Silent Jack

Silent Vigil

"Doctor, here's Silent Jack," ward boy Liam said in a plain tone as he entered Dr. Reilly's cabin.

Dr. Reilly raised his eyes from the laptop screen and looked at Silent Jack, who was standing in the center of the room, glancing around.

"Come, Jack, sit here." Dr. Reilly pointed to a chair on the other side of the table.

Jack walked over, sat in the chair, and looked at the guard standing on his left side.

"So, Jack, tell me, how are you?" Dr. Reilly asked in a plain tone, looking into his eyes.

But Jack didn't reply and continued staring at the guard standing on his left side.

"Speak up, Jack," Dr. Reilly said, leaning forward on the wooden desk.

"It's been fifteen long years, but your silence hasn't been broken," Dr. Reilly added, but none of his words seemed to have any effect on Jack, who continued to sit like a dummy.

"Liam, how's he behaving these days?" Dr. Reilly asked the ward boy who was sitting beside Jack.

"Just like always," Liam replied.

"Some days, he acts like an innocent person who's scared of everything, and then suddenly, he becomes aggressive and tries to harm himself or others. For the past two nights in a row, he's seemed to be in a rather aggressive mood, and this morning, he tried to hurt himself by hitting his head against the wall, but Lopez saved him, and then I gave him a muscle relaxant," Liam answered in detail.

"Hmm," Dr. Reilly murmured, noticing Jack's clenched fists. With every passing moment, the veins in his hands tightened, and on the other side, he was stomping his right foot on the floor. These were signs that Jack was getting aggressive.

"Jack, tell me what's troubling you," Dr. Reilly asked in a polite tone.

"Instead of staying silent and hiding your feelings and emotions, you should express them using words. Your medical records suggest that you're physically capable of speaking, with no medical conditions preventing you from doing so. So, why have you remained silent for so long?" Dr. Reilly asked, looking intently at Jack's face.

"Tell me, what made you silent? I've been examining you for the past fifteen years, and I know it's you who has barred yourself from speaking and letting us reach you... So please, stop it now and let me help you," Dr. Reilly said once again.

But once again, Jack's deep silence filled Dr. Reilly's mind and heart with a sense of failure. Jack was the only patient in his long career as a psychiatrist who defied his expertise and remained inscrutable, a closed book that no one could read.

The last time during a therapy session, Jack had suddenly become aggressive, hitting Dr. Reilly so hard that one of his ribs was fractured. Today, Jack was determined not to risk getting injured again and missing his crucial job interview. He needed the job to secure his future and was also acutely aware of the hospital's deteriorating financial conditions, knowing that the facility was on the verge of closing. Dr. Reilly, fully aware of these pressures, didn't want to take any chances this time, understanding the stakes for both Jack and himself.

So, he signaled the guard, who immediately took a step closer to Jack's chair, ready to intervene in case Jack tried to harm anyone in the room.

"Take him back," Dr. Reilly said.

He didn't want to spend another minute on Jack, as he had more important tasks ahead, one of which was preparing for his upcoming job interview.

"Keep giving him the same medicine," Dr. Reilly added, signing the end of a prescription letter and attaching it to Jack's file.

"His attendant was asking for a change in his medicines, as these aren't showing any improvement in him," ward boy Liam said, pointing toward Jack.

"We are giving him the best medicines available, and if his attendant isn't satisfied, she's free to take him to any other mental asylum," Dr. Reilly said in a rude tone, pushing the file toward Liam, who wanted to say something but remained silent. He didn't want to offend the doctor and risk his job.

As a nurse, Liam knew that Jack needed a new prescription and more frequent, regular therapy sessions to show any improvement. But for the past three to four years, he had been called for therapy sessions only once a month, which was definitely against the rule book of the asylum. However, the management of St. Senan Psychiatric Hospital had many other crucial problems threatening their existence, so the treatment of Jack and many other patients like him had been neglected for a long time.

"Get up, Jack," the guard standing behind Jack's chair said in a loud voice. But Jack kept sitting indifferently, staring at the doctor.

The guard stepped closer to his chair, grabbed his arm, and tried to pull him up, but Jack jerked his arm away, instantly freeing himself from the guard's grip.

Dr. Reilly had seen this and was also witnessing how Jack's body was tightening due to an invisible wave of rage. So, before Jack could assault anyone in his rage, Dr. Reilly looked into his eyes and said,

"Jack, if you try to harm anyone like you did last time, we'll lock you in a dark cell as punishment, and I know you don't want to go there... And before taking you to the dark cell, we'll have to give you electric shocks..."

Jack heard Dr. Reilly's words, got up from the chair, and before leaving the room, he threw the pen holder at the wall to release his anger.

"Take him to the dark cell," Dr. Reilly said in an irritated tone.

"Lock him there for twenty-four hours," he added, then opened the file of the next patient.

Silent Jack's behavior had spoiled Dr. Reilly's mood, and now he didn't want to meet with anyone else. However, he had to check on a few patients to stay in the good graces of the dean of the asylum so that his pending paychecks would be released as soon as possible.