"You will never heal if you continue to seek comfort in solitude. Loneliness is your greatest enemy."
It was cool and dark and the long, wispy curtains at the open window rippled in the breeze. Footsteps crossed the floor behind him, the old wooden boards creaking, followed by the sound of the door softly swinging shut.
You will never heal if you continue to seek comfort in solitude…
A small, pink petal from the blossoming cherry trees outside landed on the windowsill. He reached out a hand to touch it, but the petal skidded away from his grasp, borne away again on the wind.
…Loneliness is your greatest enemy.
Roxas stepped down from the tram and looked around. He had gotten off at the tram stop in the center of Twilight Town, clutching a suitcase at his side and looking absolutely miserable and lost. He pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and unfolded it as a bell made a ding-ding sound behind him and the tram trundled off again.
He gazed down at the crinkled paper. It was a map of Twilight Town. There was a thin line that Roxas had highlighted, beginning at the tram stop where he was currently standing, and ended a few blocks to the west. He looked up again, trying to match his actual location with that on the map.
He was in the middle of a small square, surrounded by brick buildings. The late afternoon sun fell against the shops and houses to his left, meaning that west was to his right. After taking a last glance at the map, Roxas crumpled the paper, shoved it back in his pocket, and began walking toward the setting sun.
The sun gently warmed his face as he walked, but did nothing to console his unmistakable anxiety. He was grasping the handle of his suitcase as if he was expecting it would be stolen at any second and kept looking behind him every now and then. There weren't many other people around, but Roxas averted his gaze from those that were. He watched his feet as he walked, only glancing up to check that he wasn't about to run into anything.
He was frightened of the place he was going to. But he was even more frightened of what he was leaving behind. He knew in his heart that there was something wrong with him. He wasn't like other people. He was scared of everything that was outside his front door. And yet he was also terrified of being alone. He desperately wanted to see a doctor, but he was unemployed and it was a struggle just to afford something to eat. There was no away he could afford to see a doctor. So he had done the only thing he knew to do.
Twilight Sanctuary was a safe house for people with mental disorders. Roxas had read about the place in the newspaper over a year ago, when it had first been established. It had been founded by a young psychiatrist and a few of his friends, and was a type of shelter that took in and cared for people who suffered from mental conditions and had nowhere else to go. Roxas had wondered how big the hearts of the people who ran the shelter had to be, but hadn't thought much more about it.
Over the past several weeks, however, what he had read in the newspaper came floating back to him, and he realized that his constant anxiety had come to disrupt his life. He had lost his job, he could no longer pay his rent, and with a feeling of deepest shame, he packed his suitcase with whatever pitiful possessions he owned, turned his house keys in to the landlord, and got on the tram, bound for Twilight Sanctuary. He wasn't sure what was causing his anxiety, but he knew that the psychiatrist would help him find out.
Roxas suddenly broke out of his thoughts when he stepped into darkness. He looked up to find himself standing in the shadow of a huge, beautiful house on a street corner. Unlike the other buildings in Twilight Town, this one had a small front yard. A couple of willow trees stood on either side of a short brick walk that connected the street to a little staircase that led up to a wide front porch. The high ornate windows were accented with handsome white-washed window frames and old-fashioned oil lamps illuminated the front entrance. An ornate silver plaque near the door read the address:
Twilight Sanctuary
12 Sundown Street
Twilight Town
It was now or never. Roxas stepped carefully onto the brick walk, peering around the little yard as if he half-expected someone to jump out from behind one of the tree and attack him. It seemed so much quieter than on the main roads. The only sound was the leaves of the trees rustling in the breeze.
The door opened suddenly, and Roxas started. A man that looked no older than his late twenties stood on the veranda, his right hand on the doorknob. His dark eyebrows were raised in slight surprise above a pair of perceptive crimson eyes. He had a long mane of long, silky black hair that was tied out of his eyes with a burgundy headband. He was wearing a long coat the same color as the headband, and a small black bag hung from-
The man's left arm was prosthetic and made of a shiny, golden metal. Roxas realized he was staring and quickly looked up into the man's eyes again. Although they were a strange color and slightly frightening, they held a kind smile.
"What can I do for you?" the man asked. His voice was calm and soothing.
Roxas blinked a couple of times. His vocal cords seemed to have temporarily stopped working. The man waited patiently, but, seeing that the boy standing on the steps below him looked terrified and wasn't about to answer, he tried again.
"Have you come to stay with us?" Roxas saw the man's crimson eyes dart to the suitcase in his hand before fixing on his face again. Roxas nodded mutely.
"Come with me," the man replied gently. He opened the door again and stood aside to let Roxas ahead of him. Roxas slowly ascended the steps, averting his gaze. The man's eyes were a bit creepy. He stepped over the threshold to the house and felt the man enter after him, closing the door behind him.
It was cool and seemed much darker after the sunlight outside. As Roxas's eyes adjusted, he saw that they were in a type of foyer. To his immediate left was a tall coat hanger and an umbrella stand. To the right, a little way down the hall, was a staircase with an ornate iron banister. An iron chandelier hung on a long chain from the ceiling.
"Come," the man said softly, gesturing for Roxas to follow him. As they walked down the hall together, the man spoke again.
"What is your name?"
"Roxas," Roxas replied, finally finding his voice again.
"How old are you, Roxas?" the man continued.
"I'm…eighteen."
"I see," the man said softly.
"Who are you?" Roxas blurted, and he immediately reddened at his rudeness.
"My name is Doctor Valentine, or Vincent, if you prefer," the man said. He didn't sound shocked or angry at all. On the contrary, his voice at taken on a thin, almost strained tone, as if he were holding back the urge to laugh. "I am the psychiatrist here at Twilight Sanctuary." They had reached the door at the end of the foyer, and Roxas suddenly grew anxious at the thought of what kind of people lived here.
Roxas had never met anyone with a mental disorder before. He could only imagine what they were like; silent, staring patients shuffling down the hallway in pajamas and worn slippers, depressed people sitting in corners with drool running down their chins, psychos screaming at imaginary voices…Roxas shuddered as he felt his stomach clench with fear.
"No need to be nervous," Vincent said kindly. Roxas jumped and looked at the man in wonder as they exited the foyer.
They were in another hall , but this one was wide and had several doors and open frames leading off to other rooms. A small round table stood on the wall to their right, the lamp on top casting a warm orange glow throughout the hall. There was also a black rotary telephone, its wire hanging off the table in a long, springy coil. It was very quiet. Before Roxas could see anything else, he was being steered into a room to the left.
Vincent had led Roxas into what was clearly an office. The walls were painted the warm color of a peach. Golden sunlight streamed across the polished wood floor from a window hung with yellow curtains on the opposite wall. Two upholstered chairs stood side-by-side in the middle of the room across from a large mahogany desk. A woman with a long braid sat behind the desk, looking at what looked like the contents of a file. She looked even younger than the man with crimson eyes.
"Oh, Vincent, I thought you had already lef-" the woman began, but stopped when she saw Roxas.
"Aeris, this is Roxas," Vincent said in that low, calming voice of his. "He has come to stay with us."
"Hello, Roxas," the woman said, beaming. She stood and hurried around the desk as Vincent led him over to one of the upholstered chairs. "My name is Aeris," she continued, offering her hand to him.
Roxas shook it politely, slightly dazed. This was not at all what he had expected. These people seemed so friendly. It was almost hard for him to think that he was in a place for crazy people. Aeris returned to her seat behind the desk and motioned for him to do the same. Vincent set his bag down and leaned against the wall.
"So, Roxas." Aeris said as she opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a manila folder. "Why have you come to us today?"
"I…think there's something wrong with me…" Roxas said to his knees. "I don't have anywhere else to go, though. I had to turn my apartment keys in to my landlord this morning because I can't pay my rent anymore. I lost my job because I'm always too scared to leave my apartment."
"First thing tomorrow."
"What?" Roxas exclaimed, looking around at Vincent.
"You have an appointment with me first thing tomorrow," the doctor said, gazing shrewdly at Roxas. "From what you have just said, I see that you have made a wise decision in coming here today."
Roxas ran a hand through his hair. He felt so ashamed and disappointed in himself despite what Vincent had just said. He had always thought of this place as a home for people who were too sick to take care of themselves, people who talked to themselves and tried to commit suicide. He had always thought of mental patients as people who didn't belong in normal society. He had never thought of someone having a mental disorder as someone like him.
"Hey, we understand. That's why we're here."
Roxas looked up to see Aeris smiling kindly at him, her big green eyes full of compassion. He wasn't sure if he believed her or not, but nodded nonetheless. He watched as she opened the folder an pulled out an official-looking paper.
"This is a legal document that states your official residence with us," Aeris said. "It basically protects you from the law in case anything happens."
Roxas wondered what Aeris meant by that last statement, but decided not to ask. Instead, he looked at the five degree in handsome mahogany frames behind the desk. He could see a copy of Vincent's PhD on the far right. The other four looked like graduate degrees in clinical psychology.
"Roxas?"
He looked back at Aeris and saw that she was holding out the paper and a fountain pen. Roxas read over the document carefully. Then, with a flurry of butterflies in his chest, he signed his name at the bottom of the page.
Roxas had no idea how much his life was about to change.