Rhiannon

- The Asylum -

A knock that came from the doorway made woman, who was sitting behind a table rise her glare. "Come in," she said and man entered.

"Doctor Wiser?" He asked, even though he saw a name on the door.

"That's me, yes," Helena stood up. "You must be Nathaniel," she gave him a smile and he nodded to confirm her words. "Nice to meet you, please, take a seat."

He sat on a chair across the desk and nervously cleared his throat. "How is she?"

Helena opened a file with medical documents and sighed. She looked at them like she saw them for the first time. Like she hasn't spent a hours above them, trying to figure out the case. "We had to give her drugs and sedatives. She was dangerous, mostly to herself again. Now she is sleeping, waking up for food and medical appointments, that are taking places in her room. With nurses she is able to manage a basic hygiene. Well, that's all," she said, then looked at him. "But..."

Nathaniel opened eyes wider briefly. That word brought a small hope into his troubled mind and he observed doctor, literally hanging in her lips.

"Last time she woke up, she was calling a name and... I swear, that it seemed, like yesterday she was talking with somebody in her room," Helena explained and took off glasses from her eyes. "I was searching through her files, she has never actually mentioned person with that name. To be honest, her case seemes like she sufers from a schizophrenia."

"A schizophrenia?" He gasped and froze. "But she never had problems. She was always living in her own world, but never never was she like... like this, like she is now!"

"The name sounds familiar? James," Helena repeated, but Nathaniel just shook his head. "Her ex, perhaps? Friend, colleague?"

"It really doesn't ring a bell, but... Well maybe somebody she knew in orphanage? She never speaks about that time, she never wanted to answer a single question."

"We will see, maybe when she gets stable, she will tell me about the person she speaks about or... As it seems with," she pondered. Of course, she saw his face tensing. It had to be hard and uncomfortable for him. "Mr Ridley, do you think, that there is a possibility, that your fiance had a secret affair? A lover?"

His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. "No, impossible," he snapped. "She would never do it."

Helena was sitting on her chair and wore glasses back. She looked into a medical records and maybe she wanted to test a trust between her patient and Nathaniel. "Her doctor hasn't sent her files yet. Her behaviour and symptoms shows about schizophrenia as I mentioned. Do you have any idea, if she ever had any surgical intervention?"

"No, she hasn't," he answered with certainty about his words.

The word screaming from files, that Helena already had on her desk, made her to be sure, that he lacked information about a woman, that he was about to get marry. Medical abortion three years ago. She was sitting in front of that man and felt sorry. For whom, she couldn't tell. If she felt sorry for woman or man. For Riannon or Nathaniel.

She obviously wasn't honest with him. Delusional she was calling name of a strange man. Maybe he was a father of the child? Lover? How could Helena know, Riannon so far spoke more with herself, than with people in asylum.

Man stood up after some time. The visit was impossible, at the same time, he didn't even ask, if he could see her. Helena, for that, didn't offer him to go and see her.

Maybe itbwas for the best. As every day after she was done in her office, she locked the door and walked in the hallways of her hospital. Met few patients and walked toward a door in the end of a corridor.

'Now sleeps the crimson petal...'

A voice, that she heard singing made her steps halt.

'... now the white...'

She took few more steps toward a door and took key to her hand. It wasn't safe, but she knew, that woman was weak, most of the time under the drugs. And security would be there in few seconds.

'Nor waves the cypress in the palace walk
Nor winks the gold fin in the porphyry font
The fire-fly wakens: waken thou with me.'

The voice turned silent. Helena was standing in the doorway and observed Riannon sitting cuddled in the corner of the room. Her knees pressed to her chest, raven hair messily all over her shoulders, covering white hospital gown like waterfalls. Deep and dark, dangerous.

She looked at Helena and her eyes vacant. They were grey and colourless. Helena had feeling like she wasn't even looking at her, but through her. It was so scary. Never in her life she saw something like this. She really could swear, that young woman was looking at somebody behind her and to be sure, that they were in a room alone, Helena briefly turned.

"James," Riannon suddenly whispered, staring at the spot behind Helena. "My love, help me," she whispered in thin voice, then laid her head, burried it on her knees and started to weep quietly. And jn a trembling, crying, cracking voice as her tears were floating over her legs cheeks and legs, running down on the floor, she sang the last verses of the song. The voice, that made Helena shiver and her skin cover in goosebumps.

'So fold thyself, my dearest, thou, and slip
Into my bosom and be lost in me.'