Chapter 10 – A Beautiful Mystery
1285 Words
"Andrew, most of the third unit patients are very aggressive, so only regular doctors can enter. I will show you around the first and second units instead," Dr. Turner explained.
Andrew nodded and didn't mind that he couldn't have access to all of the units. All he intended to accomplish today was to familiarize himself with the environment.
When they passed through the main doors for the first unit, they entered a small courtyard. What Andrew saw at that moment surprised him. Instead of the madness and chaos he expected, it was an idyllic scene with green trees and flowering plants. The patients were allowed to roam free, and some were involved in passive activities like chess or cards. Andrew had never expected a mental hospital to be like this.
"Most of the people in the first unit are patients with depression or manic tendencies. As long as they take their medicine on time, they basically function like any other person,” Dr. Turner informed him when he saw the look of curiosity on Andrew's face.
Andrew nodded slightly. It seemed that this job was a lot easier than he had thought.
Leo cordially greeted a middle-aged man who sat under a big tree. "Oliver, how are you feeling today?" he asked.
Oliver's most defining feature was his thick, dashing eyebrows. Said eyebrows had arched in response to being spoken to.
“Greetings, Dr. Turner,” the man answered. “The Russians are out to get me, Dr. I've already found a bug in my room, and I think it's because I know about the reactor. No one knows how much damage it will cause, and I have to warn the Bergmans. Dr. Turner, please tell the Bergmans to come to my room, but only if I have the lights off.”
Leo pulled Andrew away, who was entranced by the man's delusions. “You will have plenty of opportunities to listen to Oliver's conspiracy theories in the future,” Leo assured.
Andrew wondered how many Russian spy movies Oliver had seen that contributed to his view of the world.
When they entered the central area of the first unit, there weren't as many patients inside. The first unit had a more relaxed atmosphere, and most patients were content to spend time in the courtyard. They also had conditions that were easier to manage. With that said, Andrew did witness a forty-year-old patient being difficult about taking her medication.
“Mona, please take your medicine,” a nurse encouraged.
“I don't want to. It's too bitter,” Mona complained.
“I'll give you an extra pudding if you do.”
“Can I have two puddings then, Mommy?”
“Alright. I will give you two puddings if you take your medicine.”
Andrew was caught off guard about how childish this old woman was acting and how she called a nurse in her twenties “Mommy.”
Leo sighed. “That's Mona. She's a special needs patient in this unit. She looks like she is forty, but she functions like a five-year-old.”
“Mona and Oliver's conditions seem a little serious.”
“They are. They are much more mentally ill than the other patients in this unit, but they don't bother the others. They are free to live their lives in relative peace.”
Andrew was starting to realize that a patient would feel the most comfortable living in the first unit compared to the other units.
The second unit seemed more like a prison. The two tall security guards at the door carry stun guns on their belts, and there was no courtyard. Initially, there was only one corridor in the unit that was just filled with doctors and nurses and no patients.
It seemed that the patients in the second unit had no freedom. As they walked past the rooms, Andrew found that all the patients were locked inside. Through the windows on the doors, he could see what the patients were doing inside.
Most of the patients inside were reading, singing, or even cursing loudly. Andrew finally had the feeling that this was a mental hospital. The patients in the second and third units appeared not as easy to manage.
When he walked past a particular window, Andrew was astonished to see a beautiful woman inside. He didn't expect to see a patient look so pretty.
A young girl sat next to her window and stared out of it longingly. Her long, jet-black hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back. Even in a hospital gown, she still looked gorgeous.
“That's Lucy Yates,” Leo told Andrew. “She definitely stands out amongst the crowd. In all my years, I have never seen anyone who looks quite like her.”
“You said it,” Andrew said in awe. “But how can someone like her... be in this place?”
“Do looks have anything to do with illness? Being pretty doesn't mean she is immune to mental illness. She is still a human being."
Andrew pressed his lips together. He knew that Dr. Turner was right, but that didn't make him any less curious about her. What was the thing that caused this stunning woman to be in this place?
“Miss Yates has severe autism that makes her unable to talk to others. Normally, she would be in the first unit with the others, but...”
“Then... why is she here?”
“Her family vehemently insisted on having her in the third unit, but we compromised with having her here instead.”
“I wonder why...” Andrew trailed off before a familiar robotic voice filled his head.
Task: Investigate the truth about Lucy's presence in the hospital and get to know her. Task reward: a Usain Bolt card and a climbing rope.
Andrew was instantly excited. “Would it be alright if I went in and talked to her?”
“I don't know what would come of it even if you could, as even I haven't heard Miss Yates say a single word. Eventually, people around here just stopped trying to get her to speak.”
“So, she is just stuck in here all by herself? And she can't leave?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Andrew felt that something wasn't right about having Lucy here. She was basically a prisoner in isolation here, and she had no means of escape. Besides, there must be something to be discovered about her; otherwise, the system wouldn't have made her his next task.
“Can I enter her room?” Andrew inquired once more.
“Since you are a brand new intern, you don't have permission yet,” Leo replied. “I'm sorry.”
When he noticed that the window in Lucy's room was open just a crack, Andrew got an idea. “Then would it be okay if I talked to her from outside?”
Though he was initially confused, Leo understood what Andrew was planning and eventually nodded. “I'll lead you outback, where I will let you talk to her for fifteen minutes before I come to get you.”
A few minutes later, Andrew stood outside Lucy's window. He assumed a confident stance as he put on a huge smile. “Hello, Miss. I just started work here, and I wanted to have a chat with you.”
Though he was friendly, he got nothing but silence in return. He could just barely make out Lucy's features through the reflections on the glass. Andrew was a bit put off by her reaction, as he wasn't used to people giving him the silent treatment.
However, Andrew remained determined.
- Writer
