Paper Hearts

Chapter 3: Am I being abandoned?

How many days has it been since I was admitted here? This psychotic, nutcase of an institution, where only the outcasts will be alienated from the common society and brought here, just because they weren't "normal".

Then again, what is the definition of normal?

Was it the constant screaming and banging of heads against the walls? Or was it the taser sounds, and the gurgling sounds that came from the patients afterward as they attempt to take down the guards? Ah, I know. It must be the food that they serve in here, the pile of gunk that smelled and tasted unrecognizable as if they cooked it not for humans, but for playthings. Normal, as people would call it.

I was then in my cell, doing whatever I could to try and stay sane. Voices were whispering to me in my head.

"You can never do it. You are a failure of a human."

"She admitted you into a mental institution! A MENTAL INSTITUTION! Do you really believe that she wants YOU?"

"Give it up Simon, become one of us. You are always fated to become one of the insane, do you really think that Mary is sane by sending you into this hellhole?"

Before I knew it, I heard a splintering crack somewhere, and my body fell lifelessly against the floor, my five senses were slowly fading. Voices were crying out in alarm, a warm liquid was flowing in between my ears and the cold stone floor, and before I blacked out, the last thing I felt was being carried onto a stretcher.

"Hey, it looks like you came to."

Light forced its way through my eyelids as I opened them, making me narrow my eyes. A person wearing a white suit was standing over me, with a clipboard in hand. He told me, "Hey Simon, glad to see that you are alright after that incident. I am your doctor-in-charge, Dr. Andrew Drew. Now, it seems to me that you have attempted to smash your head against the wall."

I really did open my eyes this time, in shock. "I what?"

"Yes, Mr. Simon," Dr. Drew looked at me, and continued, "Due to the immense force of impact that your head has suffered during that fraction of a second your head contacted the stone wall, your skull was not able to handle the force, and it cracked. Afterward, your body proceeded to blackout as an emergency response measure to preserve whatever blood that was left in your body."

I tried to sit up, but a searing pain hit my hands, and I collapsed right back onto the bed.

"I would recommend you not to do that, Mr. Simon," Dr. Drew looked at me with a gaze that was mixed with pity and concern. "These incidents are pretty common here, as you can hear from the frequent head bangings on the walls, but yours was an exception. With such a severe head injury, you would not have survived if not for the guards that were coincidentally walking past your cell. You do understand that point, yes?"

All I could say was yes. Then, a question popped into my mind. "Does anyone know about this?"

"Of course, I have already informed your next of kin. They should be arriving shortly." Dr. Drew informed me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew my mum and my dad would care for me like no other, even if the rest of the world has forsaken me, I knew they wouldn't.

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes passed.

Soon, an hour passed.

"Hey, Dr. Drew," I beckoned to the doctor who was scribbling something on his clipboard. "Where are my parents?"

"Ah, I regret to be the bearer of bad news, but..." Dr. Drew's voice trailed off. "Your parents are not coming anymore."

"Wait, why?" I forced myself to sit upright on the bed. "Did you not say that they are coming?"

"Well, it seems that they have canceled their appointment to meet you because of...unspecified reasons," Dr. Drew said hesitantly while looking at me, half expecting me to freak out and smash my head in again. "Yes, your parents are currently busy at the moment, so they are not able to make it."

My heart broke into two. The two people who have supported me for all my life went through thick and thin with me, people whom I have shared so many unspoken secrets to, actually rejected to come and visit their own son, who has gotten into an accident. Hope was slipping away from me, I could feel the light in me slipping away secretly, and what replaced it was darkness.

"Dr. Drew, I would like to have a moment alone," I told Dr. Drew, my voice almost tearing up.

"I am sorry Mr. Simon, but due to security reasons, I cannot leave you unattended." Dr. Drew took concern on me, but his voice remained firm.

I covered myself with blankets, in an effort to cover up my shameful self. How could this happen? Parents forsaking their own son because their son got admitted into a mental asylum? How preposterous does this sound to others?

How am I going to get over this?