Imagination

Chapter 1

Screaming and shouting echo throughout the halls. People pass and sometimes dare to enter the rooms with a small bed tucked away in the corner. I remember the day I was sent here. I was taken out of school that day. Everyone’s eyes watched as I was carried out by four people to the nurses’ office. I don’t remember exactly what I was doing. Apparently, according to the main reasons I was sent here, I had been screaming and yelling that no one was real or that they were some mythical creatures from a book I was reading. I wouldn’t let anyone touch me and would try to claw or punch them if they came close. Some people were who they were supposed to be and others were nothing that I had seen before.

My parents brought me here that day. I can’t believe I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I know I’m not crazy like the other people here. I know for a fact that I am not. Something must have happened that day but I can’t express how I really feel about it. Saying I’m not crazy just sends a frenzy throughout the patients staying here at South Haven’s Psychiatric Hospital. This place was anything but a Haven. It felt more like a prison to me.

The patients here all wore white shirts, white pants, and white shoes that reminded me of Toms but felt more like slippers. The girls’ hair was kept down and never tied up in fear that someone would try and injure themselves somehow. The guys’ hair was always cut short by the nurses that took care of us. At least I’m going to guess that’s who did it. We are kept apart in separate wings. The only time we see each other is when we are supposed to be eating the food they serve or attempting conversations among the other patients. I refuse to talk to these people about supposed people who whisper words in their ears that told them to do the things that they did, giant birds that sit and wait to attack them in their sleep, suicidal people who wish they could end their lives right then and there, and those who whisper to themselves like they are actually talking to someone that no one else can see. There are a few people who seem normal here but I’m not taking my chances.

There is only one person here I actually talk to sense my parents like to pretend that I don’t exist. I think they only came to visit me once since placing me here. That was ten months ago. I’m sure it’s easier just to pay the bill and pretend like my younger sister is their only child then to admit they have an insane daughter. At least I wouldn’t put it past them. Every day I am sent to go and talk to the hospitals psychiatrist to see if I’m getting any better but since nothing has changed since I was placed here, I’m going to guess that according to her everything is still the same and my “schizophrenia” is still in place.

That was where I was headed now. I was escorted down the halls that were painted a faint mint green color with the white tile floors. The floors had different colored lines leading to different sections of the hospital in case anyone got lost I’m assuming. There was a red, blue, green, and one yellow line going down each twist and turn of every hallway. The red led to the girls’ wing, the blue led to the boys, the green led to the restrooms, and the yellow led to the cafeteria/relaxing room so to speak. The way to her room was the only one not marked on the tile. I pretty much knew my way already from going there every day. The questions always remain the same.

“So how are you feeling today, Miss Alice?” Dr. White asked me. Dr. White sat in her usual leather chair facing me while I was placed in a very uncomfortable couch. She wore her usual attire of a black dress suit that hugged every curve of her body, small glasses at the edge of her nose, and these pointed 3-inch heels. Her blonde hair was always pinned back in a tight bun. The one thing about her attire that always tugged at my curiosity was the golden chain that was attached to one end of her pocket while the other end disappeared within.

I let out a sigh as I rested my head on my hand. “I feel fine. I don’t feel any different or even know what difference I’m supposed to be feeling.”

“I want to try something new today, if that’s alright with you.”

“Sure, whatever you want. You are the doctor.”

I watched at Dr. White rose from her chair and started to pace back and forth in front of me. “Now usually the questions I ask you are how you feeling, how you like it here, or how you are adjusting to this place. I would like you to talk about your family.”

Complete confusion crossed my face when she wanted to talk about my family. “What do you want to know about my family?”

“I want to know where you came from, the people who raised you and how you were raised. Everything leading up to your arrival here."

“If you think that will help, I guess so.”

“Alright then, let’s begin with your parents. What are they like?”

"My parents," I said with a chuckle. "My parents are ones to only act like their children are alive when it benefits them. I believe right now as we speak they are playing like my little sister, Cassidy, is the only child they have."

Dr. White was attempting to hide a smile on her face. "Is there anything else you can tell me about your parents?"

"Uh...sure. My parents handle the many different cases of cancer patients and other operations. The greatest people in medicine and yet they can't figure out that nothing is wrong with me."

"And you believe nothing is wrong with you?"

"Yes, I do," I said confidently.

"Alice, if there is indeed nothing wrong with you, then you would be home and not sitting across from me as a schizophrenia case."

"Yeah I am well aware of why I'm here. I don't need you to remind me," I said. I crossed my arms around my chest and leaned back in my seat.

I watched Dr. White write something down on her notepad and a look of concern crossed her face. "Well Miss Alice, I guess that will be all for today. We will pick this back up tomorrow and discuss your sister. I'll see you then."

I just nodded my head and left her sitting there in her chair as she smiled at me. I let out a sigh as I stood in front of her closed door. "With my parents funding thus place I'm never getting out of here."

One of the hospital nurses was waiting for to take me down to go eat whatever lunch was created.