Aira

Prologue

A I R A

Prologue

» I can fly...«

The girl was lying on the bed in a mental hospital.

Her wrists were tied to the bed and so were her legs but she was smiling. Her eyes that were wide open were unfocused and she didn't seem aware of her surroundings. She was oblivious to the bonds holding her in place as she moved on the bed lifting her hands up in the air as far as she could. Her thin arms strained against the bonds in an effort to go higher but it was in vain for they were far too weak.

»I am flying! «

She exclaimed and her pale blue eyes were staring at something invisible to the eyes of the others. She laughed giddily and repeated in a whisper: »I am flying...«

Her body might have been lying on that bed but her mind was as free as a bird.

Her long black curls were a tangled mess full of knots and her skin was unhealthily pale but her beauty would be still somewhat visible beneath if it weren't for her unfocused eyes and a large demented smile that was kind of unnerving, or for the remains of the make-up that she must have been wearing before she was admitted to the hospital was never properly wiped off and were now horribly smudged.

The smile on her face never wavered.

She saw the blue sky and laughed again at the feel of the wind rushing through her hair playing with her curls. The feeling of freedom as she flew through the sky finally untied with the wind was overwhelming. She didn't bother to stop laughing as the happiness warmed her heart.

"I am flying!"

Her eyes suddenly focused on the nurse that was standing next to her bed. They still seemed to look right through the nurse but she blinked a couple of times before focusing them on the nurse.

She must have sensed that someone was in her room. She laughed but her bone-chilling laughter wasn't enough to get the nurse's attention as she had been working at the hospital for a really long time and was used to seeing and hearing things much more disturbing than that laughter.

"You'll never be able to keep me here!"

She giggled and her gaze lost all focus.

"I will escape these bonds. I will escape this place and no one will be able to stop me."

Her smile seemed to get even wider as she whispered.

"And then I will finally become one with the wind and fly away."

She pressed the finger to the lips and turned to the nurse.

"Of course you will fly..."

"Shhh! It's a secret."

She looked at the nurse determinedly.

"Do not tell anyone."

The nurse only shook her head in despair as she left the room.

"Good luck with that, kiddo! You wouldn't believe how many times I have heard things like that. Everybody claims that they will leave but in reality they never do. They never do..."

The laughter followed her out of the room.

"I am flying! I am... flyi..."

The effects of her medication kicked in before she could complete her sentence and she fell asleep. But the medication didn't stop the smile on her face.

Even in her sleep her body shook with silent laughter and the elated smile she had on her face never disappeared. And in her sleep she flew with the wind and felt the warm sun above her and listened to the birds singing. And in her sleep she was free again.

A doctor was standing in the hall and talking to her husband. He looked at the door to her room and asked her husband.

"Do you want to see her?"

The husband shook his head and tried to ignore the pity in the doctor's eyes.

"I want to remember her as sane as I can. I don't want to remember her like that... It is so hard seeing..."

The doctor nodded sympathetically. It was understandable.

"Does this mean you won't be visiting soon again? I understand it's hard to see her like that. Most families take years before they face the truth about their loved ones. I'm surprised you're not in denial. Most people jell at us and try to convince us we made a mistake and they couldn't be crazy. They tell us that their loved ones aren't crazy just misunderstood and they are the only ones who get them. You are dealing with it far better than most that I can tell you. Just make sure you are not bottling it all up. We have enough patients as it is."

The husband forced a smile, said a short goodbye and hurried out of the hospital.

+ + + + +

It was a couple of hours later when the nurse came to check on Aira to see how she was responding to her meds and found the bed empty.

She was gone.

Her bounds were still tied and the bed was still warm but there was no one there. Her things were still standing on the night table next to her bed and the door was unharmed. Everything was still it its place.

It was as if she just disappeared into thin air.

She was free.