Paper Boats

Two

Marie is under a more intensive supervision than most because of her reaction to a psychology examination. Moreover, Dr. Schwartz is now her personal doctor, whilst his chatoyant pupils follow her everywhere. She despises that, of course, to have her every move perused. And at the age of seventy-three, the woman has been seemingly left to spend the rest of her life in this prison.

Not only that, her room has been stripped of television, books, some drawings, and most importantly, a huge panoply of paper boats. She is more than devastated upon seeing a tintless room everyday.

At least Marie is still permitted to go to the lagoon as a daily outing.

Dr. Schwartz understands that the lagoon is of no danger to Marie, thus he lets the old woman go there by herself. The lagoon is the only place where Marie is not watched, and she goes there every day at noon, standing on top of the highest boulder to view the offing. The vestigial coruscating anger and sorrow always seem to disappear when she observes the calm waves.

Today, her back rests on a trunk as she watches dolphins rise above the water, streak across the air, and leave a long trail of sprinkles behind. The creatures shriek in a childish tone and dive for the ocean floor once again in the blink of an eye. Contrarily, the old woman spots desultory jellyfish underwater in the penumbra, blobbing and bouncing on top of each other with enough leisure.

Marie is fascinated by the magic of the lake.

Whenever Marie is by the shore, she feels young again, like an ingénue who can run freely and escape from the hellhole behind, farther and farther―eventually sailing away in a boat…

But as Marie lies on the beach against the coconut tree, she notices something odd on her left wrist.

There enwraps a metal bracelet, and the letters are written in a small, cursive font. Marie’s brows furrow unconsciously; it reads only one word:

Schizophrenia.

She throws herself up and clutches the grey armlet with her right hand, pulling with all her might. When it doesn't budge, she plunges it on the rocks around her, over and over again, aiming for the vertices. It is only when her hands become filthy with dust and slits of blood that she puts a stop to her fit. She heads back to the hospital, sprinting continuously.

"What the bloody hell is this nonsense?" Marie bellows the moment she enters the front door of the institution as she brandishes her bracelet; who could imagine that such a powerful voice is heard from a hunching old woman with grey braided hair? Dr. Schwartz grabs Marie by the shoulder immediately, but that only aggravates the screaming.

"Marie, you're terrifying the other patients. Stop!"

When that doesn’t put a halt to the vociferating, she is hurled to a confinement room. Dr. Schwartz orders Marie to sit on the bed while his frame soars above her; the old woman squirms in fright.

"Do that again, and you'll never get your precious paper boats back," he warns with authority, accenting the letter p like an insult.

Then the young male softens after noting how depressed the old woman is.

He gulps, casts a curt glance at the dusty window and nods, exiting the room in a hushed silence and returning with a plethora of tabulated paper boats in a transparent plastic box. Marie is ecstatic upon garnering the origami once again.

The young male gives her a demure grin. They exchange no conversation, as Marie's overwhelming feelings are ineffable. She only hugs the doctor and whispers a 'thank you' to his ears. The young doctor’s face turns to a slight pink. He brushes his finger through the clump of oily black hair and looks down to the floor sheepily on his way out.

The old woman, like those who knit and sew, devotes her time unfolding and refolding the paper in a more elaborate and carelessly oblique manner.

As her finger creases yet another corner, her arm lingers in the air abruptly while an epiphany forms in her head. She envisions herself sitting in one of the boats she made, escaping to the horizon, and rowing forward until there is no more distance to roam.

Clutching the heavy box against her thigh, Marie sets out for the lagoon for the second time today along with the collection of origami; but this time, she doesn't plan to come back…