harmony hall 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

iv.

cw: instituational abuse

FOUR YEARS EARLIER

Ophelia trudged through the line groggily, barely registering the pills she had swallowed dry after the pretty, young nurse had handed them to her. She avoided eye contact like always. She hated how she looked at her. It was always filled with so much pity it made her sick.

Shuffling over to one of the tables, she plopped into a seat. She stifled a yawn as the woman a seat down spoke.

"Who's it today?" She asked, glancing over at the young girl with an unlit cigarette dangling from between her lips. Lips Ophelia could almost tell were usually painted a cherry red, but they had no need for makeup here.

"Ophelia, I think." Ophelia stretched slightly, feeling her shoulders pop. She was never sure if she was truly control when the spotlight shifted to her, but it was pretty quiet up top, for the most part. They'd been becoming more separate from one another as the days went on, since they usually felt like a jumble of voices and commands, but she was becoming more independent, even if she didn't like it. Ophelia returned the glance from beside her.

Elizabeth Johnson, better known as patient 196, was in her early twenties when she was caught cheating on her husband with a woman. In a blind rage, he had beat her within an inch of her life before handing her over to Harmony Hall Mental Institution for lesbianism and adultery. Now nearing her thirties, Elizabeth claimed she was going to die in here because they couldn't change who she was or the fact that her husband was 'a scumbag of the highest order'.

"What's the date?" Ophelia asked, her voice still rough with sleep, but an ache in her throat told her it was from more than that.

"February 28th." Another girl only a few years older than Ophelia joined the table with click of her tongue, "Happy belated birthday, by the way."

Lucia Springs, also known as patient 248, has Tourette's syndrome, but after she had accidentally struck a teacher at her school, the parents of her peers began to talk about fearing for their children. She had been forced into Harmony Hall Mental Institution over the pretence that she was possessed by a demon or evil spirit. She had only arrived a few months before Ophelia at the age of fifteen. She was seventeen now. Her parents were still fighting tooth and nail to get her out.

"Thanks." Ophelia replied absentmindedly, Lucia trying to mumble her words as she began to involuntarily sing happy birthday. Ophelia was missing memories for almost four months. It was 1979 now. She was thirteen.

A loud bang snapped her out of her thoughts, causing her to flinch. Lucia had brought her fist down onto the table. She was already looking frightened towards the nurses' station. She shrunk down in her chair, mumbling out a 'sorry' as her shoulders twitched, clicking her tongue. She pounded onto her chest twice before her lips buzzed.

"Well I'm glad you're back, kid. Sinistra's a real bore and while the other one can be a riot, she's a handful to keep in line." Elizabeth grinned over at her, ruffling her hair fondly before continuing to chip away at the tabletop with her nails.

Ophelia let out a halfhearted laugh, offering her the best smile she could. She absentmindedly rubbed over a tender part of her wrist. The bruises there already turning a sickly green.

"That asshole Bart gave that to y'all a couple days ago. The twitchy one kicked 'is ass a few weeks back 'n he didn't 'preciate the embarrassment, so he gave ya the lickin's." A dark man pulled out the chair next to her, flipping it around so he could straddle it.

Barry Whitaker, or patient 304, had only been in the institution a month before Ophelia's memories became few and far between. She didn't know much about him, but she later learned that he had robbed a farm near his home before taking the tractor for a joyride through the town close by. He was drunk, and had ended up crashing it into the local general store when the police got him. He began crying out that the Devil had told him to do it and after pleading guilty, he was sent to Harmony Hall instead of prison. He was there for alcoholism, psychosis, and satanism.