Ahmed looks seriously at the wall. He is preparing himself to have barriers while he talks to her. After a few seconds, he holds the phone, types the number, and presses "call". Maryia's phone displays a strange number call. She tabs on the "accept the call" icon on the phone and puts it on her ear. Ahmed stands up quickly from the chair. "Hello…" Maryia crosses her eyebrows and asks. "Who is speaking?" Ahmed raises his eyebrows, blinks, and exhales. "It is me, Ahmed." Maryia stays silent and rolls her eyes. "What happened in the past?" Ahmed rolls his eyeballs towards the phone which is in his hand. "What happened in the past?" Maryia crosses her eyebrows. "What are you doing with my family?"
Her delusions of spying started to appear. Ahmed whispers and crosses his eyebrows more. "Doing what, Maryia?" Maryia rolls her eyeballs multiple times, then smiles. "Tell me, what are you doing these days?" Ahmed shouts aggressively. "What is your business?" Maryia lifts her eyebrows. Ahmed ends the phone call and looks away.
Maryia sighs slyly and sarcastically. She started to lose her sanity and talked to herself. "He loves me." She blinks several times, then looks up and shouts. "He loves me." She opens the room door and gets out to the salon with the phone in her hand.
In the salon, Leyan is sitting on a couch. She is wearing headphones and listening to music. Maryia moves her head up. "He loves me! He loves me!" She shouts. Leyan looks at her and tenses her eyebrows. Maryia moves her head to the right. She continues. "He is just trying to avoid breaking his heart again...He truly loves me!" Leyan takes off the headphones from her head. Maryia moves her head to the left and shouts. "There is a thing roping between us. He is extremely close to me. But that rope was cut after the call ended.."
Yousra and Magdy get out of their rooms. Leyan stands up and comes closer to Maryia. Yousra pats Maryia. "What's wrong, Maryia?" Yousra asked. Maryia looks at the headphones in Leyan's hand, pulls it strongly, moves it in her hand, and looks at her family. "Here are your devices! You are spying on my brain!" Maryia points to her head with her finger. Magdy and Yousra look at each other, then to Maryia. "You hate me and want him to hate me," Magdy asks furiously. " Who is he?" Maryia points to the phone. "This guy who I talked to." Magdy pulls her phone from her hand and searches for the last chat.
The messenger's tab was opened, displaying Ahmed and Maryia's messenger conversation, and he reads the chat. Magdy asks. "Who is that guy, Maryia?" Yousra looks confused and asks. "What is wrong?" She looks at the phone, then at Maryia. "He is a guy who has been in love with me since high school. He is spying on me with you. Do not talk like you do not know!" Maryia said in a sharp voice. Magdy replies angrily. " I bet I do not know anything about this! Why do you think this way?" Maryia shouts. "Because you hate me, you want to monitor me." Magdy puts the phone on the table and leaves the salon. Yousra follows him and Maryia sits on a chair behind her. Leyan pats Maryia's shoulder.
Magdy and Yousra get inside their room and Magdy holds the phone. "Who are you calling?" Yousra asked. Magdy replies in a hurry. " I'm calling a psychiatrist I know. We must take her to the psychiatric ward." Yousra puts her hand on Magdy's phone. "No! My daughter is not crazy!" Magdy looks at Yousra and opens his fist. Magdy interrupts her. "I know she is not! But she needs therapy. Don't you see her state? I will call the hospital to send practitioners to take her." Yousra exhales and looks around her, then at Magdy. "Can't we just take her to the hospital?" She asked. Magdy raises his eyebrows and blinks. "Sure! Why not? Ask her to come with you then!" He knew it was difficult to convince Maryia to go to the psychiatric ward. Yousra stares at him with confusion and then leaves the room.
In the salon, Maryia and Leyan are on the couch and Leyan pats her shoulders. Yousra comes to the salon and pats Maryia's head. "Maryia, dear. Let us get out and have a walk together to calm down, okay?" Maryia, who is exhausted, replies with a shaky voice. "Okay!" Yousra returns to the room where Magdy is putting his hands behind his back and revolving around the room. Yousra enters the room, opens the drawer, and gets her dress. Magdy looks at Yousra and points to her with his hand. "Do not let her escape. Pay attention and tell the hospital staff to care about her. I want this matter to end quickly."
Yousra looks at him and points to him with her hand. "Okay, okay, I will prepare her luggage and take her." Yousra stays silent for a while, then looks at him, crosses her eyebrows, and nods. "Okay! But please be supportive. Won't you come with us?" Magdy looks to the other side. "No, I must sleep early. I have a long day tomorrow." Yousra looks down, then lifts her head. "Okay. Can't you come the day after tomorrow?" Magdy refuses. "No! I will not come ever. I do not want anyone to know about her illness. Someone I know may see me then." Yousra keeps silent and gets out of the room.
****
Ahmed is on the chair and looks at the wall, crossing his eyebrows, then he stands up, opens the room, and gets out of the room. His father, Faried, is in front of him. "What is wrong? Why were you shouting? Who were you talking with?" Ahmed widens his eyes and looks away. He replies with a terrified voice. "Nothing, Dad. I was shouting because a spammer called me." Faried stares at him with an angry face. "You were saying Maryia. Who were you talking to?" Ahmed exhales and blinks. "It was a girl. She was my mate from school. She asked her friend to ask me to call her, and she was saying things I could not understand." Ahmed looks around him. " I did not understand what she said." Faried asks. "So, why did you shout at her?"
Ahmed pretends to be angry. "She was asking me personal questions." Faried looks shocked. "Shame on her! How dare she call Ahmed Faried and interfere in his personal life?" Ahmed blinks and stretches his hand towards Faried. "Dad, it is ok. Don't care about it." Faried interrupts. "It is not ok. What is her name?" Ahmed replies with hopelessness. "Maryia.." Faried asks. 'Who is her father?" Ahmed replies. "A business executive called Magdy Shamel." Faried repeats. "Magdy Shamel?" Ahmed replies. "Yes." Faried comments after nodding. "Hmm. He is a failure in business." Ahmed looked at him with wide eyes as Faried was thinking.
The taxi stops in front of the psychiatric hospital. It was after the middle of the night. Maryia and Yousra get out of the taxi's back seat in front of the hospital gate. "Come on, dear." Yousra said. Yousra and Maryia walk and Maryia rolls her eyes around her until they reach the entry door where two nurses are standing. Maryia stops and asks with fear. "Where are we going, Mum?" Yousra pats Maryia and softens her voice. "Do not worry dear, we are just a bit tired, and we will consult a therapist to be better! Come on, darling."
Maryia rotates to the back. "No! No! I do not want to!" The two nurses restrict her from her arms, and she hampers her legs and starts to jog. Yousra points to the nurses with her hands, then goes to Maryia and holds her face. "Guys, do not scare her! Leave her! You fool! Do not grasp her like that!" Yousra shouts. "Leave my daughter alone, she is afraid!" Maryia struggles to get her arms out. "I do not want to be here! Leave me!" Maryia shouts with fear. Maryia and the two nurses get into the psychiatrist's office, and Maryia pulls her arms. Yousra gets in after them.
Inside the psychiatrist's office, Dr. Josef points to Maryia with his hand. "Hold on, miss! Calm down. We will not harm you. Take it easy." Maryia sits on a chair and looks at her mum and Dr.
Josef while panting. Dr. Josef looks at the nurse and moves his head. "Let her sit in the entrance hall." Dr. Josef ordered the nurses.
Dr. Josef asks Yousra, who sits on a seat in front of him. "What happened, Ma'am?" Yousra explains. "She was calling a guy and she said he loves her. She got out of her room and was shouting and saying, 'he loves me.' She accused us that we were spying on her. She took her sister's headphones and said we were spying on her brain with those headphones." Dr. Josef fists his hands. "Well, I should tell you. Maryia was coming to my clinic complaining about her college rejections, and we were on a medication plan. I don't know if you have an idea." Yousra shrinks her eyebrows. "No, I don't! Since when?" Yousra asks. "It has been like 4 months." Dr. Josef said. "She never told me about that!" Yousra said. She crosses her eyebrows and looks at the floor.
Dr. Josef explains. "I informed Mr. Magdy as I learned that she is his daughter." Yousra widens her eyes. "Oh! He didn't tell me anything!" Dr. Josef replies. "It's okay. Maybe he didn't want to worry you. Now I informed you." Yousra looks at the floor. "I recommend starting her treatment plan here, as she needs intensive care. She will have a special course of treatment based on her case after being assessed by the psychologist and me. As she is irritated now, she will take a sedative and tomorrow we will assess her case." Dr. Josef explained. "How will this treatment course be? Yousra asked. "Let me explain." Dr. Josef said.
Maryia is restricted to a seat by the two nurses and is afraid. "Don't be afraid, princess. Just tell me, what are these beautiful fingers?" Nurse (1) holds Maryia's hand. Maryia looks around her with wide eyes. In the office, Yousra moves her head up and down. "Okay. I just want her to be fine." Yousra said in pain."Okay! Please fill in this information." Dr. Josef gives Yousra a bunch of papers and a pen. Yousra holds the pen and writes.
Nurse (1) comes and puts the file on the secretary's desk. Yousra gets out of the office and pats Maryia's shoulders. Nurse (2) "Register this information." The office girl looks at the computer and types on it. Nurses (1) and (2) hold Maryia from her arms and stand her up. Maryia shouts. "Leave me! Mum!" Nurse (3) prevents her from following them. In the patient unit, Nurse (1), (2), and Maryia are walking in the chamber corridor. They enter Maryia's reserved unit and make her sit on the bed. Nurse (2) inserts a needle into her hand. Maryia shouts before fainting. "I'm not crazy! No! ... He is in love…" Maryia relaxes gradually. Nurse (1) lies Maryia's legs on the bed, then Nurse (2) and her get out of her room. Maryia closes her eyes gradually.
****
Faried is sitting on his chair in front of the desk. He rotates with the chair beside him and looks to the floor. He opens his desk drawer and takes a card for Magdy's company written on it: "The manager's phone number, Magdy Shamel." He picks up the phone and calls the number. Magdy replies. "Hello." Magdy crosses his eyebrows. "I am Faried El-Alfy. The Alfy Company's owner. Of course, you know me." Faried said. Magdy relaxes his forehead. "Ahh. Yes! Mr. Faried! How are you?" Faried speaks in a sharp tone. "I am not calling you to ask about my health. I just wanted to ask you if you know what your daughter, Maryia, did to my son last night."
Magdy looks confused. "What did she do? And how do you know her?" Faried explains. "She is my son's previous schoolmate. I just wanted to tell you, stay away from us, or you will see terrible things soon, okay? You, your daughter, and anyone from your side. I won't put my hands in a bribed, greedy man's hand like you." Magdy interrupts. "What did she do?" Faried replies. "Ask her, dear." Faried ends the call and opens some files. Magdy puts the phone on the desk and looks away for a while. Then, he stands up from his chair, holds his phone, and leaves the office.
In the morning, Dr. Josef is sitting on a chair with a desk in front of him. The door is knocked. Nurse 1 says. "There is a man who wants to meet you, Dr." Dr. Josef looks at the nurse. "Let him come in." Nurse (1) points to the way and looks at Magdy, who gets into the office. Magdy speaks. "Hello, Dr. Josef." Dr. Josef stands up. "Oh, welcome sir!" Dr. Josef and Magdy shake their hands. "Nice to meet you. You must want to inquire about Maryia's status now." Dr. Josef said. Magdy sits on the chair, opens his suit jacket button, and interrupts while pointing his hand to Dr. Josef. "She thinks a guy loves her and he doesn't."
Dr. Josef sits down and stares at Magdy. "Yeah, I see." Magdy continues. "He is a messy guy from her school, and he mostly played with her feelings, she stupidly fell in love with him, and she called him. He probably talked to her badly, so she got mad." Dr. Josef looks seriously at him and writes notes. "Just heal her according to this by medications and therapy and don't discuss this matter with her and she will forget." Magdy waves his hand. "She doesn't need this love because she is unaware that he is not suitable for her."
Magdy seriously looks at Dr. Josef. "Also, no need to mention to anyone, even the hospital staff, that she is my daughter. I don't want any reputation issues." Magdy looks away and at Dr. Josef
again with an innocent face. "So she won't suffer from people's talk." Dr. Josef looks away for a while, then shakes his head up and down. "Okay, sir. I will do my best."
****
Ms. Amira, the psychologist, is sitting with Maryia at the psychologist's office. "Hi, Maryia. How are you today?" Amira said. Maryia is centering her eyes on the floor. She calmly replies. "Good." Her sedative effect was still. Amira smiles, then looks at Maryia's file on the table. "You were an international high school student, right? They told me you are Egyptian." Maryia replies. "Yes." Amira smiles again. "Good! I'm Egyptian American, too, but I travel a lot out of the States." Maryia stares at the table. Amira writes while asking. "Which school?" Maryia replies. "San Francisco's International High School." Amira gets ready for the session. "Okay. Tell me, why are you registered here?"
Maryia moves her head to the left side. "A guy was in love with me because I saw him looking at me in my eyes, in a lovely way. Our classmates were talking about us. When we were in school days, he was talking to his friends about me. I discovered recently that he was spying on me with my family." Amira asks. "Has he told you about his emotions?" Maryia keeps silent and then replies. "No." Amira inquires. "So, why do you think he loves you?" Maryia looks confused, then replies. "Because he did many things expressing his feelings to me," Amira asks while writing. "Like what?"
Maryia answers with enthusiasm. "He was smiling one day at me, and when I looked away, he was angry and sad. He was like, begging me to look at him." She continues. "He put the desks on mine in the class when I was out because I didn't respond to him." Amira interrupts. "Have you ever talked before?" Maryia looks confused again. "No." She replies. Amira asks. "Did you call him before coming to the hospital?" Maryia replies with excitation. "Yes, and he was aggressive and shouted at me," Amira asks again. "Do you have evidence other than smiling and looking at you?" Maryia thinks for a while. "No... but I have a strong feeling he loves me." She replied.
Amira looks into Maryia's eyes and asks. "Do you love him?" Maryia centers her head in the middle and looks at the floor. "I used to stop myself from loving him, despite thinking of him. I didn't mean to care that much about him." Amira continues asking. "He is Muslim, right?" Maryia replies with enthusiasm. "And Egyptian." Amira hums. "Hmm. What does your heart say about his love?" Maryia replies with bright eyes. "My heart and soul say it is true." Amira
changes her tone to a serious but calming one. "Can't we consider the probability that this is a delusion? Because we do not have enough evidence, plus you were irritated." Maryia looks cold and fakes a smile. "Okay. It is done for me at all." Amira smiles back at Maryia. "Take care of your life and studies, and love will come to you when it is the right time." Maryia looks cold again. "Sure!"
****
At Maryia's home salon, Magdy is wearing his suit jacket and adjusts his tie in front of a mirror. Yousra interrupts him. "You still don't want to tell me what happened," Magdy replies coldly. "What happened?" Yousra raises her voice in anger. "Maryia! She was shouting that someone loved her. I couldn't understand why when I talked to Dr. Josef. I went to see her today, but he prevented me from visiting her. What happened?" Magdy turns his face to her. "She is delusional that a guy from school loves her." Yousra looks to the floor and Magdy goes to the door. "So, she must need to talk about it." Magdy turns to her. "Listen, don't talk to her about that matter when she comes home. She has to forget because this was a mess." Yousra opens her mouth and looks to Magdy, who leaves the house.
Nurse (1) is walking with Maryia beside her. Maryia's eyes are wide, and her face is cold. They reach a room written on it: "ECT room." Nurse (1) opens the door and enters Maryia in front of her, then she follows her and closes the door. Nurse (1) makes Maryia sit down on the bed, and Nurse (2) comes closer to Maryia, holds her hand, and inserts a cannula in it. Maryia asks with confusion. "What will you do?" Nurse (2) smiles at Maryia. "You will have just a simple operation to feel better." Nurse (2) makes Maryia lie her back on the bed, brings an anesthetic needle, and inserts it in the cannula. Maryia asks. "What is this operation?"
Nurse (2) replies. "It is a simple operation that helps in regulating brain rhythm." Maryia rests on the bed and closes her eyes.
After 30 minutes, the ECT room door opens, and Nurse (1) pushes a bed Maryia is sleeping on until they reach a recovery room. After some minutes, Maryia sits on the bed inside the recovery room, returning to reality. Maryia shakes her head, and her eyes are trembling. Maryia stands up from the bed and Nurse (1) follows her. Maryia's face is cold and her eyes are wide. They walk down the corridor until Maryia returns to her chamber in the patient's unit.