Leap Year

1.

1.

"How have you been sleeping? Are you still having the dreams?" 

"No," She lied. "I've been sleeping well." 

"That's great, it seems the meds are helping. However, I heard from a few nurses that you still aren't eating. You aren't still trying to hurt yourself, are you?" Dr. Rose asked. There was a discerning difference in her tone from earlier on in the session, and Astrid was beginning to notice. 

"No, I am not trying to hurt myself. I just want to get out of here, to go home," Astrid hissed back to her psychiatrist. 

"Home? I see. As far as I remember, wasn't it your actions at home that caused you to be brought to us?" 

"If I eat can I leave?" Astrid asked. Dr. Rose shook her head, providing a negative answer. Astrid rolled her eyes as she let out a sigh of annoyance. She brought up her arms and folded them across her chest. 

"I'm sorry, but you're under eighteen. We'll release you when we and your mother see some improvement. We're only thinking about what's best for you. You tried to kill yourself Astrid. Do you not see how serious this is?" Dr. Rose had a stern look on her face and was beginning to reach out a hand of support. Astrid pushed back on her chair and stood up. 

"I have group therapy in five minutes. Can I go now?" Dr. Rose nodded before exhaling in frustration. 

Astrid had been admitted two weeks earlier. The bandages on her wrists from where she cut across instead of up still bled at night. She sometimes wanted to hit herself for not getting it right, the suicide process. She still remembered how stark the contrast was of the fresh blood against her pale white skin.  

She walked down the hall where the psychiatrists' offices were to the activity room, where group therapy was held five days a week. When she walked in she was greeted by a familiar sight. The room was open and bright. There was a tall ceiling and windows where walls should be. The doctor's believed the light would promote positivity amongst the patients, and give them a chance to forget they were in the psych ward. 

In the middle of the room there was a large circle of blue plastic chairs, three of them still empty. Astrid walked across the room and took her usual seat, on the opposite side of the circle than the doctor who ran group, Dr. Stanley. As soon as she sat down he walked in. He sat in his usual chair and began talking. 

"Hi guys," he greeted with his usual tone saturated in positivity. "I hope you all had a nice weekend. As you can tell we're missing someone. Daniel was released on Saturday. Let's all keep him in our thoughts and wish him luck, okay?" 

He looked around the circle expecting a response. Only the always-too-chipper Nadia replied with a nod and smile. All the other teens simply stared off in different directions. Some at the floor, others at the trees beyond the window keeping them from the outside. Astrid was observing everyone else, as she often did.  

"Today I'd like to talk about what makes us unique, special. We all have something. Let's start off with..." he reached out a hand and motioned back and forth around the circle before landing on Astrid. "You, Astrid. What makes you special?" 

As his finger pointed directly at her, her eyes widened in surprise. The thing she preferred to avoid more than anything was talking in group. The past two weeks she had done well with it. No one had heard a peep other than her name.  

"Astrid? What makes you unique," he asked once more. 

"Nothing," she replied curtly. If he could not tell already that she did not want to be there, it would soon become clear. "I'm no different than the rest of these psychos." 

"I'm sorry Astrid, but I don't appreciate the tone of your voice. We are here to help you, all of you. That attitude is regressive, and won't help you in the long run. If it continues, I'll have to send you back to Dr. Rose," he informed her. The only thing more frustrating than group therapy was her one on one sessions with Dr. Rose. She had enough of that for one day. 

"Fine," she began. "What makes me unique? I'm smart." 

"That's great. Good job. Who's next?" he brought up his hand once more and went around the circle. 

"I told you, I don't need to be here. I'm not crazy," a young man's voice echoed through the hall into the activity room. 

"Well, there's a reason you're here, and you're not going anywhere until you figure out what that is," the patients in group heard a male nurse say. 

"No, No, you aren't listening. I already know what is going on," the boy began again. As he became closer to the room his voice became clearer. Next he whispered barely loud enough to hear, "They just aren't believers." 

"Okay Charlie. Let's just get you to group." A male nurse walked in followed by a boy, no more than nineteen. He had dark brown hair and was average size. He was still wearing his normal clothes, jeans and a t shirt. Astrid could not help the pang of jealousy as she looked down at her white pants and pastel pink shirt issued by the hospital. 

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow," Dr. Stanley said as he stood up to welcome the new patient. He led him with a hand on his shoulder to the center of the circle. "Everyone, please welcome Charles. He's joining us from now on." 

Everyone stared at the boy, who just stood  with a childlike smile and waved at every person one by one. When his eyes set on Astrid, he paused. He took three large steps in her direction. When he was less than a foot from her she hid her head down, nervous. He leaned down to her level until their eyes were parallel, she did not dare look up.

"Hey, I know you," he told her, the smile still plastered on his face. She was confused. She had never seen him before in her life, in the psych ward or at home. 

"You do?" she asked hesitantly. She was curious. 

"Yes, I do. You're just like me. Aren't you?" he inferred. He brought up a hand and reached out toward her shoulder length, white blond hair. He leaned a bit further towards her, approached the side of her face. 

"A fairy. You're a fairy, right?" he whispered nearly inaudibly into her ear, for only her to hear. She looked up at him through her lashes. The beautiful face of the boy in front her in no way matched the delusion in his mind. Looking into his eyes she could tell he was telling the truth. He whole heartedly believed that Astrid was a fairy. 

"Charles, you can meet everyone after group. It's time to get started, all right?" Dr. Stanley asked. Charles obliged and took to the seat next to him. "We were just discussing what makes everyone special. Charles, since you've just joined us why don't you tell us what makes you unique." 

"Easy, I just am," he answered.  

"Of course you are, but what specifically is special about you. Something about you that sets you apart from everyone in this circle." The other kids in the group were still not interested as they stared into space. 

"I have special abilities. That's all I am allowed to say," he claimed. With that he piqued everyone's interest. All eyes were on Charlie. He smiled and gave in the their sudden attention. "I have magic." 

The room was still quiet but the sounds of everyone whispering between themselves echoed from wall to wall. Without a doubt, Charles was definitely unique, and that gave them something to talk about in group.

*****

Another new story! I still have so many ideas, and no worries, I'll be uploading Flawed Perception regularly, and will continue with Friend Zone in the Spring.

Let me know what you guys think so far!

~Bran