1906 [h.s.]

seven

The unknown nurse accompanied me out of the Male Ward fast, glancing around a lot, as if she was trying to make sure nobody was around to see us. Noticing two guards at the main door of the ward, I understood her initial surprise in seeing me there.

She directed me, speaking sweetly, gripping my arm tight, through the big room with all the tables, which I had already discovered was what kept the two wards connected, that was completely empty, since it was late at night. Another door was opened, and shut right behind us. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I realised that we had reached the Female Ward, and that there was no way out from that moment on, as far as I was concerned.

Trying not to make it too noticeable, I lifted my head up just enough to see where we were going, knowing that, since I didn't know that part of the asylum, it was the only way I could've possibly found my way back, somehow. I wondered how I could've run out of the Female Ward into the Male Ward, which was rigidly controlled, if nobody else apparently could. And without opposing resistance to the nurses - if they could be called like that - as well.

The Female Ward seemed softer, in a way. The lights seemed to be dimmer, more crepuscular, but it could've just been my imagination playing tricks on me. The corridor we were walking in seemed smaller, as if it wasn't one of the most important. All of sudden, the nurse opened a door.

"Get in here, darling, and sleep a little" she said pushing me in and closing the door behind me.

I pushed my back against the wall glancing around. The room was dark, but not completely dark, thanks to the slight light coming from the little window on the door. There were three beds, and they all seemed to be empty. I glanced at one, the tattered blanket couldn't do much to cover the stained mattress. In a first moment, I decided to ditch the bed for the floor, but, when I was right about to sit down, I noticed a puddle of liquid in the corner, and something told me that it wasn't water. I took the blanket off the bed. Apparently it hadn't been touched for some days at least, because it arose a cloud of dust, making me sneeze. After a little inspection, the stains and marks in the bed turned out to be very old - the kind that, no matter how hard you scrub them, just won't go away.

I sat down on the mattress, my back against the wall, bringing my knees up to my chest. I put my forehead on my knees, my arms around it, shivering slightly at the slight damp cold of the room.

All of sudden, I became aware of situation I was in. At first it was so impossible to believe that, even though I had had enough evidence of its reality, I felt the need to pinch my thigh. The pain was sharp, but it didn't wake me up, because there was nothing to be woken up.
And then, came the tears. Almost instantly, one after the other, they started rolling down my cheeks, and I just seemed not to be able to stop them. I was alone, in a place that was to me totally strange, hell, in a world that was to me unknown, and I was scared. Nothing I had learnt at school could possibly help me with that, all the numbers, dates and names had just faded away into nothing, because they meant nothing, in that very moment.

My mind went to Harry, I wondered where he was. Was he still hiding safely, waiting for midnight, or had he been taken as well, and was now somewhere into the depths of the asylum?

All of sudden I heard a whimper, and my head snapped up as I stopped my irregular breathing. "Who's there?" I asked shakily into the dark, but I was only met by silence.

I just imagined it, I thought shaking my head, letting out a small laugh at how squeamish I had become. I wondered when I had changed so much, so fast and so subtly that I hadn't even noticed it happening.

I wondered if I could've succeeded in getting some sleep, if I was even meant to in the first place. Maybe I should've just stayed awake, waiting for the perfect moment to run away.

Then, I heard the same sound again. But this time, I didn't say anything. Staying completely silent, I turned around in the darkness. Just like before, there seemed to be no one around. The beds were empty, and the room was small enough for me to see clearly that there was nobody around. Was it possible that I had imagined it again?
But, when the sound repeated a third time, I knew for sure it wasn't it. There was somebody in the room with me, I just had to find out where they were.

The beds were put at horseshoe around the room, which was only a few meters square, just enough to fit the three beds.

All of sudden it struck me. If nobody was on the beds, they must've been under them. My heart started beating fast, was it possible that there was someone under my bed? I gripped my legs tighter, refusing to put my feet down. I sat up straighter, detaching my back from the wall, to look at the space under the bed right in front of me. It was empty. Next was the one next to mine, at the bottom of the room.

At first, I saw a bundle of something. Was it a person? It wasn't really moving. I heard the whimper again, and something white came out of the covers. Was it a hand? It was hard to tell, it looked more like claws, for how skinny it was. I got off the bed and walked closer, finally getting a good look at what was under there.

There was a woman under the bed. She couldn't have been that old, but she was skinny and pale to the point that she almost looked a hundred. As I got closer, I noticed that she wasn't silent, but she was whispering something under her breath. Even though I couldn't really understand what she was saying because she was speaking too lowly, I was able to make out the word "hospital" repeated over and over again. Was she talking about the asylum? I could recall Harry referring to it as "the Hospital" in the past.

I didn't dare to touch her, and I resumed my spot on the bed.