Chapter 5
I walked in to the institution expecting the worse. My small feet padded its way to the right to a small little oak bench to sit down on.
Surely, the man I'm pretty sure name is Mr.Tomlinson, is suppose to be here a little earlier since he is the headmaster.
My eyes scanned the main entering building but to see white brick walls, white cement floor, & old paintings. All this decoration won't distract people to understand the truth of this place.
They said it was suppose to help you recover your state of mind, not discover a dark place.
Their therapy doesn't work, their electroshock doesn't work, their pills doesn't work. None of this can be a remedy to me, it just made feel more alone & afraid.
Chills ran down my spine as I hear a few faint screams in the distance of the building. I turned to my left & gulped, shaking.
A man with a black & white suit with faint blue eyes along with slight gel to his appearance came out of a room, I have a considered guess of who it might be.
Mr.Tomlinson seems quite, tired. Faint dark circles appeared as he walked closer along with a little bit of stubble upon his chin. He seemed to stare at the ground quite a lot. My eyes softened a little, which I found a bit surprising.
Then, I noticed a large white scar on his cheek going along to his ear, like a carved smile on the side of his face. The man then looked up to meet my brown ones & had a grand smile plastered on his face.
"Hello Ms.Stone, it's a pleasure to see you once again" Mr.Tomlinson says reaching out to shake his hand.
Oh, lovely.
"Hello Sir, it's a pleasure to see you as well. Call me Brooke please." I said with the best fake smile I can manage.
His hands feel very rough but smooth in the middle of his palm.
"Follow me please" he said as he walked down the white hallway & I follow.
I never spent much time out of my "room" to see the institution but then again, there is nothing much to see anyway. I shuddered at the thought of blood pouring out of the small cracks in the walls. Very faint black marks appeared on the ceiling, wall, and floor as we walk further & further in the building. Possibly from the, fire a few years ago. Goosebumps grew upon my arms making me very uncomfortable. We are awfully going far down this hallway, further down I start to see the "units" for the insane.
He stopped in front of a black door with his name printed in gold on it & opened it to reveal a brown wooden desk with two chairs in front of it, original.
"Now Brooke, I'm sure you don't like this place, correct?"
I nodded.
"Clearly I'm not surprised. Anyway, lets get to why your really here" along with a smile.
If only I can smack the smile off of his face.
He took out a file & opened it. A long letter slipped out towards me, it was really stained with what seems like coffee possibly.
"I suggest you might want to read this Brooke" Mr. Tomlinson said in a monotone voice.
Might as well.
~~~
Dear Brooke,
Surely you are reading this in the future & hopefully, you get this letter. Currently I'm writing this while your napping in your crib & I believe your with teddy. I'm glad that the operation went well, I can't imagine you stuck to tubes & in the hospital the rest of your life. As you can understand, you had a non-functioning kidney along with your lungs. Me and your father were afraid you weren't going to make it, if you didn't I would've lost my mind completely as in suicide. I know, that is truly insane of me but you are everything to me because I love you. Your my living sunshine & your smile can light up anyone's world. I really hope you do well if you ever lose contact with us and I'm praying that your safe, if your father & me, dare I say it, die then we will be your guardian angel watching you from above & just hope you don't go in the wrong path in life that will damage you forever. And if you do ever find a young man you really like, promise me please Brooke, that he is not insane. If he's from that mental asylum near from our home, I beg to stay away from everyone there & not have contact with them what so ever it is. I love you Brooke.
Love,
Estella Savore Eflor
~~~
I stared at the letter and re-read it twice. I actually never thought I would have something left from my mother & believe she's the Estella I've always saw. A road named after her but the letter I have gotten said her name, I don't get it. I shook my head in disbelief of the letter, if my parents loved each other, why did they murder each other? I remember that my mother was pregnant with her baby, Ana. My heartbeat quickened it's pace as memories came flooding back like a river. She was 8 months with Ana though, when I couldn't sleep I always went to my parents room. Screams was all I could hear & at times, I would peek into the room to see my father abusing her & other times, my mother is the one hitting him with beer bottles he would drink. I would never think my mother would hurt anyone like that.
But does that mean my father killed my unborn sister?
I have no idea if she died along with my mother or, if she is alive & is in the only orphanage here in this "small town".
"Brooke, are you alright" he asked me in such a questionable tone.
"Yes I am, but may I ask, do you know what happened to my sister?"
Mr.Tomlinson took in a deep breath leaving me uneasy.
"When your mother was in the hospital, the doctors were seeing if they could save your little sister, & they did, but they brought her to an orphanage or sent to America. I never received any more information, though I could if you want?"
I nodded & slumped in my seat a little. How un-lady like.
"I will contact a friend of mines to see if he can help to find anything about your sister."
"Thank you, sir."
A loud knock came to the black steel door. How gentle.
"Come in "Mr.Tomlinson announced.
A man with tattoos & curly hair entered the office space along with a Manila folder in hand. He smirked to me as he walks to the wardens desk.
I caught a glimpse of this rude mans face to see dark eyes enlightening his black attire. He gave the folder to Mr.Tomlinson along with him whispering in the ear of the rude man.
"Brooke, Harry will show you to where we keep our patients records. Your records are in there as well as your social security, and then he will bring you back to your "room" to get your belongings. Come back here when your done to give you extra information about who could know where is your sibling."
What a handful to say.
"Thank you" I said once again.
I stood up from the uncomfortable black chair & followed the man with tattoos.
I can't help but feel some kind of connection to this man, those dark eyes are something that I've seen before.
It could be the shade of fresh grass grown in the spring.
What madness am i talking about, i dont even know the man.
The door slammed behind me, i shuddered not because of the wind with it but the eerie feeling that I'm being left alone with the man named Harry i suppose.
