ward (completed)

4

Hanz found Richard underneath his bed, rocking himself. He, too, had wet himself. After getting cleaned up, Richard lay down on his bed. His bed, like all the beds in the ward, was like an adult-sized crib with the railings pulled up.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Di ko naman alam na takot ka pala sa putok nung lobo. Sorry po. Sorry." Tears continued to roll down his cheeks as he cried himself to sleep.

Richard was brought to St. Dymphna's at age 17 after his grandmother, who took care of him since he was a young boy, passed away. He was a car crash survivor. In fact, he was the only one who survived the crash. His family all perished when their car exploded after a truck rammed into their vehicle, pushing it over the edge of a cliff. Richard, then 11 years old, was thrown out of the vehicle while his family remained inside. He heard a loud explosion and felt the heat of the burning car but lost consciousness altogether after. He woke up in the hospital bruised and with broken bones. He would cry out in pain but because of his grandmother's failing health, she could not take care of him properly anymore. Because his cries were often neglected, Richard decided to just shut out the world. He felt alone and abandoned. He was also angry for being the lone survivor of the car crash that took his family. He became violent when he remembered the crash. He would push people or go "wild" when he could not express himself properly. Thinking that he was useless and a failure, he tried to end his life but each attempt was unsuccessful. He tried making friends with the other patients at St. Dymphna's but was unsuccessful, too. He noticed, though, that this new girl, Nic, seemed different.

"Ang daming lobo! Ang dami! Wow!" Four year old Nic was delighted by the many colorful balloons on the floor. It was her cousin Jeric's birthday party and there were balloons everywhere. She tried to get one. She squealed in delight as the balloons moved and bounced as she kicked them. When she had finally gotten hold of one, she hugged it. Kuya Kiko, another cousin, who was 8 years old at that time bumped into little Nic. It caused her to fall and land on top of her balloon. The rough garage floor caused the balloon to pop! When Nic fell and popped her balloon, Kiko rolled on the other balloons nearby and caused a few to pop as well. The loud popping sounds caused Nic to fear loud, popping noises and balloons. When all this chaos happened, Nic wailed in fear; Jeric cried because the decor was ruined; Kiko was crying because he was told that he wasn't being careful. Nic had a scratch on her knees and arm. Mother, being unstable herself, scolded the girl for not being careful. Little Nic was scared and confused.

"Ayoko ng lobo! Ayaw!" Nic also cried herself to sleep.

Wing 11, being part of the larger compound of St. Dymphna, was in the center. The large, open spaces gave patients space to move about. On one side of the large ground was something like a track and field oval. Patients were encouraged to exercise, to do some jogging or running, as part of their therapy.

"Richard, today we're going to do some running, okay?" A track-suit clad Tristan, one of St. Dymphna's therapists, held on to Richard's wrist and began tugging while he jogged. Soon, Richard was awkwardly jogging beside Tristan. "That's it. Good." Tristan encouraged.

From the corner of the garden, Nic began running toward the oval and was soon trailing behind Richard and Tristan. However, she got tired right away and sat down on the track, huffing and panting. She made a series of high-pitched sounds which Richard noticed and turned his head to.

"Whew! Kapagod!"

"O, andito ka? Kaya mong takbuhin yung buong oval?" Richard then grabbed the towel that was around Tristan's neck. This startled Tristan and chased after Richard who ran away with the towel and nonchalantly dropped it beside Nic when they passed her.

"S..salamat?" Nic picked up the towel and awkwardly wiped the sweat from her head and threw the towel at the direction of where Richard and Tristan were.