Chris Kendall was only a small boy when he met Alice for the first time. She had shown up in her pale blue dress with dirty, grey sandals, her hair in bunches. Chris' parents never really understood the relationship between Chris and Alice, as she was adopted. They expected Chris to take an instant dislike to her but in fact, it was quite the opposite. They played together every day, down by the swings in the local park. They told each other their secrets; secrets they would never dare tell anyone else. They played hide-and-seek, running around the grassy park until their parents called them inside for dinner. They were best friends. When Chris was 15, he snapped. Alice, who was 13, waved at him from behind their mother's back when she scolded Chris, laughing to herself; like she was mocking him. Then Chris' parents had him admitted, he remembers the day like it was only yesterday.

'Dad! Please, no!' Chris cried as his father drove him to the hospital. 'Don't make me do this!'

'Son, it's for your own good' his father replied as he gently held him by the wrist. 'You won't be in here for long, son. Just until you become a little more sane'.

'Mum?' Chris turned to his mother, whose eyes were wet with tears. Alice stood by her side, staring at the white linoleum. His mother only shook her head at him once.

They reached the check-in point at the mental hospital and Chris' father had to gently prise Chris' fingers off his shirt.

'Bye son, we'll visit you soon' they had promised.

Alice ran up to Chris and hugged him goodbye, her red hair against his cheek. 'I'll visit you soon' she said, hooking her pinky finger in his before running off to join his departing parents.

Chris' parents visited frequently at first but it became less and less as the years drew on. They promised him he'd only be there for a short time, but they were lying, he knew that. In the beginning; his parents visited him every week, then it turned to every month, then every few months until it stopped completely. It was only Alice who had kept her promise; she visited Chris every day, without fail.

It was only Chris and a few other patients at the start, and gradually as the years went on, they were released. Chris was stuck, deserted and his hope was fading.

It was the beginning of 2012 when a new boy was admitted, it was Alice who had notified Chris of his appearance.

'Hi' Chris introduced himself to the new patient. 'I'm Chris, Chris Kendall'.

The new boy pushed his hair away from his tanned face, revealing dark brown eyes. 'I'm Dan' he said quietly. 'Dan Howell'.

'I'm Alice' Alice piped up from behind Dan and he turned to face her. 'I'm Chris' sister'. Dan smiled slightly before turning back to face Chris, Alice's smile dropped slightly.

'How long have you been here?' Dan asked Chris as they sat down at the dinner table. It was only those three in the room.

'Seven years' he replied monotonously.

Dan was silent for a moment. 'Do your parents visit you?'

Chris didn't answer for a few moments; he was reluctant to share such private information with a stranger. 'At first they did' he admitted. 'But now they don't, only Alice does'. He turned to smile at his sister.

'I wish I had a sibling' Dan said. 'But I only have a roommate, Phil'.

The pair carried on chatting until dinner time was over and the hospital's visiting time was over.

Chris and Dan walked Alice to the exit of the hospital.

'See you tomorrow' Chris said to Alice, hugging her goodbye.

'Yep. Bye Dan' she said shyly to him. 'I've got work to do anyway'.

She exited the hospital and Chris and Dan made their way upstairs to get their medication.

'So, how old are you?' Dan asked Chris as they waited in line.

'22' Chris replied. 'You?'

'21' Dan replied.

Their names were called and two white pills were dropped in their hands. They both swallowed them dry before walking to their rooms. Chris said goodbye to Dan as he stopped outside his room and entered.

His room was completely white; a dirty white tiled floor and peeling white paint on the walls. A single iron bed was pushed in the corner of the room and the room was illuminated by a dim light. The window had no curtains but it was covered by iron bars; he was trapped.

Chris shed his clothes and climbed into bed, pulling the thin sheets over his body. His eyes felt heavy and he allowed them to close, drifting off into a deep sleep. This was his routine, day in, day out, and had been for the past seven years. He wondered if he would ever escape this place. But somehow, he doubted not.