Breathe

chapter 7

Ashley

Inside the van there was a middle aged woman who looks italian ,i noticed a bruce on her right thigh ,she's wearing a silk gown with brown socks which seem like they were once white. She's been crying non stop all the way ,her tears made me cry .I'm not sure if she was diagnosed with deppression too but I somehow feel sorry for her than I can feel for myself . She lifts her head and our puffy eyes meet ,she has a curled bronze hair which is now ruffled . Apart from her frizzy appearance ,she is very beautiful ,her eyes are sparkly,they look like the kind of eyes to light up a room ,her facial features are captivating ,her jaw is tightened ,I don't know if she's tense or it's always like that. She has a small nose which is now pink from all the crying and her lips are fairly small ,accommodating her nose . After a minute of studying each ,she begins to weep again .She never stops crying and keep on screaming "Armonia" throughout the trip ,I wonder who Armonia is ,maybe she lost her husband ,maybe it's her child ,it sounds itilian so I can't figure the name out .I wonder if my mother would cry like this if something happened to me ,if she would go lunatic too .I release a soft laugh as I realise I just called this poor woman crazy even though I'm trapped with her and we're heading to the same place .she looks at me puzzled ,she is quiet ,like maybe she wasn't sure if I'm laughing .after some time, the door opens which infiltrates our skeptical stare . i step outside ,It's a large white building written Brightened Care Center with big colorful alphabets surrounded by trees and a huge fancing.There are some screams inside ,which sends chills to my spine.

The woman starts to shout , repudiating to cooperate , so she's injected and she dozes off instantly. The two men wearing a blue uniform take her inside in a wheelchair and tell me to follow .I walk slowly behind ,afraid of what I might find inside. The huge brown wood opens with a code and we get inside .We are met by a large idled room .There's only a brown wooden table in the center of the room and a small register area which is left unattended.There's also a wheelchair assembly at the left corner of the room. Adjacent to the wide room there is a corridor and I also notice two step walls ,one in the left and the other one on my right hand side .I try to familiarize myself with this place because i might be here for a very long time .The other man in blue carrying my bag calls me to follow him. He starts walking to the steps on my right hand side while the lady is taken to my opposite direction .I can hear sounds from other rooms but they sound very far .The steps end and we are met by an isle ,I assume these are the bedrooms .The man stops his tracks and opens a door to my new bedroom ,room 445.I step inside and notice its only a bedroom , a small wardrobe made out of wood and a shower with a basin .The room is painted white ,every room in here is painted white and every piece of furniture is made out of wood .

"Settle in and go downstairs to eat dinner before medication"he finally says before leaving the room .Downstairs I'm told we're not allowed to wear our own clothes so we will be given robes or rather hospitals gowns to wear daily .I walk into what seems like a cafeteria. I'm met by a room full of people ,old ,young,tall ,short,whites ,blacks .I notice some are still cuffed and are fed , some are eating through the pipe and others are just zoomed out and forgot about their food .I don't know where I get this feeling but I suddenly feel better ,I feel like I belong ,like I've finally found the place I've been searching for. We are all weird ,we're all not accepted in the real world so we are brought here instead .I slowly walk to the food area ,I'm looking at each and every patient,some are worse than the other ,some refuse to eat and some seem to be coping with the situation. I notice a little girl who's surrounded by nurses ,holding her hands and her feet ,forcing her to eat ,she continues to cry ,her screams are loudest in the room .Its the same scream I heard when I was outside ,I stop my tracks to inspect the situation even further .She looks like she's less than 12 years old ,i feel sorry for her ,I want to tell them to leave her alone .I want to feed her ,I'm sure I can get her to eat without forcing her ,she's helpless ,she keeps on coughing and they couldn't care less .No one is looking at her except me ,they are so undisturbed by the loud cries as if they are used to them .