"So, let me get this straight," Evenie said as Adela made a right turn into a narrow street. "You found—no, you saw a ghost—"
"I wouldn't say he was a ghost, Evie," Adela said defensively.
"Just humour me for a second. You saw this ghost guy—"
"Mystery Man."
Evenie rolled her eyes. "Fine, Mystery Man at the café, reading the diary that you found on the website and then, out of nowhere, he disappears and leaves it behind?"
"Yep," Adela said, popping the p.
"And now it turns out it might not be your mother's, like you thought, but Mrs Finlay's?"
Adela nodded her agreement.
"None of this makes sense—like, at all. Except one thing."
"What's that?"
"Maybe you should also join Mrs Finlay at the institute."
"Ha-ha."
Still... knowing that she had imagined Mystery Man put Adela on edge. A small part of her was in denial, but that part was shrinking by the minute. And she was frightened by the thought that she had even seen him in the first place.
"What I don't understand is," Evenie continued on to say, "why was Alaric so certain that the diary could belong to someone you know?"
Adela shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't really say that it was a certainty, just that the chances were high based on the handwriting."
"Hmm, well, why don't we open the diary to find out?"
"It's locked, remember? Besides, we'll be at the institute soon. Maybe once we park up you can give it a try."
"Imagine if all that was inside were cupcake recipes!"
"Evie, don't be ridiculous!"
"Ease up, Dels. Just trying to lighten the mood. Jeez."
"I know, I'm sorry. I'm nervous about this visit for some reason."
"I am, too," Evenie said, looking back at the rear seats.
"What are you looking for?"
"Your bag—for the diary."
"It should be back there," Adela told her, using one hand to blindly search for her bag. "Aha, got it." She handed the bag over to Evenie. "Are you sure you want to open it right now?"
"Alright, fine, we'll open it when we get there."
Ignoring Evenie's annoyance, Adela said: "Have you thought of a good excuse as to why we need to see her, by the way?"
"We'll just say we're her relatives. I mean, they can't do anything, can they?"
"They could ask for identification?"
"We'll give it to them. That shouldn't be a problem. I doubt they check every visitor's identification cards."
"Hmm, yeah, I guess you're right." When they came to a stop at a red-light Adela asked: "Remind me again. Why was Mrs Finlay admitted into the institute? I never had the heart to ask Rose about it. We're not exactly close. Not on a personal level, anyway."
"I don't really know either, to be honest. The little I know is from Rose herself."
"Oh? I didn't know you were close with her."
"I'm not." Evenie clarified. "Sometimes she'd come to the museum to chat with me during my shift, but that's about it. Most of the time, it's really her talking to me while I listen—as much as I can, at least. I don't really like her if I'm honest."
"She's not too bad..."
Evenie shrugged.
"Actually, now that you mention it, sometimes she'd do that with me, too, before I started working at the café—before my mother disappeared," Adela said. "But I think since the disappearance, she's been trying to give me some space, which is nice of her. Maybe she just feels lonely? It can't be easy having a mother locked away."
Adela made a mental note to check in on Rose more often, even if they weren't best of friends. She felt sad for Rose. She couldn't imagine being alone, with no one close to you for you to confide in, to the point that you must seek attention from strangers.
"Maybe," Evenie agreed softly. "It's been years since her mother's been inside. She told me that she had been only twelve when it happened. She then had to live with her father who became an abusive drunk and eventually left her on her own just before her eighteenth birthday. I can't begin to imagine the horrors she must have gone through."
"Oh God, I didn't know that."
"Yeah," Evenie said. "I don't think he's been back since—which is good, but like, just to see her, you know? See how she's doing."
Adela couldn't understand how a father could willingly leave their child behind. Granted, she had never known her own father. All she knew, from her mother's reluctant answers to her incessant questions about him, was that he had been on deployment for the Australian Defence Force for some months. A week before he was due to come home—a week before Adela was to be born—he'd been killed.
Adela inhaled sharply, accidentally swerving the car slightly over the lane. She pulled the wheel back and corrected, but Evenie noticed.
"Whoa, Dels. You okay?"
"Sorry, just spaced out for a bit there."
"Um, just a heads up: I don't really feel like dying right now."
Adela laughed. "I can assure you that your life is in good hands."
"Somehow, I doubt that." Evenie poked her tongue out and gave Adela a light shove.
"Hey! See! Things like that will definitely get us in an accident."
"Oh, shut up. I barely touched you."
Adela scoffed but didn't say anything.
After a moment, Evenie said: "All jokes aside, are you sure that you're okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she lied.
In that moment, Google Maps on Adela's phone announced a right turn to their destination. The institution came into view instantly as she made the turn. It was little more than a large house, almost looking like a private practice, which was expected for a small town.
They parked, and when Adela switched the engine off, she took a deep breath and said, "So, do you want to try open it now?"
"Yes, but I think you should try again," Evenie said, passing the diary over to Adela.
Adela ran her fingers along the clasp that held the diary shut. "What difference does it make? I've tried it once—no, a million times already."
"I want to see how you tried to do it."
Adela sighed and then, very carefully, picked at the clasp.
It didn't budge.
"See?"
"Here, let me try." Evenie offered, taking the diary from Adela's outstretched hand. She inspected it for a moment and then, just as Adela had, she tried to pry open.
When it wouldn't budge despite Evenie's efforts, Adela felt her heart sink. A part of her really hoped that the diary contained a clue that would help her find her mother, or at least, another relative she could seek out for some answers. All this... for nothing. She couldn't understand why it was so difficult for them to open the diary she had seen Mystery Man read it himself so intently as if he were trying to work out its deepest, darkest, secrets.
But then again, she had imagined him...
She shuddered at the thought of seeing him.
"What I don't get is," said Evenie, oblivious to Adela's reaction. "Why would Rose be so worked up about a diary that can't be opened? So much so that she had to call me up late last night just to ask about it?"
Evenie was right. That didn't make sense.
"There's only one way to find out," Adela said, shoving the diary back into her bag. "I only hope Mrs Finlay is stable enough for us to get some answers."
They hopped out of the car and walked toward the entrance of the institute.
"You never got around to telling me what you knew about her mother," Adela said to Evenie as she pushed the door open to the institute.
"All I know is that she suffers from some sort of manic paranoia and had to be admitted because of it," Evenie replied quietly. "Besides that, I know nothing else."
As they entered, a security guard greeted them almost immediately. The guard gestured for them to spread their arms out for a thorough body-search of any weapons or objects that could potentially be used to harm patients, or worse still – as she explained to them – in case patients got a hold of anything they could use to harm themselves or those around them.
"I don't know about you, but I feel... cold," Evenie said to Adela as they walked away from the security checkpoint.
"That's cause it's actually freezing in here," Adela said, rubbing her arms and wishing she had brought along a jacket with her. "And also, it's probably the nerves. I'm nervous as hell."
The institute did not look at all as Adela had imagined it—like the asylum centres she'd seen in movies. Instead, it looked like any other ordinary hospital. It was plain, brightly lit and sparsely furnished, with linoleum floors and bathrooms in the hallways. The reception desk sat at the centre, most probably so that the nurses could keep an eye out should things go awry.
"Can I help you?" one of the nurses asked, her voice slightly muffled behind a glass, as they reached the reception desk.
"We're here to visit a relative," Evenie said.
"Do you have the code?" the nurse asked, her eyebrows raised.
Thinking quickly, Adela said, "Oh, the code!" and smacked her hand against her forehead. "I forgot to bring the code Rose wrote down for us, Evie. Do you remember what it was?"
But before Evenie could reply, the nurse said, "Rose? Are you related to Mrs Finlay?"
Both Adela and Evenie looked at each other. "Yes, we are."
"Oh?"
"We're Rose's cousins," Adela hastily said. "She couldn't make it today, so we thought we'd come see Mrs Finlay and keep her company on Rose's behalf."
"That's nice of you," the nurse said with a smile, "but I don't think Mrs Finlay is accepting visitors today, unfortunately. Let me check with the overseeing nurse. If you could give me one moment," the nurse said lifting a finger to suggest a pause while dialling a number onto the clunky telephone that sat on the nurses' desk.
In the meantime, Adela looked around. The space was divided into smaller, family-like wards, all sectioned off by glass doors. She could see patients in the common area within the ward mingling; some in groups, some in pairs, some alone. Among them were visitors—family and friends, she presumed—with the occasional nurse walking in and out of doors that led to patient rooms, which explained why no one else was around them when they had first walked in.
"Sorry about that, ladies," came the nurse moments later. "The overseeing nurse is currently attending to another patient over at Ward B. She'll be done in a moment. I was just speaking to someone else who believes visitation should be fine. Did you say you didn't have the code with you today?"
Adela bit her lip. "Yes, we—we forgot to bring it. Rose had it written down for us."
"No problem," she said. "The code is just for you to be able to exit the wards—" at their worried expressions, she continued "—it's just so patients don't exit and wander around so easily. It helps us keep an eye on them." Right. Phew. "I'm sure Lucy, the overseeing nurse, can arrange something if you explain your situation. Can I just get your ID, please?"
When Adela looked at the nurse with her brows furrowed in confusion, the nurse said, "We keep track of all visitors for security reasons."
"Oh, right, of course," said Adela as she handed over her ID.
Evenie did the same.
The nurse typed in their details onto the computer and, when she was done, she handed back their ID cards and gestured for them to walk over to Ward B where the overseeing nurse was to meet them.
Adela nervously chewed on her nail as they made their way over to Ward B. She hoped they were convincing enough about their identities, even if the nurse had taken down their real ones. And she hoped that when they went in to see Mrs Finlay that everything would go smoothly. They'd be in so much trouble if they got caught impersonating relatives who, Adela now realised, probably didn't exist. As far as she was concerned, it was just Rose and her mother—much like Adela's own family situation. Ah, damn it. We should have thought this through!
"What are you so nervous about?" asked Evenie, noticing Adela's nail-biting habit.
"Seeing her, I guess? I don't know..." Adela replied, looking over at Evenie while lowering her hand. "I'm also wondering if Lucy would let us see her."
"I don't see why not? How would they prove we're not her relatives?"
"What if they call Rose?"
"Well, let's just hope that if they do, she doesn't pick up."
"This whole thing is making me feel sick."
"Hey, this was your idea, remember? We should have waited to speak to Rose tomorrow."
"Ugh, I know, but we're already here and—" Adela didn't get a chance to finish what she wanted to say because a nurse—a tall woman with blond hair—exited Ward B as they approached its doors. She came up to them.
"Hi, I'm Lucy," she said with a smile. "You must be Rose's relatives, Adela and Evenie."
"Yes, that's right," Evenie piped in. "We're her cousins."
"It's lovely to meet you," Lucy said. "Rose hasn't been in today. Is she well?"
"She's busy planning for the Falls Fair," Evenie told her. "We thought we'd come pay Mrs Finlay a visit on her behalf as we haven't seen her since she'd been admitted."
"The thing is," Adela chimed in, "we forgot to bring the code Rose wrote down for us."
The nurse flipped through some pages in her clipboard before she said, "That's okay. I'll have to supervise your visit, anyway, but as I am short on time—" Lucy looked at her watch "—I can only let you see her for ten minutes. Is that okay?"
"That's plenty of time!" Adela said, beaming. Yes!
"Follow me," the nurse said as she headed back through Ward B doors with Adela and Evenie following close behind. "Are you aware of Mrs Finlay's condition?"
"Not particularly," Evenie said. "But Rose did tell me she's generally okay."
Adela gave Evenie a questioning look. It's okay, Evenie mouthed, I got this.
The nurse looked back at them and said, "Oh yes, she's really wonderful! Though, just be warned that she suffers from slight schizophrenia. She is under some medication right now, so the visit should go smoothly. Did the nurse tell you that Mrs Finlay absolutely loves having visitors?"
Both Adela and Evenie murmured sounds of agreement.
"Great! This would be so good for her. She'd be so happy to see you!"
They reached a hallway that led to patient rooms and stopped when the door with the number eleven stood before them. Adela and Evenie watched as Lucy knocked on the door softly three times before she turned the handle, prompting a click to sound.
"Follow me," she said as she pushed the door further ajar and stepped inside.
Adela didn't need to be told twice; since they were so close to seeing Mrs Finlay, she couldn't back out now, despite how anxious she felt about meeting her.
Just like the rest of the institute, Mrs Finlay's room was, well, normal. There wasn't much inside, except for a small bookshelf in one corner that held a few books and magazines. A single bed was placed at the centre of the room and in it sat Mrs Finlay.
Her deep, brown eyes brightened as the nurse announced their arrival.
"Ruby, this is Adela and Evenie—Rose sent them to check on you."
"Oh, how lovely!" said Mrs Finlay, clapping her hands together. But when her gaze fell on Adela, her face turned grave and she said, "You! I know who you are!"
Gasp! Does Mrs Finlay know who Adela is?
And what do you think is going to happen next?
Also! Thank you so much for reading Chapter Six! I really hoped you enjoyed it. Please show your support by voting, commenting, and adding the story to your reading list!
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Enjoy Chapter Seven! xx