Chapter 1; Anna Smith, TN, America
Little Anna Smith lay, sweating in her sheets. For months tears had fallen onto her pillow, and she had woken up teary eyed and sad. And, for months, her parents had done nothing, but stared at her blankly, and brushed her curly blonde hair out of her face.
One day, the young first grader woke up from one of her usual night fits, just like usual, but, this time, she muttered, "I know. They tried to trick me, but I know." Her parents, both high class citizens, just stared at her, and questioned her. Anna just laughed in reply, "They are trying to trick me. They want me. They are watching me. They think I can't see them, but I do."
Then, she crawled out her covers, and went off to school. Her father reported this to a doctor, crying out in frustration, "Doc, the girl thinks she's being watched! She actually believes someone's out to get her!" The doctor, who was famous and rich at the time, sighed, "Its actually quite common. Here, I have just the thing; it's a new medicine designed specifically for these types of cases."
Anna's dad gave it to her without question. But, Anna was a little less cooperative. "No!" She had cried, "Please, Daddy, don't make me drink it!" She stared up at her father with her big, brown eyes, and began to cry. Her father just whispered, "It tastes like ice cream, sugar. Just drink it! It'll make you feel better."
The strange thing is, Anna didn't say anything. Instead, she picked up the medicine, and threw it across the room. As it splashed on the wall, shattering its liquid all over the flowery wallpaper, Anna did nothing, but burst out crying, saying over and over, "I know! I know! I know!"
…
That day, Anna was institutionalized for a month. When she came back home, she didn't say a word. She just nodded and smiled, and was the perfect daughter. Everyone just hugged her, and told her how much they missed her. She, in return, never spoke of her dreams, or of her rants. She never woke up crying, or wailing. She was normal.
No one ever questioned it; just like that, a child was different. Of course, no one ever asked, "What actually happened at that hospital?"