Luisa was transferred to a mental institution for the rest of her ‘recovery’. She was forced to take drugs that made her mind feel like mush. They asked her to tell her story again. But she was confused. She tried, but everything was mixed up. She spent a lot of time sleeping, and mindlessly doing physio. Screams echoed in the halls. Her Mum and brother came almost every day. Sometimes Luisa had no words to use, she could just stare at a wall. The drugs gave her a horrible headache; the only way to relieve it was to push on her temples as hard as she could, and hum. She had to push so hard that she would get a bad bruise above her ears. Her head was splitting today so she was pushing her fingers against her temples and humming when there was a loud commotion in the hallway.
“Young man! I said the patient is not well enough for visitors today.”
Matthew burst into the room. Red faced, with his black hair in disarray, he was being pursued, but turned proudly and scolded the hospital ward that was following him in.
“I think I can see my own girlfriend, thank you very much Mr. ohhh what does your badge say? Don’t cover it! Oh Porter, fitting. Yes Mr. Porter I bet the hospital administration will be very interested in how you are abusing a patient’s human rights in such a way!”
Mr. Porter backed away.
Matthew looked at Luisa, his face blanching as he took in her condition. “Luisa… I, are you… are you OK?”
Words swam in Luisa’s head. She tried to form a sentence, but as it bubbled up it also went away. She closed her eyes and tried to think. She ended up putting her head in her hands and sobbing.
“Shh… Luisa. You have to get out of here. What the hell are they giving you? Matthew grabbed the chart at the end of her bed. He took out a small note-book and started scribbling, copying down what was on it, “Luisa?”
Luisa was rocking back and forth silent.
“Luisa?”
Matthew made to touch her, but it caught Luisa by surprise and she jumped back, the jump pulled at her stomach and she yelled out in pain.
“Oh no, Luisa, its my fault. I should not have told you to stay away from Ruthin! This is my fault!”
Mr. Porter was on the scene immediately, and pulled a stricken but silent Matthew out the room.
Three days later, due in no small part of a hefty petitioning by Matthew of Luisa’s family, the local press, the hospital board and a well-known national newspaper on the dangers of prescribing powerful anti-psychiatric drugs to under-eighteens, Luisa was taken off her anti-psychotic medication.
Her mind began to clear.
She got herself together.
A week later she was out of the institution.
--
Ladies and gents.
We now walk into our final week of Cataindar. I hope you will join me on Friday 26th September for the Cataindar wrap party.
I will have a few special announcements to share!
I'm just heading back to England right now. It is exciting to be going home for a bit. This week will be one spent on epic rewrites of this novel. I'll be going back and re-writing these notes. They are really just meant for you guys - my close friends and readers that catapulted Cataindar up the charts on this site. I will be doing some new Cataindar related projects and I am counting on your feedback! Big shout to my friend @Sparklesinthedark who hit up Llangollen and Ruthin this weekend (the towns in which Cataindar is set in Wales) and was very happy to find them much as they are in the novel. Very cool to hear! Always helps going to a place to get that first-hand research! :-)
See you tomorrow my friends,
Tim
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Cataindar
Action#1 for a month on the Fantasy-Action Hotlist. Wattys2015 Winner. Fourteen-year-old Luisa is focused on staying under the radar at her rough London school, relieved that the summer holidays are soon to begin. Exploring the ruin of an abbey at ni...
