A Second Of Insanity

Chapter 5

Appoitment: 2/1/2018

     I read over the notes Abigail's daily nurse has written out for me. Supposedly Abigail hasn't had a personality switch since our last meeting. And the week after that she had only switched once. That one time being when I was with her, but it was understandable for her to switch. I had asked her to stay calm, and she didn't like that much. It's remarkable that she hasn't switched. She's gone from switching to at least once a day to going a week without shifting personalities.

    I'm leaning against the wall opposite from the therapy room with a grin on my face while I look over the notes once more time. Finally satisfied that I've read all that I need to read, I walk over to the dull door and enter it silently.

     Abigail is once again sitting in her chair, but this time her hands are free. Once I had saw that she had been making such great progress, I decided to let her be in our therapy session free of bound today. Abigails head swings up and she greets me with a smile.

     “No handcuffs today!” she yells with a happy tone. She puts her arms up and shakes them over her head in excitement. Then she puts her arms down once again, and she sighs with relief. I laugh at her reactions and sit across from her.

     “I can see that!” I laugh. “How are you feeling today Abigail?”

     “I feel great! I feel like a free bird! I also got a cookie today from Nurse Lily! How cool is that!? And the guard let me walk by myself too, but I still had to wear handcuffs! Today is the best day ever!” she squeals and flails her arms. I grin at her silliness and drop my bag down on the table close to me.

     “Well we’re gonna put those hands to the test today,” I say and pull out a puzzle. On the puzzle there is a picture of a cat. Over the course of the 4 months I've known Abigail, I've learned that she has an undying love for the furry animals.

     “Kitties!” She exclaims and reaches for the cardboard box. Before she opens it she looks at me for approval.

     I nod my head. “You can open it. We might not get the whole puzzle done in this session, but we can definitely try.” She smiles a toothy grin and slides the shiny painted cardboard top off of the box. Inside sits an abundance of colorful pieces cut in random shapes, and to think they somehow all fit together. Abigail picks up two pieces at random and starts to smash them together, ruining the pieces.

     “Abigail that's not how the puzzle works. You will know when they fit together. It will be a perfect match,” I revise. I take one of the pieces out of her hand. “Try and find the match to that one. It looks like part of the kitty’s fur, so the piece that it matches to will be part of the kitty’s fur.”

     She doesn't like that I'm telling her what to do and gives me a frustrated pout. She take the puzzle piece that remains in her hand and studies the pattern. Her eyes shift left and then right as if she has to remember every single detail for the rest of her life. When she's doesn't, she puts the piece down and takes a look at the pile of 20 other pieces in front of her.

     “Want some help?” I ask her. She looks up from the pile to me with a focused frown.

     “Sure!” She answers, with an almost desperate tone. We work on the puzzle for the rest of the appointment. I help Abigail when she needs it, but other than that I only ask her questions on how's she's been. She responds with short answers because she is occupied with the puzzle.