• Case: Unknown

    "Why is it that everyone is out there, while I'm stuck in here?"

    Hariri asked herself this question every day, never getting an answer from the throng of nurses that surrounded her constantly. She never thought she was crazy. Although, she supposed that everyone in that psyche ward felt that way at some point in time.

    So, like she did every day, Hariri looked out the large window in the lounge, watching various people walk along the sidewalk below her. They were tiny, like little ants. Before she could notice the ominous clouds above her, a droplet of water descended from the sky and placed itself on the window she was looking out of, followed by thousands of its brothers and sisters. It had started to rain.

    "Wow…" Hariri whispered to herself. This was a new phenomenon to her; the sky was crying.

    Hariri turned to a nurse pushing a cart alongside her, "What is happening outside?" Hariri asked innocently.

    The nurse looked at her strangely, but answered with kind eyes, "That is what is called rain, dearie. That's what happens when there is too much water in the sky."

    "Rain…," Hariri stated quietly, turning back to the window to watch the raindrops perform their terrible dance.

    It was then that she felt it. That feeling… the feeling as if someone was there, watching her, protecting her. She turned around on the spot, only to see that no one was there. She was all alone in the lounge.

    "Hmm…," Hariri, puzzled, turned back to her window and continued observing the normals below. That's what she called them, "normals". They were normal and she was not, that was all she could seem to figure out. They must be normal, they're not in here, she often thought. They're not like me, they're not crazy.

    Growing bored with analyzing the ways of the outside world, Hariri turned away from her window, trudged back to her room down the hall, and slid into bed. The feeling was still there. She couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, however. It felt, almost, familiar. As if someone far away was watching how she was doing, someone that loved her very much.

    "Poppycock." She grumbled, glad that the incident hadn't taken away her natural common sense. At least that's what the nurses called it. The incident.

    Hariri was never told about what actually happened, all that she knew was that whatever happened, it took away all of her memories. Everything, everything from her childhood play-days to her first day at school to her first love, everything was taken away. She often grew angry by this, why should she have everything taken away, she hadn't done anything wrong. Or did she? This question rung inside Hariri's head constantly. What could she have done to make her memories go away? Whenever she asked the nurses what had happened, they all made terrified, disgusted faces and turned away saying, "Another time, dearie, another time."

    Despite the swirling storm of emotions and confusions that entranced Hariri, and she was soon lulled to sleep.

    A flash in the night and a rumble in the air is what shook hr at three o'clock in the morning. She arose from her bed, drowsy and uncoordinated by being woken up far too early. She stumbled over to the one window in the room, tiptoeing to make sure she didn't wake her roommate, Mika. She lifted the blinds, only to see the transparent wall awash with an onslaught of small water droplets. More flashes came, frightening her. She had no idea what was going on, the light didn't come from above like the sun, and was quick and white. Following the alarming flashes were loud rumbling sounds that shook her to the core. Instead of being afraid, as she had first felt, she was mesmerized.

    "So…this is rain…" Hariri whispered breathlessly, eyes wide with innocence and awe.

    The hours ticked by way too fast for Hariri, and soon the wonderful battle was calming, there were no longer any flashes or rumbling, only the pitter-patter of the droplets hitting the windowpane. Unexpectedly, Hariri felt an odd sensation in the back of her head, like someone's eyes were feeding on her presence. It was that feeling, that same feeling he had felt yesterday morning. She quickly turned a 360 looking at every part of the room. Again, no one was there.

    "What the? What is this?" Hariri thought. She continued searching throughout the room, turning over sheet, rustling through the drawers and opening all the windows. Nothing worked, she couldn't find anything, or anyone, and the feeling was getting stronger by the second, to the point that it wasn't a feeling anymore. It was no longer a sensation, but a voice.

    "Hariri….." The eerie voice called to her.

    "Who's there?" Hariri yelled, no longer bothering to stay quiet.

    "Hariri, I love you…." It called again.

    "Who are you? Where are you? How do you know my name?" Hariri screamed this time, truly frightened. Was this someone from her past, or was she finally completely crazy?

    "In time, I shall tell you. But I must go soon. But heed my warning; don't believe anything they say…."

    "Believe what who say? Be specific!"

    "I must go. Remember, I love you……" The voice faded to nothing.

    "WAIT! TELL ME WHO!" Hariri just stood there, mesmerized. What had just happened? The voice disappeared and the feeling was gone, it was then that Hariri noticed something. She walked over to the window next to her. The sun was shining, the clouds were gone. It had stopped raining.

    Suddenly, Hariri heard footsteps in the hallway, and before she knew it there were three nurses in her room, and gasping for breath and frightened.

    "What's wrong? I heard screaming!" One of the nurses gasped. She, like the others, looked irritated, but genuinely worried about her. It was then that she noticed her roommate, Mika, was awake.

    "It's nothing, Clara. She just had a bad dream. You can go back to bed; I'll take care of this." Mika said coolly, much more coolly than other patients there would have.

    The nurses didn't say a word; just stared at Mika skeptically. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they left, disgruntled on having been woken up. Mika sat up in her bed, not bothering to go back to sleep, and cast a concerned look at Hariri.

    "You going to tell me what's wrong or are you going to keep screaming?" She said with a hint of amusement in her voice. Hariri walked over to her, and took a comfortable place at Mika's side, glad to have her friend with her at this terrible time.

    Ever since Hariri could remember-though that was never something to depend upon- Mika had been her best friend in that bleak psyche ward. Looking back on those unreliable memories, Hariri saw her supposed first day at the ward; Mika, tall, slender, and her brown hair flowing down to her waist, had greeted her warmly and agreed to be her friend. She had always been the calmest in the psyche ward, despite her problem. Mika was autophobic, or she had a deathly fear of herself. Because of her rare condition, all the mirrors were taken out of the ward, and all reflective objects in their room were covered in fabric. Anything and everything had been done to ensure that Mika did not see her own reflection, lest she go into an episode again. Whenever she did go into an episode, she lost all control; she broke everything in her path and tended to cut herself to the point where she needed stitches. Luckily, her episodes were rare; and when they were absent, Mika was her cool, calm, collected self once more.

    Mika shot her cold blue eyes at Hariri, full of warmth and concern. "Now, what happened?" She asked warmly.

    "I-I'm not sure…" Hariri stuttered. The fear she had experienced returned to her, and she felt the gripping panic once again. What was that voice? Who was it talking about? Was any of it even real?

    Mika's face was full of concern and sorrow as she took her friend in her arms, "Shh, shh. Its okay, you don't have to tell me now, if it hurts. Just take your time."

    For the longest time, they just sat there, holding each other in their arms, knowing they were all that each other had in the darkness of the ward. They had vowed long ago (or at least Hariri thought it was long ago) that neither would leave without the other. They had an irreplaceable bond, and no one could tear that from them.