Josie's Journey

Need Filler Content? Pull Your Nose Hose

The next morning, Elaine came back, determined to see her daughter. She was nervous, tucking and retucking her hair behind her ear. All she wanted was to see her daughter - it felt like it had been forever since Josie was locked away, and all she could do was wait.

She stood at the desk in the lobby, ID held in her hand before they could even ask her.

"I'm here to see Josie Brown," she said firmly, hoping they'd let her through. "She's my daughter, she's in Cottage D, I just have to see her-"

"I'm sorry," the receptionist answered with a vaguely sympathetic look. "The visiting hours aren't until 3 PM tomorrow, you can come back then. I can have a message delivered.

"Oh. Okay." Elaine fiddled with her hair. The receptionist got out a sticky note to write down the message. "Just tell her that her mom stopped by, that I miss her and I love her, and I'll see her very soon."

She brushed away a tear as she stepped back into the parking lot, her hair blown back by the cool autumn breeze. Despite being desperately lonely, she pushed her feelings away and told herself it was fine - she was busy, she had errands to run today anyway.

— — —

Josie had woken up stressed and fatigued. Her pump had stopped sometime in the night, so once a nurse came in to fix it (and accidentally got some of the formula on Josie's shirt - ugh) she still had to run the feeds during her morning groups.

While she sat in the lobby, waiting for the morning check-in group, a nurse approached her with a sticky note - her mom had stopped by with a message.

Josie Brown, Cottage D:

From your mother Elaine, "I love you and I miss you. I will see you very soon."

Even though she didn't get to see her mom personally, it gave her hope. Plus, now Josie knew for sure that she would see her mom at visiting hours tomorrow! She reluctantly dragged her pole behind her to the check-in group, the formula finally running.

Josie was the last one in the room. Everyone glanced at her - she knew it wasn't anything bad, it was just because she'd opened that creaky door, but the feeling still triggered a rush of anxiety. One of them - a tall and spindly girl who wore a tattered plaid blanket like a cape - stared at Josie just a little bit too long. She sat down in her chair and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

After the group ended, Josie disconnected from her feed. She sat down in a hideously upholstered chair that, despite looking like something only a colorblind furniture designer would make, was the most comfortable thing. As usual, she was alone. The other patients were scattered throughout the common room; some of them were alone, like her, but most of them were chatting in small groups.

Josie sighed. Maybe later she'd finally talk to someone - for now, she was just counting down the minutes until her twice-weekly session with her psychologist, Dr. Slater.

— — —

"It was good to speak with you, Josie." Dr. Slater smiled briefly. "I feel like we're going to make some good progress together."

"R-really?" She was excited at the idea of progress, of getting better.

"Of course," he replied. "Remember to start journaling. Your mom brought you a notebook and pencils, right?"

"Yeah," Josie answered. "But... I'm still confused. What am I supposed to journal about?"

"Your day-to-day life, your thoughts, your moods," he suggested. "I actually recommend you try writing to your alters. Many people have found success with that as a good place to begin."