The Gated Return

Chapter 3 - Let us Visit

"So tell me about this voice you keep hearing, Daniel" asked mom. "I don't know. It sounds like its your voice, mom. And I hear it usually only calling my name or some other mumbled words. But this last time, I could hear it clearly and told me to jump off the branch." Daniel found himself telling this same story to the therapist that his mother sent him to. The doc was stumped as he had never seen anyone come to him so convinced the voice was real. But as with any doctor not knowing how to properly diagnose a patient, Daniel was prescribed a general medicine to hope that this would cure whatever was causing him to hear voices. And moved onto the next patient.

Daniel's mother decided to try the new medicine to see if it helped any. Daniel had apparently been hearing these voices for a while and never said anything until the tree incident. Luckily and by some miracle, Daniel wasn't injured other than a sprained ankle. "At least now there is hope that the voices will stop and not cause you to do any more stupid things", said mother. So on the first day of fourth grade, Daniel's mother gave him the new medicine so he could focus on the school work. The morning went well and Daniel was perfectly fine. He sat at his desk listening to the lessons for that day. By that afternoon, an odd side effect occurred and Daniel acquired a nervous tick and would shake his head as if trying to keep a fly off his nose. Daniel didn't notice it, but his peers and teacher did. The teacher thought Daniel was just trying to get attention and made him sit in the time out corner until the tick would stop, but it didn't. Daniel was ridiculed for the reaction he had to the medicine but had no idea what was going on, why, or even the fact that he was jerking and flinching over nothing. This same reaction continued for weeks every day about the same time of the day until the teacher had had enough and had a conference with Daniel's mother. Shocked to hear of this and disappointed that her son is now acting out in some other way to retaliate for whatever reason, she and the teacher decided it best that Daniel be placed in a Behavior Adjustment (BA) class for special needs students. Daniel now unaware of this transition into a special needs class, continued to try and do his best every day. After three more months, the holidays were just about over and school was out for the holidays. So his mother decided to not give him the medicine prescribed. Daniel seemed normal. No voices, no nervous tick, nothing. Just calm and normal. She called the prescribing doctor who told her she shouldn't have taken him off of the medicine and to put him back on immediately. She tried to tell him that Daniel seemed okay now, but the doctor didn't want to listen and demanded she do as he requested. "School starts back in a couple of days, I will put him back on it then", she said.

That Monday, Daniel went back to school as usual and had his daily dose. He is sitting there watching the back of the teacher as she writes on the chalkboard talking about insects and how they can help in nature. In the meantime, Daniel notices that his vision becomes blurred and starts to fade as if he were going into a daydream very slowly. He cannot move any part of his body as if he were frozen in time. Vision slowly fades further and further until there is nothing but black and the sound of the teachers chalk starting each letter, dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Panicked, Daniel attempted to say something, but no sound would come from his mouth. Its as if he were paralyzed from any function other than audio. What felt like only seconds ended up being hours that had passed with Daniel stuck in this position, frozen in time. Police, paramedics, and his mom all arrived on scene and was taken into the ambulance for further observation. However during that ride, Daniel faded into a very deep sleep.

I woke up in a hospital bed with an IV and a gown. "Where are my clothes", I asked out loud even though there was no one in the room. Seconds later the nurse walked in. "So, how are we feeling today young man?" I replied in a low confused manor, "I'm okay I guess..." With seeing my facial expression, the nurse said,"Now Daniel, it appears you had some kind of episode or reaction to the mediation you have been taking. We have recommended you do not take this again." I asked her what happened but she just looked at me and said, "we really don't know but it's glad to have you back and awake." Mom walked in the room about that moment holding my change of clothes. They looked wrinkled and dirty but I didn't care. I just wanted to leave and go home. I sat up, swung my legs over the edge of the bed to get up and all of a sudden, I was not in the hospital and instead sitting on a very narrow bed unlike any I have ever seen anywhere in my life. Were talking only maybe two feet in width! Not realizing where I was at, I looked around to try and understand what just happened. All I can see are the wood planks that make up the walls of the attic my bedroom was in. I didn't recognize the bedroom, the bed, the house, or even myself! I had long hair and was a girl! "What is going on!? I don't understand where I am! Someone please help me!" I then hear footsteps below and a man yell, "Abby are you okay hun?" Who is this Abby person I wondered and began to look around the room. I found a colander dated November 1817 and had a coal mark slashed through every day up until the 8th. Not very many things in the room. Everything was wooden and the toys seemed girly, old, worn, and very dirty. I decided to get up from the tiny bed and onto my feet to look out the small square window from my attic bedroom. When I peered out the window, I saw nothing but farm land and trees. "Where am I", I asked out loud. Just about that same time, to my left and down, I saw a mob of people coming quickly as if there was a riot. Turns out, they were not so friendly and set the wooden house on fire with me and who ever else was in it. I had to get out but the flames were climbing fast. I could feel the house shift as the support posts and beams started to give way at the foundation. I tried the door but it seemed stuck and I couldn't get out. Smoke filled the room and the only way out was to jump out from my bedroom attic window three stories above the ground. I quickly climbed out of the window and dangled from the bottom ledge holding on as long as I could and then the heat from the flames just became too much to endure, so I had no choice but to let go and fall into the flames below.

"Daniel..... Daniel?.... DANIEL!?", yelled the teacher in an angry voice. "Pay attention. We don't have time for you to be napping in class", she said aggressively. Daniel looked up and around the room and everyone was looking at him in dead silence. The teacher still at the chalkboard with her chalk in her right hand and her left was on her hip while giving him the evil-eye. "What... What happened", Daniel asked. "Nothing, lets just get back to working on our assignment", she said while everyone continued to stare. Daniel looked down at his paper which had some doodles on it from earlier and a little drool droplets on the edge. "I guess it was all just another dream", Daniel said to himself.