Detained

01.

❝Mental Is An Understatement❞
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October 2010
San Antonio, Texas

Bare, beige walls and a single window were the only things keeping Moira sane.

She realized that the second night she slept in the hospital. She felt they tried to ease her uneasiness of being in the "psych ward" by setting up vibrant and edgy furniture in her room. They probably did this to convince her that this whole situation would end soon enough, and that she could go back to being normal, but she and every other person in the world weren't normal.

No one could simply be explained or understood, and no room could ever make her feel or be normal. So, Moira kept her eyes on the walls and the window, its symbolization speaking in volumes she was all too familiar with. The window, representing the outside world, a world that wasn't safe, or kind, or worth living in, and then the bare, beige walls; confined, but safe, barricading the evil that changed her—forever.

A shadow appeared through the small glass window of her room's door, but Moira continued to stare at the walls—she knew who it was; her gaze or voice was not needed. 

"Ms. Neverson, I'm coming in," Eleni, one of the nurses in the hospital announced as the loud, familiar buzz on her door sounded off before a soft click followed. Eleni stepped inside with two Dixie paper cups in her hand.

Moira's eyebrows furrowed as Eleni began to approach her. She hated taking the medicine; it did nothing to obstruct her fear of the outside world and the people in it—all it did was make her drowsy, dizzy and sick to her stomach, but she learned earlier on that refusing to take this one antidepressant would only result in her having more medicines to take later down the line.

"It's time for you to take your nightly—", Eleni never had the chance to finish before Moira turned her body from facing the wall to grab the two cups in Eleni's hand. Swallowing down the two tablets of mirtazapine and gulping down the medicine's accompanying cup of water, Moira stuck her tongue out to show Eleni the antidepressant was taken.

Eleni frowned down at her and took the cups from Moira's hand. "Eager aren't we?" She flatly asked, watching as Moira slightly turned her head towards the nurse while her gaze still remained on the wall.

"I know the drill, Eleni—we know the drill; there's no point in sugarcoating any of this. Give me the medicine, let me take it and leave," she uttered softly, turning back towards the wall.

After seconds of not hearing any footsteps or signs that Eleni was leaving, Moira could feel her irritation beginning to bubble. For a moment, it was almost like she could feel the medicine coursing through her veins, and her body seemed to be reacting to her irritation as she tucked her frame in tighter with her knees pressing against her chin.

"Moira, I know you think..." Eleni trailed off, probably realizing she couldn't conciliate a mentally ill patient, and Moira could feel herself about to smirk before she stopped. Eleni sighed before her footsteps began to fade, the room's door opening and the bright light in the hallway shining in for a second too long.

"Have a good night, Moira," was all Eleni said before she left Moira's room. The door shut loudly, and Moira winced before her body loosened out of its fetal-like position. She sat back up and pressed her hands into her thighs.

A good night was impossible to have, and Eleni should have known that—Moira's usual screams of terror around this time should have been a dead give-away.

Her hand went to her head as she felt a painful throb pass by as quick as a snap. Moira's fingers fumbled in the long strands of her jet black hair before her left hand fell back into her lap. She knew there was no point in waiting around for the medicine to settle in, so she settled down on her left side and continued to eye the bare walls that brought her comfort before her eyes closed and she drifted into a seemingly soothing sleep.