Perceived Insanity

Endure

Dr. Rhae had instructed the guards to give the prisoner food whenever she slept, and to make sure her environment never changed other than that. As the young girl slowly lost trust in her own thoughts and beliefs, Dr. Rhae felt more and more satisfied with herself. She was killing the child from the inside out; before she killed the child physically, she would cripple the rebellious citizen's soul. Dr. Rhae was sure no one else would follow in the girl's footsteps. Sometimes, in an effort to remember, Nayona would voice her thoughts, but over time she did this less and less. After a month in the room, she began simply to sit and stare ahead of her, ignoring her surroundings. She would eat as food was provided for her, and sleep when she could not sit any longer, but she never did anything else.

It was then Dr. Rhae finally responded to the daily emails she had received from William, the girl's brother. She gave him permission to observe his sister through the one-way window in the room, describing it as the room provided for his sister to live in, rather than as a prison. If he did not know she was imprisoned, he would think less of her for sitting and staring all day long, for never leaving the room. This was key to preventing a chain reaction of rebellions in the community. It was for the best of the whole society if only one girl were killed.

When William came to visit Nayona, he expected to see in her the hope and certainty he had seen when they had last met. When he saw her sitting on the mattress, he felt confused. But his own choices would not change because of hers. He did not know she had resisted to the point of a death sentence. He returned to his life, hoping for her encouragement and strength, and ready to make whatever choices were given to him.

Within the room, Nayona began to wonder if her family had forgotten her. Or had they ever existed? Maybe her life had all been a dream. It felt like nothing could be real but her prison. What she had thought was a door had no handle, and how could she be sure there was anything on the other side? But the foo d had to come from somewhere. If nothing else prevented her from dismissing her memories as fake, it was this. She held on to what little hope this gave her, and found the mental strength to continue to hold on to the truth.

As the second month came to an end, Dr. Rhae began to prepare for Nayona's death. It had been necessary to keep her imprisoned for so long to make her death easier. An individual who was struggling to trust her own perceptions of the world would not be as resistant to death, or at least this was the theory. Dr. Rhae wondered how her prisoner would defy the expectations in this respect.

The date had been decided, and only one thing remained to be done before she would be killed. Everyone in the community who had known her had to be notified of her death. Those who were suspected of sympathizing with her would be encouraged to watch her death. If anyone else was influenced by Nayona to rebel against society's standards, the consequences could be disastrous.

The government sent pairs of guards to the houses of everyone who could possibly have been influenced by their prisoner's beliefs. For each individual, much work was done to reverse any possible rebellious thoughts. Many high official in the government found Nayona's choices irritating. Much work had to be done to patch the consequences of allowing an individual with her opinions to return to the community at all. They realized, in addition to this, it was necessary for a new exam to be created. At least one individual had taken advantage of the system, and it was necessary for the ability to do so to be minimized.

As the day for Nayona's death approached, William and and her mother were both placed on the list of individuals whose loyalty was in question. The government saw no difference between an individual who refused to conform and a disloyal individual. Nayona did, and understood she could care about the present and future of her nation and society without agreeing with or conforming to any of their ideals and actions. Her family, she knew, was very loyal, but William was unwilling to lie just for profit. Nayona was not told anything, however, in case such knowledge would give her strength.

Nayona sat in her cell, staring in front of her as she had done for so long she could not remember what it was like to do anything else. She had heard no noise except that of the food dish being scraped across the table on which it lay towards her so she could eat from it since she had been shut inside the dimly lit room. When she heard a new noise, she gasped in surprise and jumped backwards, afraid of the sudden change in her monotonous setting. The heavy, handleless door swung open quite suddenly, and the dim light was replaced with a bright light. Nayona blinked and covered her eyes. After two months in the room, she was unprepared for such harsh disruptions of her environment. When her eyes adjusted to the brighter light, she saw two other human beings. It seemed unreal, almost magical, to know other people did, in fact, exist after living alone for so long. When they spoke to her, it took her a few moments to process what they had said.

"You are being killed today," the taller one said bluntly. After a moment, Nayona recognized her face. Dr. Rhae had returned. All of her old memories and experiences were brought to the front of her train of thought, and it seemed as if no time at all had passed since she had entered the room. Everything in the room had been the same, and her brain would remember it as one experience. It was as if someone has simply pressed pause on her life for two months, then pressed play again. Nayona stood, greeted the woman who had helped sentence her to death, and allowed the shorter woman to put handcuffs on her. She had made her decision. There was no reason to try to escape from the consequences of it. She would find no rewards in trying, and would only convince her captors of the goodness of the decision they had made.

She was led down hallway after hallway, walking steadily onward towards her death. Dr. Rhae observed she did not fight or seem to fear what was happening. Nayona was, for the moment, at peace.