It was later that afternoon and I was at group therapy. I was there because my younger sister, Margo was struggling with an eating disorder. Lily was sitting next to me.
"Everyone keeps telling me that I have to eat," Lily spoke up.
The leader of the group, Tamara, looked at her; "Mmhmm."
"And I don't. I don't need food."
"That's what we all say," Mary replied.
"At first," Anna added, more gently.
"God I hate it here. I'm not meant to survive in the city. The city kills things like us."
"Things?" I asked, with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah. Why do you think both of my names are flowers?"
"Oh."
"They don't understand. I don't need food. I don't need food to survive. I need water. And sunlight. And clean, pure air. The kind there used to be. God I'm suffocating here I'm fukin dying!"
"We all need sunlight and water to survive," Anna pointed out.
Lily stood up, pushing her chair back: "Exactly. That's exactly what I'm getting at Anna."
"Because you're not eating?" Tamara questioned; "you're dying because you're not eating."
"Hey, we all will, eventually. Die, that is," Vicki said.
"That is not what I meant. I'm dying because the city is completely the wrong place for me. They keep bars on the windows. They want to keep me locked away, until I wither and wilt."
"So why don't you just move away?" Charlotte asked.
"It is not that simple! I can't ………..can't just transplant myself without doing some preparation first."
Lily sat back down and looked at me.
"You believe me, don't you Vanessa?" she asked.