ASYLUM

A Lost Love Returns

Chapter Five: A Lost Love Returns

DR. JONES POINT OF VIEW

            After I left that insane low-life Vanessa, my thoughts wandered to the new inmate. What was he here for? He seems completely normal. Something is fishy about him, though. And I am determined to find out what.

~::~

            I looked into cell 441. He was in there, asleep. I was about to move away, when I saw him move out of the corner of my eye. I turned back to him, and got the shock of my life. He had been near the wall opposite the door when I first saw him, and now he was right in front of me. Hm.

            “What do you want, Dr. Jones? As you could blatantly see, I was asleep.”

            “Me? Oh, I would like to ask you something.”

            “And what would that be?”

            “Why are you here?” The question sprang from my lips before I could come up with a sly way to ask him.

            “Let’s just say that my parents belong in here, not me.”

            “That makes no sense.”

            “You just have to be clever enough to understand it.” He was grating on my nerves when he said this. Does he know the power I hold in this place? Apparently not.

            “Oh really?” We were staring each other down by this point. His unwavering gaze unnerved me. How did he do that? No one that I have ever met has been able to stand my hard glares. I finally had to look away.

            Feeling like a coward, I walked down the corridor without another word.

            I remembered a new helper was coming tomorrow. I hope it is a woman. Who knows? I can use her to make Skye jealous.

ALEXANDER MATTHEWS POINT OF VIEW

            I looked up at the building. Ugh, no wonder everyone thought I shouldn’t work here. But I told them that she was here. The one I love. Seeing her would make everything worth it. Sighing, I walked into the building.

            I looked around, and then I saw him. My closest friend, Roy.

            “Roy, my dear friend! I did not expect you to be here! I see that you are a doctor now!”

            “Alexander! It has been so long! How have you been? They call me Dr. Jones now.”

            “I have been travelling the world for the past three years! I love it!”

            “Would you be willing to tell me of your adventures over lunch?”

            “Why, yes I would. First of all, I need to go to the administrator to tell him that I am ready to begin my training.”

            “Training? You mean, that you will be working here?”

            “Yes.”

            “But you are already a doctor! You do not need any training!”

            “I was only a military doctor. That is different. Here, I will be tending to ill patients.”

            “So instead of having any occupation you would like, you chose to be here, where you would undergo even more training?”

            “Yes, something like that.” Normally, I would be aggravated by all of his questions, but we have not seen each other for several years.

            “Back to the administrator—would you like a tour of the building after you speak to him?”

            “Yes, please.”

~::~

            After the tour, we were in the mess hall, and I was telling him about my most recent adventure in Japan.

           When we were talking, his eyes kept drifting to something behind me. I turned around and saw her. "Got your eye on her, don't you?"

            He immediately looked down. “Maybe,” he mumbled.

            I looked more closely at the woman. She looked just like how I remember her.

            When she saw me, her mouth dropped open in a most un-lady-like way. It was quite comical, actually. “A—Alexander? Is that you?”

SKYE POINT OF VIEW

            I couldn’t believe it. After all these years that I spent, trying to forget him, he shows up out of nowhere! And the way he smirked at me, it was if he had just heard a funny story. When I saw him, all of the nerves in my body froze. It was then that I realized that I still loved him.

            He and I courted several years ago. Before I came here, and everything went sideways. I still remember that day, after a picnic on the beach near where our families used to live.

MEMOIR

            “I love you, Blue. I always will.” Blue was the name he gave to me. I thought it was sweet.

            “I love you too, Alexander.” He lowered his lips to my cheek for a sweet kiss. He was such a gentleman. All the more reason to love him.

            “Skye.”

            “Yes?”

            “Your family has been expecting me to propose to you for some time now.”

            “What?!” How dare they? Just because we are courting, doesn’t mean that we have to get married right away! “Alexander, you have to understand, that is not what I think. That is entirely them. I am not expecting you to propose, or take us any further. Please forgive their behavior-“

            “Shh, Skye. I know. I was just going to tell you that I cannot. I have decided that we should take a break, while I travel the world for business.”

            I was silent for some time while he was looking at me. Finally, when I regained my ability to speak, I barely got it past my throat. “What do you mean? Are you leaving me? I-I could change! I could-“

            “Shh, Skye. I am leaving, but only for now. I will return to you in a few months. No big deal.” Oh, how he was wrong. I was desperately in love with him. It was a huge deal. What he was really trying to say is that he wanted to end our courtship so he could travel the world, see exotic places.

            I was so mad, that I got to my feet and started walking back up the beach. I could barely conceal my tears. It had been a perfect day, and it was ruined.

            When I got back to my house, my mother was so worried that I was crying.

            “He—he—he left me!” I could barely control my sobs. “He—he is going to travel the world. He said that he was leaving me to travel!”

            “Oh, Skye, you should lay down. It is no use crying over what happened in the past.” I didn’t understand her then, but after years of learning to be strong, I finally understood her words.

PRESENT DAY

            I remembered every moment of that day in great detail. After two days of crying, I straightened up, and tried to live my life like I didn’t even know him. That day was…unsuccessful. The next morning I woke up here, without so much as a “Goodbye” from my mother.