Red Room

5

The first thing the man did was going to the principal's office right away. Something had to be done for the poor kid and the solution was visibly not the orphanage. He needed serious mental healthcare and that as soon as possible. But that was not to be found in an orphanage.

He knocked on the door and, even though he had to wait to hear the permission to come in, he entered. The knocking was only a way of acknowledging his presence.

Mr. Principal glanced at the caretaker from his comfortable leather chair, behind his desk. One could see the look on his face wasn't pleased.

He was one to give professional manners lots of importance. Everything about the workers was very well analysed and critisised, especially the attitude; towards him, at least. He didn't accept being treated as less than a boss.

"Sorry for my lack of manners, sir, but there is an urgent matter that I need to discuss with you.", the employee excused himself.

"Oh? What happened?"

"You see, the new child, the albino, he really does have a mental disorder, caused by a traumatizing experience."

The boss was all ears. He had noticed that something was wrong in the boy's head, but refused to believe disturbing experiences were involved.

"Tell me more about it.", he eagerly urged the other man, trying to keep his cool.

"I do not know exactly what he had gone through, but there is a rather large burn mark on his torso.", the caretaker explained, emphasizing said injury with gestures, "And, not only does it look like the burn was serious, but it also triggers nightmare-like memories in him, hence the sudden violent behaviour."

If one listened carefully, they could have heard the principal mutter a curse under his breath. He was in shock and also regretted neglecting the child's background. Maybe he wasn't lying after all. Well, it had been proven that he wasn't.

Such nonchalance, won't ever be allowed again, the boss instructed himself.

He reached to the conclusion that it was better to get to know who they were letting join in. Of course, a different treatment couldn't be created for each and every orphan, but those with severe issues needed special attention.

Sadly, in the weird little guy's case, the orphanage didn't have anything to offer in order to help him. Poor kid had been neglected by the staff and laughed at by his commerades. Yes, the principal knew it. He may have not awlays been present, but he was very well informed about his orphanage.

"Give me a while to think, please.", he requested and his wish was immediately granted.

He had thought the matter over again and again, analyzing each solution carefully and comparing all answers. At last, he had to face the fact that the weirdo had to be submitted to an asylum, otherwise his problem would never be solved. Well then, an asylum it is!

There was one at the other end of the city and it looked good. That should do.

Not wanting to neglect the problem any further, the principal decided to take matters in his own hands. He had the child and his things packed. Afterwards, he made him enter his car and dashed towards the asylum with no second thoughts.

Freaky was silent the entire ride. He didn't know what to expect anymore. Was he going to go through another murder attempt or what? Where in the world could he be sent again? Anything could happen.

However, he never asked because he knew the man would be anything but nice. It was almost like he could even predict the ugly words being thrown at him as an answer. That, or no answer at all. No option was better than the other anyway.

Lucky him, or maybe not, the ride didn't last much. They only crossed the city.

The vehicle entered the yard of a building that looked somewhat like a hospital, but at the same time different. That had to be mainly because a normal hospital didn't have a yard and wasn't surrounded by thick, high concrete fences for that matter. So it wasn't a normal hospital? Was it a special one?

The little boy felt a hint of excitement, brought by the curiosity. He wanted to find out what was in there.

Probably, he was brought there to have his wounds cured. He'd love to get rid of that hideous red mark on him. One thing was for sure, he'd feel much better about himself if that happened.

The car suddenly stopped moving. They reached the destination. Mr. Principal got out of the vehicle first, then held the door open for his passenger. Freaky jumped out, eager to get to know the place. Something was telling him he had been brought somewhere better.

The two entered the building through the main door and were now in some sort of lobby. Everything in there looked so neat and put togeter... Impressive! And everybody seemed to ne working hard.

The two males headed for the office located at the end of the lobby.

"Come in!", a womanly voice called after hearing the man's knocks. It wad the secretary.

They entered the room. It wasn't necessary that big, but spacious. The walls were white, there were bookshelves on each farther corner of the room, full with files and whatnot. Her table was right in the middle of the room.

The secretary looked rather young, but not very- in her early thirties, precisely. She was sitting straight, her face showed no emotion and she looked very professional.

"How can I help you?", she kindly inquired.

"Well...", the man spoke, "This boy right here was sevrely marked by a near-death experience, which affected his behaviour visibly. I was wondering if I could leave him here to provide him with the needed medical help."

The woman nodded understandingly and looked at the future patient. She'd noticed the frightened look on his face eversince they'd entered the office. There was obviously something wrong with the poor little guy.

"Of course we'll help.", she offered, "We'll do some tests first. You can leave him here for now. We'll call you for further notice. May I receive your number, sir?"

He wrote his number down in a agenda-looking booklet, thanked her kindly for the good will and left. The little boy remained in his spot, confused and afraid. What was going to happen to him? Were those tests good or bad? Was he going to get out of thos one alive too? With minimal damage if possible?

"Are you afraid?", the woman asked, seeing his hands shake slightly.

He nodded.

"Aww, but you don't need to! We're here to help you! Just wait and see. The asylum really isn't as horrible as you think."

He nodded again and swallowed audibly.