“Dude, wake up already…,” Darc’s words broke me out of my sleep and I realized that I had slept straight through till morning.
“What’s up?” I said, blinking my eyes and sitting up.
“Go take a shower or something, breakfast is only twenty minutes from now.”
“Good idea.” I got up and walked to my room. To my surprise, there was someone else already there. He was an old man and he had white hair, craggy features, and it looked like he was moving in.
“Sir, can I help you?” He turned to me, looked me up and down, stared me straight in the eyes and said…
“You’re a good man.”
“Thank you.” I was surprised, but I’m always willing to take a compliment.
“How’d you get in here?” His voice was raspy, but I could understand what he was saying.
“I misbehaved.” I smiled. He frowned.
“No….you did a lot more than that. You killed somebody.” He smiled. I freaked. My jaw dropped. My eyes bugged out. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Why…why do you say that?” I stammered horribly.
“Your old roommate died somehow,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me, throwing a few air punches at my midsection.
“Ha….ha…yeah…hehehe…,” I could barely speak, let alone chuckle. He was kidding. He was joking. He didn’t know anything. Thank God.
Whatever.
“So this bed over here is yours?” he asked, pointing toward my bed.
“Yeah,” I said, still getting over my initial shock.
“Well, then I’ll just move my stuff over here and I’ll do my best to stay out of your way.” He was so polite, so kind. I had no idea what to expect from him now. So I decided that the best thing to do was to just get on with my shower. I gathered up the shaving kit my dad had supplied for me, and I stepped in to the bathroom. I turned on the water and began to undress. The room steamed up quickly. As I stood up to take off my shirt, I noticed something on the mirror. It was an image that was just now beginning to become visible as the steam from my shower covered the surface. It was a heart. Wait, the heart had something inside it.
Look.
I am looking.
It was a cross. Okay, this little scenario had gotten way too weird way too quickly. I stepped in to my shower and let the water pour over me. I began to soap down.
What was going on? I just want to find my son. I don’t need all of this creepy stuff to go along with the job I have to do. I don’t want to find hearts with crosses in them. I don’t want to carry water all the time. And the biggest thing of all, I don’t want to be having a conversation with a voice in my head. Right about now, I just want my son safe and me out of this place.
Could I please just have that?
Ah, no answer. When I need an answer the most, there just isn’t one. Gotta love how that works.
I finished my shower and wiped the mirror clean. I brushed my teeth and then put a towel around myself. I walked back in to my room and got dressed. My roommate was gone. This time I went with something different clothes-wise. I decided to go with a white t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. I still hadn’t been awarded the privilege of wearing shoes with laces, so I just put on the little socks that the hospital provides all of the patients with.
I walked back out to the TV room to see if breakfast was ready. Darc was sitting on a couch. There were some other patients nearby, all of them had their eyes glued on the TV set. Darc was reading a magazine. He looked up as I walked over to the couch.
“Nice threads, Daddy bring those?” He said it without looking up.
“Um…yeah…Hey, is breakfast soon?”
“Right after smoke break. All us nicotine addicts gotta get our fill, ya know.” As soon as he finished saying that, Thomas showed up to let everybody outside for smoke break. I walked up to him as he was opening the door.
“Will I get to see my doctor today?”
“Yeah, Kevin, you’ll get to see him.”
“Will I get to see my dad today?”
“Yes, Kevin. What, something important going on in your life?” he smirked.
“Just got some things to say,” I said.
“I’ll bet you do. As long as you’re a good boy, everything will go fine and you’ll be out of here in no time. Understand?” he smiled at me.
“Yeah, I get it.” I managed a weak half smile and followed everyone else outside. Darc was sitting on the same bench he always was, puffing away. His eyes were closed. I sat next to him and just relaxed. I tilted my head back and looked at the sky. The sun was pretty bright today, so I closed my eyes.
Kevin.
What?
You got me?
Got you? What do you mean?
This is Darc.
“What’s up?” I said, blinking my eyes and sitting up.
“Go take a shower or something, breakfast is only twenty minutes from now.”
“Good idea.” I got up and walked to my room. To my surprise, there was someone else already there. He was an old man and he had white hair, craggy features, and it looked like he was moving in.
“Sir, can I help you?” He turned to me, looked me up and down, stared me straight in the eyes and said…
“You’re a good man.”
“Thank you.” I was surprised, but I’m always willing to take a compliment.
“How’d you get in here?” His voice was raspy, but I could understand what he was saying.
“I misbehaved.” I smiled. He frowned.
“No….you did a lot more than that. You killed somebody.” He smiled. I freaked. My jaw dropped. My eyes bugged out. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Why…why do you say that?” I stammered horribly.
“Your old roommate died somehow,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me, throwing a few air punches at my midsection.
“Ha….ha…yeah…hehehe…,” I could barely speak, let alone chuckle. He was kidding. He was joking. He didn’t know anything. Thank God.
Whatever.
“So this bed over here is yours?” he asked, pointing toward my bed.
“Yeah,” I said, still getting over my initial shock.
“Well, then I’ll just move my stuff over here and I’ll do my best to stay out of your way.” He was so polite, so kind. I had no idea what to expect from him now. So I decided that the best thing to do was to just get on with my shower. I gathered up the shaving kit my dad had supplied for me, and I stepped in to the bathroom. I turned on the water and began to undress. The room steamed up quickly. As I stood up to take off my shirt, I noticed something on the mirror. It was an image that was just now beginning to become visible as the steam from my shower covered the surface. It was a heart. Wait, the heart had something inside it.
Look.
I am looking.
It was a cross. Okay, this little scenario had gotten way too weird way too quickly. I stepped in to my shower and let the water pour over me. I began to soap down.
What was going on? I just want to find my son. I don’t need all of this creepy stuff to go along with the job I have to do. I don’t want to find hearts with crosses in them. I don’t want to carry water all the time. And the biggest thing of all, I don’t want to be having a conversation with a voice in my head. Right about now, I just want my son safe and me out of this place.
Could I please just have that?
Ah, no answer. When I need an answer the most, there just isn’t one. Gotta love how that works.
I finished my shower and wiped the mirror clean. I brushed my teeth and then put a towel around myself. I walked back in to my room and got dressed. My roommate was gone. This time I went with something different clothes-wise. I decided to go with a white t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. I still hadn’t been awarded the privilege of wearing shoes with laces, so I just put on the little socks that the hospital provides all of the patients with.
I walked back out to the TV room to see if breakfast was ready. Darc was sitting on a couch. There were some other patients nearby, all of them had their eyes glued on the TV set. Darc was reading a magazine. He looked up as I walked over to the couch.
“Nice threads, Daddy bring those?” He said it without looking up.
“Um…yeah…Hey, is breakfast soon?”
“Right after smoke break. All us nicotine addicts gotta get our fill, ya know.” As soon as he finished saying that, Thomas showed up to let everybody outside for smoke break. I walked up to him as he was opening the door.
“Will I get to see my doctor today?”
“Yeah, Kevin, you’ll get to see him.”
“Will I get to see my dad today?”
“Yes, Kevin. What, something important going on in your life?” he smirked.
“Just got some things to say,” I said.
“I’ll bet you do. As long as you’re a good boy, everything will go fine and you’ll be out of here in no time. Understand?” he smiled at me.
“Yeah, I get it.” I managed a weak half smile and followed everyone else outside. Darc was sitting on the same bench he always was, puffing away. His eyes were closed. I sat next to him and just relaxed. I tilted my head back and looked at the sky. The sun was pretty bright today, so I closed my eyes.
Kevin.
What?
You got me?
Got you? What do you mean?
This is Darc.