Scott stared at the white ceiling.
All of it? None of it was real? Well...she was. She was real. But she wasn't his. And he wasn't...
He chuckled, closing his eyes. He'd been here most of his life. His mother tried to cut him open, perform surgery on him.
But the neighbors called the police. His mother was put in prison and he, was eventually...
Right's Asylum. That was his home. And he wasn't a doctor he was a patient.
But she—she at least was real. She was kind. She spoke to him. And this...this feeling he had in his chest for her...this feeling god this feeling.
The guards took him out of the straight jacket, as she walked up. She'd changed her hair again. She looked perfect.
She smiled at him. "You've improved some much, Scott. I'm proud of you. Soon, you'll be able to join group sessions and, have one on one time with a therapists. And maybe get released."
He smiled back. "I feel better. My mind was in a fog before...I...I can think clearer now."
Her eyes were so soft and warm. Not like the dull ones from his dream.
"I'm so happy for you. Do you want to talk?"
He nodded. "Yes. But not with the other doctor. I don't like them. They all make me feel...crazy. Can I talk to you, instead Ana? Just you?"
"Of course you can. I'm here to help you, Scott. What do you want to talk about?"
He swallowed. "I want to become a competent member of society. I want to become a doctor. A surgeon."
Ana's brows went together. "I see. That's a lot of hard work. I don't doubt you can do it, if you put your mind to it. But...is that really the best idea?"
Scott stood. "I think so. I mean...I was interested in surgery before my mother's...and I was doing well in school. I'm sure I can catch up."
"I'm sure you can. But one step at time. You're just coming out of this fog right? Let's take baby steps. Let's get you on a good med regime. Let's get you sleeping at reasonable hours. Okay?"
Scott smiled. "Ana, will you be here every step of the way?"
"I sure will, Scott. Except Thursdays and Saturday's. I'm off then."
He chuckled. "Right. Right."
• • •
Scott stared at the medical book in the dark trying to absorb the information. So he hallucinated most of—all of his adult life.
He knew those things. He performed those surgeries in that dream, and according the medical textbooks he'd checked out from the asylum library...he did them right.
So he could probably study for the boards and pass. He was missing time, but Ana filled him in. He did complete high school at 16. Just within the asylum during his brief periods of lucidity.
And he did help his mother do surgeries on the property she'd kidnapped. That part was true. He wasn't a serial killer.
He couldn't have been because he hadn't left the asylum since he was 8. Just moved wards according to age. And when he moved to the adult ward he met Ana.
He liked her. He always did. That's why she was the object of his obsession of his hallucinations.
Everyone else treated him like a vegetable, but she treated him like a human.
So all he had to do, was study up. Maybe he could scholarships. He could become a surgeon. Since he didn't have a criminal record, and everything about his mothers case had his name stricken from it, since he was minor.
He could do it. Become a real surgeon. Get out of the Asylum. Build money, build connections. And then...maybe he could meet Ana.
On equal footing, both of them competent adults both of them—
He glanced up. He hasn't hallucinated in...12 hours. The anti-psych meds were effective. He'd definitely have to keep taking those.
He scrunched his nose up at the thought, straining his eyes to read the medical textbook. He was smart. He always had been.
And that dream wasn't just some false reality. Not if he could make it come true.
