Chapter Six, Kobe Hospital for Mental Health
The pink rays of dawn were just spreading across Kobe but already some people were up. A subway stopped at its station and opened its doors, letting out a fresh torrent of people. Among them was a stunningly beautiful woman. Unknown to those around her and even herself, she was the same woman that Elleanor had seen in her dream. She was tall for her ethnic group at 5'7", and she had pitch black hair which flowed to her waist. She was wearing a red tank top, black pants, and red high heels. She had a black purse swung over her shoulder and a slim pair of sunglasses completed the look and hid her identity. As she walked along the street, she kept her gaze on her destination. The Kobe Hospital for Mental Health.
As she stepped in, a bulky guard at the hospital searched her bag. She thought he was going to try and grope her but fortunately for his sake he kept his hands to himself. She walked up to the reception desk and gave the receptionist a warm smile.
"Hello, I'm here to see the couple that came in yesterday. The ones from Shiroira whose son's class was sent to the program? I'm a friend of the family." The receptionist nodded and stood up, directing the woman to follow. After a trip in an elevator and a detour through the halls, they arrived at a blank door. The receptionist nodded and went back to the front desk as the woman slipped in.
"Hello, I'm sure you don't remember me, but I'm a good friend of yours. It's been a while since we last saw each other, hasn't it?"
The question was directed to the two adults in the room. Both of them were a mess. Their now shaggy hair fell over their faces and their eyes showed nothing but a blank. Both of them were wearing hospital gowns and were sitting in chairs on the other side of the room. They were holding hands.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I brought you something you might want to see. Look. Look at these pictures, don't you recognize the people in them? What about these? And this one? Can't you recognize these pictures? Don't you know the people here!"
Despite the woman's protests, the couple stared at her like the pictures that she was holding up were blank pieces of paper. She tucked them safely away in her checkbook, fortunately the guard had the decency to not look in there. She walked over to the couple and gave them a brief hug. Tears were visibly pouring out from under her glasses.
"You.. you really don't remember at all.. you really are lost... I... I'm so sorry.." She wiped her eyes on her arm and exited the room, storming down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. When she walked through the lobby and out of the hospital holding back tears, neither the receptionist nor the guard seemed surprised. They would be surprised later when they checked the security tape and realized the cameras in the couple's room stopped working for ten minutes. The woman wore her magnetic earrings to the occasion. A member of the Tame Four makes no mistakes. But she would have boarded the subway, still fighting a losing battle against her tears, long before the guard looked at the videos. She had other business to attend to.
--End