Mentally Occupied

7

For him, change was just a choice. You choose to take another path to return home, so that you may see new faces or new places, talking to strangers and sharing your suspicious thoughts, you choose a life different from your flowery life, to wear loose clothes that look bad but make you feel comfortable instead of that jacket that makes you look formal and boring to the extreme, you choose to remove those restrictions that define your life and the way you walk daily, and your words that you are tired of repeating and repeating, and that artificial smile that is drawn on your face when you meet someone that you don't even realize it disappears once that person leaves, you choose whether to stay in your place waiting for a miracle from heaven or rising to create new opportunities yourself; Instead of sitting around wondering, "What would happen if I..." Do that thing you're wondering about, After Fouad realized that, his decision seemed somewhat clear. He decided to agree to go sanatorium (the start) tomorrow morning.

A new experience, perhaps throwing a stone into the stagnant waters of his life.

***

Malika woke up in the morning. She was better than yesterday, She felt angry and intense resentment toward That honorable doctor whenever she looks at her hand which has blue spots and swollen. She sometimes reached a stage of anger that made her think of a way to take revenge on him. But she calmed down when she knew he was gone away. She hated him a lot anyway.

At that time, Fouad came to the clinic, and when he entered the garden that surrounds the building, he found many old ladies sitting, some making noise and talking incomprehensible words, and some of them were quiet looking with empty looks around, but senile dementia seemed to be their faces all and that crack in the wall of their soulsIt appears without the need for any research.

Fouad went to Naim's office room, who welcomed him with a warm heart, but when he initiated to shake hands with him, Fouad apologized for shaking hands with him. Fouad argued that he was looking for something in his bag and did not shake hands with him and sat down. Fouad told him about himself and his life, and Naim told him about the hospital and the patients. Fouad initiated him, asking:

- But can I ask you something? If it's not my business, you can decline to answer.

- Of course go ahead.

- Why did you step down doctor Sharif, after all these years?!

Naim was silent for a while, then looked at him seriously, saying:

- In fact, he has some family problems that he did not tell us about, and his condition seemed to be bad in recent days. It seems that he is going through difficult days with his ex-wife and his only daughter. Everyone made his own decisions and we have to respect that.

Although Naim answered Fouad's question without thinking or hesitation, as if he had prepared that answer before, expecting Fouad to ask him such a question, Fouad did not feel the sincerity of Naim's words, but he smiled affectionately, saying:

- Well, thanks for your patience.

Naim straightened up in his seat, clasped his hands in front of him, placed them on the desk, and said, after sighing a short sigh:

- In fact, I want to talk to you about something more important than all of this. I want to tell you about Malika.

- Malika?! And who is Malika?

- The youngest elderly patient here, but she is the sickest of them, although she speaks normally sometimes. She came here after her mother brought her when she was twenty years old. She was traumatized and did not speak to anyone for two months. Then she began to deal violently with the rest of the patients until we kept her in a room alone and she refrained from He took the medicine many times, and often she continued to get worse. I had sat with her before, in fact; Sometimes she speaks rationally, like a wise lady, but the way she talks shows that she is not of her full mental strength, or rather psychologically. She sometimes shows symptoms of dual personality, but we have not yet been able to confirm the disease due to her lack of response to talking to us.

- Her mother brought her! Didn't you ask her about the reason for the situation in which she send her to the sanatorium?

- She told us that after her father's death, she became like this, and she thought it was a temporary shock and that she would return to her normal life after a while, but she persisted this is the case for several months and she showed it to me. Several doctors who advised her to put her in a sanatorium to receive correct treatment. The strange thing is that her mother has never come to visit her since that day, it has been two years since this event almost.

Fouad remained silent for a while, analyzing what he heard and subjecting it to the logic of the mind, as he used to be as a doctor. Fouad asked Naim again, explaining the truth about Malika:

- What about Malika's condition now? Why did she talk to me about her in particular?

- It was the case of the doctor Sharif. He is entirely responsible for it. After he's gone I hope you take care of it. You are in this situation because it seems somewhat unique, and the inspection committee, whenever it comes here, gives it enough attention due to its young age and deteriorating condition. With the passing of time gives a bad impression towards the team of doctors and the reputation of the sanatorium, of course.

Fouad looked at Naim and said to him with confidence:

- Well, I'll take care of it and hope to make progress with her treatment.

- I do not mean to interfere with the way you treat patients, but talking does not work with her, can you use another method to attract her?

Fouad was silent for a while and began to think calmly, then answered him, saying:

- Well I have an idea in my mind but I need to know some things to implement it, can I meet her nurse?

- Of course, the nurse Ashgan.

Immediately Naim arranged an acquaintance session between Fouad and Ashgan. Fouad's questions abounded and Ashjan, before answering him, was looking at Naim as if she was asking him for permission to answer. Fouad noticed all this but did not comment. After the meeting ended, Fouad sought permission and left, leaving Ashjan with Naim, who blamed her a lot for this behavior.

When night fell and everyone went to their rooms, Malika was sitting by the window of her room, which is on the ground floor, looking at the trees of the garden. She was silent and inhaling some air, her eyes closed tightly and drops of her tears fell one after the other, then she started hitting her head on the wall of the room vigorously from the intensity of pain and sadness, and at that time Fouad was walking in the garden, he approached her window and found her in that state, he looked at her strangely and pity then he put his hand out the window and put it on the wall before hitting her head again. When she hit her head, she found his hands touching her head, she opened her eyes Terrifing. She moved away a little and looked at him, asking:

- who are you?!

- There's no time to talk. Just jump out now.

- what?!

Fouad pointed to Malika with his hand to jump out of the window and said while looking around to make sure that no one could see him, then he said to her in a whisper:

- I'm going to smuggle you out of here. I am a son of one of the hospital nurses. My mother really pity you so much. She talks to me a lot about you and tells me all the details of your life here. When I came to visit her, she told me about you and confirmed to me that you are not sick.

Fouad turned around and said in a slightly louder voice:

- She begged me Illiterate to smuggle you out of here before your condition gets worse, she knows very well that your real cure is outside, not here. Your cure is your lost freedom. She is really sad about your youth that withers with time.

Fouad looked back with fear, examining the atmosphere, and looked at her again, saying:

- won't you jump? Let's go.

Malika looked at him with an inquisitive look, but she was unable to hear anything. The noise in her mind suddenly became silent and she was unable to hear anything..

Malika could not hear Fouad's mind. That was a bit strange. What is this young man thinking? I wish she could exercise her power now until she discovers his truth, but something inside her is broken and she does not know the reason for this. She said, while she was looking away from him.