking about and pretty soon, you'll be out of this hell-hole. Hopefully the war will be over so I can fetch you personally. We'll go out. Have a day just for ourselves. Maybe go get your favourite ice-cream too."
"I'd like that." Maria smiled and hugged her brother.
"Oh! Before I forget," Jasper reached into his Jacket pocket and pulled out a black leather notebook.
"This is for you. For your writing. Keep yourself busy, kiddo." he handed the book to Maria.
"Thank you, Jasper."
"I'm sorry to interrupt,but visiting time is over." nurse Min walked in.
Maria gave Jasper a final hug before he left.
------------------------------------------------------
"So you hear about the crazy chick Dr Freeman hammered?" said Janey as she plopped herself on Maria's bed nonchalantly.
"He hammered who?" Sarah squealed in excitement and shock simultaneously.
"Not that hammer you idiot," Janey slapped Sarah over the head.
"It's called a lobotomy or some shit. Dr Freeman is 'Testing new waters.'"
"How do you know this?" asked Maria, perplexed.
After all, how could she trust someone whose medical condition she did not know. She could be a pathological liar for all Maria knew. Not only that, she did attack Maria the very first day of their meeting.
"Tonight, 11 o'clock sharp. Be ready."
"Ready for wha--"
"Just be ready."
It was 11 o'clock and Maria sat on her bed anxiously bouncing her leg, staring at the door.
There was a scratching and soft clang of metal sound for a brief moment on the other side.
The lock clicked and the door creaked open slowly. Janey popped her head through the gap.
"Right on time baby. Right on time."
"Where are we going?" whispered Maria
"Just follow me." Janey quickened her pace and Maria followed suit.
"Isn't Nurse Gwendolyn on watch? What if we get caught I don't know i--"
"My God just shut up will ya?"
The girls stopped in front of a green door. Janey lifted her flashlight. The light illuminated the name 'W. Freeman'
Janey knelt down and jammed a Bobby pin and nail file into the key hole.
After a minute there was a click.
"How did you learn to do that?"
"You got no choice in this hell hole."
Janey walked up to the filing cabinet and ruffled through an array of documents.
"Here." she tossed a file at Maria.
"Psychoneurotic depressive reaction. Personality pattern disturbance, resistant, R/O undifferentiated schizophrenia.
Highly intelligent, but in denial of her condition.
Established diagnosis: Borderline Personality Disorder." Maria read aloud.
"Probably horseshit." said Janey as she continued to search.
"Come to mama." She handed a black notebook to Maria.
"I am excited to put the lobotomy to use in the women's ward of Yellow Field. I will access the frontal lobes through the eye socket using an orbitoclast in which the instrument will be inserted through the patients eye socket with a hammer. The instrument will then be moved side-to-side to separate the frontal lobes from the thalamus. I am confident it will work as it did on numerous
other occasions. " Maria read
"And we're the crazy ones." said Janey as she lit a cigarette.
"Who do you think he will use first?"
"Hard to tell."
"Do you think we should warn the others?"
Janey broke out into a fit of laughter.
"Warn the others? The others? Are you forgetting where you are, Princess? You can tell these idiots they're on fire and they wouldn't understand."
"Don't say that."
"Say what? The truth? Oh don't be so touchy."
"If you meant what you said you're forgetting you're in here too so you're just as much of an idiot like the rest of us." Maria tried to sound as polite as possible.
"Look at you being all smart-ass."
"I think we should go."
The girls crept quietly back to Maria's room.
"Don't do anything stupid so they don't pick you as their lab rat." said Janey before walking off.