Asylum
Moronic Monotony
I sat on the ivory, fluffy comforter and resumed reading The Junior Classics 2: Stories of Wonder and Magic. I reread my favorite story from this volume: The Tale of Three Tails. It is a story involving a tree talking to a very befuddled man about animal's tails in days past. The tree explains how several animals decided on their tails, but the man never fully understands. I interpret this as a flaw in our race. We are so closed minded and we refuse to accept anything but the norm. It adds to our stupidity level.
I slammed the book and listened to the blast reverberate around the empty, white cell. The only things in my room are the set of The Young Folks' Shelf of Books in a stack on the white tiled floor, a bed mat, also on the floor so you couldn't fall of it, which was covered with a heavy, white blanket. The asylum was under the impression that I could strangle myself with the lighter, thinner sheets. That's it. No flames, no life, no nothing; just me, my books, my bed, and my pure, white, sterile cell.
I replaced the green volume below the first red and pulled out the blue text underneath. This is my most loved book out of the set, Junior Classics 3: Myths and Legends. And the most worn story in the book you may ask, that would be the Spirit That Lived in a Tree. The story involves a living tree who was growing old, but did not want to die. So, he gave his soul to his most frequent visitor - a fox. The fox gained immense wisdom after gaining the soul. The fox used his knowledge to blend with a form of new creature invading the land as he also did not want to be killed. Eventually, he lost his foxy appearance and looked like the new creatures, save for his tail and large ears which he refused to part with. When the fox died of old age he again inhabited another body. Now, the new creatures were more prominent and the fox was forced to hide his ears and tail. He now looked exactly like the new creatures, but his cunning never left him. The fox was never found out by the new creatures. The new creatures were, of course, humans who were too stupid to find the outsider. He is one of my favorite characters and I draw out the story frequently.
The large fluorescent light on the ceiling blinked out. I sighed and slowly shut the book and placed it next to be bed before pulling the slim, white, "no clasp" ponytail out of my sleek black hair. I slipped under the comforter as I had missed my stretching time for the evening, and tomorrow was going to be Saturday. My coal, straight hair fanned around my face as I closed my eyes and tried to block out the everlasting feeling of being watched by the security camera in the corner of my cell. The silence in my holding became a lightly sung lullaby as I begin to succumb to my beloved darkness that is bliss.
My eyes flicked open and I immediately flipped onto my stomach, burying my head in the pillow. Three…two…one… the light flickered on and my door opened to reveal Clara. Clara bounced in wearing her normal white pleated pants and shirt that all the nurses at my home wore.
"Boker Tov, boker tov," Clara continued to sing her usual round in an obnoxiously falsely hyper tone. There was nothing more I loathe more than people who are spurious, but incompetence is up there. "Good morning Leiko," Clara chirped as she plops an egg bagel and cream cheese on a metal tray next to my bed. I rolled over and sat up. The last time I tried to ignore Clara she began to sing that horrendous "morning" song and shook me until I responded. I picked up the chilled metal tray. It always puzzled me how the tray was cold year round. As I bit into the bagel, Clara sat behind me, running a brush through my disheveled morning hair. "Did you sleep well?" I remained silent. I refused to speak to anyone, not since I came to my first asylum, that is. "Lovely dear," Clara continued, having a conversation with herself as I had not answered. I put down my bagel, not hungry. "Alright dear, off to the showers you go," Clara said as she had every morning past three months.
I slinked out of bed and followed Clara's bouncing blond head down the hallway to the showers. Clara let me in and waited outside the door, as always. I striped and stared at my wrists and then my slender, tanned waist in the mirror. The scars were still there. I had had always been a very solitary person, but after Mum and Dad were slaughtered I was shocked into silence. Soon after, the cold depths of solitude got to me and I wanted nothing more than to be with my parents again. I stepped into the shower stall and yanked the knob, turning it all the way to the left. The now scolding water pounded on my back. I needed the heat. It serves as a punishment for my refusal to conform and a reminder of fire which has so long been banned from my sight. I pictured the flickering flames and smiled while lathering up my mid length, sleek hair. The suds fell and my smile broadened as I imagined the steam in the room to be gray as smoke. It choked and smothered my senses, blocking out all remembrances. I turned the water off and stepped onto the white floor towel and grabbed the white bath towel. I dried off and draped the towel around my slim shoulders and I brushed my hair up into a high ponytail. I opened a cabinet under the sink and pulled out a set of neatly folded clothes and quickly dressed. Now in a pair of jeans and white long sleeve, oval necked shirt I reached for a silver necklace with a pendent that resided on the white marble counter. It was a sterling pendent of a small, sitting fox. I smile as I fasten the clasp and think of Dad.
Dad stood behind me clipping the new necklace together. He was a tall and burly man from the northern of Italy with warm, chocolate eyes as soft as his mop of dark curls. Dad bent his knees and bounced up and down a little to keep his balance while in his squat position. "You've always been a little like a fox, Leiko," he said, blue eyes sparkling, "Smart and quick, not to mention a little sneaky." He finished, punching you lightly on the shoulder. I giggled and wrapped by small arms around his muscled neck. He picked me up and twirled my eight year old self around, laughing in his deep voice.
I exited the bathroom and Clara smiles, "Wow, that was fast." That's Clara for you. She feels that all the "mentally problemed" people needed were lots and lots of praise, and she was ready and waiting to dish it out. If only she meant the things she said. She gestured to a large, pale lavender book bag on the floor next to her. "It's Saturday," she reminded you, "That means you get to go to the art center and then pay a visit to Dr. Sakinawa." Oh great. Back to the physiatrist I go. I have been to asylums and doctors all over the United States, but Sakinawa was my first in Japan and my favorite and least favorite all at the same time. All the other physiatrists had been very persistent, but not Sakinawa. He believed I was a hopeless case and just let me use my two hour session to work on homework. I liked that he left me alone, but it's a little unnerving that he just gave up.
Clara led me to the entrance of the asylum. At this point another guard took over and led me outside the soundless sliding doors and into a white station wagon. This guard also believed me to be hopeless and didn't bother to talk to me on the ride to the high school. I am now attending Meiou (me-oh) High and am making no friends. Since I don't talk and the teachers have told all their students about me being a mental case, and to top it all off, I was in special classes with only other kids from the asylum or who were slow. I sighed as I walked into the building and quickly sped in front of my guard in haste to get to the art room. The school was hosting an art program for all the people in your classes. Art therapy, they call it.
As usual, I'm the first one there and took my seat that faced the corner window and was near a speaker. The teacher felt that classical music would help us. Most of the kids hated it, but I found it comforting. The sound rose and fell like the flickering of a passionate, all-engulfing forest fire. It was my only escape. I unzipped the backpack and shuffled through the books and folders for school until I find my sketch book. It was already a quarter of the way full of pictures of people I've seen around school, of my view of the forest out the art room window, some fires, and ,naturally, the fox from the story. I flip to an open page and grab a large 50 color box of pencils and began to sketch out the forest as the others trickled in. I added the last golden leaf to the fall scene and glance at the clock. 2:30. Damn. I have to leave already. I packed up silently and then walked over to Kaidou who was over by the door. He walked out to the car, I follow; and then we were on our way to Dr. Sakinawa's office.
Kaitou dropped me at the front desk and then sprinted out of the skyscraper. I walked past the front desk, up the twelve flights of stairs to the doctor's office and enter the open office.
"Afternoon Leiko," Dr. Sakinawa stated in his monotone. You gave a polite nod and headed to your normal couch on the opposite side of the room, but not before noticing a new presence in the room. I let my back pack drop to the floor before shooting a questioning look at Dr. Sakinawa. "Oh, this is Shuiichi Minomino. He is an intern from Meiou High School and will be with us for quite some time," he turned to Shuiichi, "Shuiichi, this is Leiko. An apparent trauma case from the asylum, but consider this your free period as she isn't going to talk to you."