Hatter

REALITY

The room was more silent than a graveyard; all attention was on Sebastian. He looked like he had just come back to life.

"Cath?" said Sebastian. Catherine and Lilith stood in disbelief, unmoving.

His greenish-blue eyes sparkled with life and he spoke softly, "Cath, is that you?"

Cath legs became jelly; her green eyes became water and tears fell down her face like waterfalls.
"Cath, why are you crying?" said Sebastian worriedly.

Before he could speak more, Cath embraced him in a great hug. He petted her wavy burgundy hair as she cried in his lap.

"I missed you," whispered Cath.

"There's no need to miss me. I will always be with you." He smiled at her, his curly hair falling over his ocean eyes. She blushed and said, "You need a haircut."

Lilith stood tapping her foot until she was finally acknowledged. "May I have a word with my patient?" said Lilith, looking skeptical. Her hands were crossed across her chest; her scarlet hair had fallen out of her bun and down to her shoulder, while her amber eyes looked concerned.

"Who is this bewitchingly beautiful woman?" said Sebastian. He had a way with charming people, but this woman was definitely bewitching. Cath nudged on his shirt teasingly for that comment, but after Lilith cleared her throat, Cath stuttered at first, then said: "This...is your psychiatrist." Sebastian looked at the woman again and then to Cath. "I don't understand."

"Let me explain," said Lilith.

She indicated Cath to leave for a while. Cath slowly got up; she bent forward and kissed Sebastian on his forehead. He watched her as she left the room. The door closed, and all of his attention was towards the bewitching woman who stood before him.

Although it had only been a half-hour, she felt as though an eternity had passed since Lilith and Sebastian had started talking. Cath looked at her hands, thinking about what she should tell him- should she tell him about Alice or not, should she tell him about his friends here, or about Jamie and Oliver, or about their new home, or their hat shop. As she thought of this, the door to the visiting room creaked open and Lilith emerged. She came and sat next to Catherine on the chairs outside the visiting room.

She sighed. "I explained to him from start to finish what happened. It was difficult to comprehend at first, but he understood. I asked him about Aether and he told me the same thing you told me."

Catherine interrupted her and spoke in a soft voice, "Can he go home now?" Lilith saw the pain and desperation in her face; she let out another sigh.

"Unfortunately, he cannot. We don't know if his fix on reality is permanent, but we know that the medications are working now, meaning he is recovering and will get better soon."

Cath looked at her lap and let out an 'oh'. Lilith saw the sadness in her eyes and then spoke softly, "You can spend time with him now."

Cath's face lit up, and she thanked Lillith profusely before going back to the visiting room. Lilith entered the observation room and sat behind the one-sided window, observing Cath and Sebastian.

Sebastian sat on the padded grey floor with his back against the white wall of the room, his leg bent in front of his chest and his hands covering his face. He was sulking.

"Sebastian, are you alright?" He felt Cath's hand on his knee. He pulled her in for a hug. "What are you doing?" said Cath, blushing. "I'm sorry for hurting you." Cath looked at him with a half-smile. "It's okay. I know you never meant it." She hugged him back.

Although Cath was in her late twenties, she still looked and acted like she was eighteen. Her head lay in his lap as she told him about their children, Jamie, Oliver, and Alice. She told him about the friends he made here, and how one of them named Ace protected him from the other one when he called him a mad hatter. She is always so expressive and cute, thought Sebastian as she made large gestures explaining how Ace defended him

Her brow furrowed and her nose crinkled. "What are you thinking?" He smiled deviously and said: "Things I can't say out loud." Cath shoved him playfully; she knew what he meant. She looked at the window near where Lilith was.

On the other side, Lilith sat taking notes and occasionally rolling her eyes whenever they acted like two love-sick teenagers. I've forgotten how that feels, considering my husband doesn't even remember me, June, Lilith thought.

As Cath lay next to Sebastian, he asked her: "Do you think I'm mad?" She saw the concern on his face. "Of course you are- aren't we all a bit mad? Take us, for example. We're madly in love," she teased, curling her head under his chin like a cat. He held her hand; his eyes seemed so deep she felt she could drown in them. "No matter how mad I become, know that I will fight for you, fight for reality. Just don't lose hope in me," he said softly. She nodded and embraced him in a hug.

It felt as if time had stopped until she heard the most dreaded thing.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" said Sebastian slowly wiggling out of their hug. She wiped her tears and replied with: "No one." Catherine got up and walked towards the door; he watched her until she left. Lilith entered afterward.

Sebastian smiled at her and said, "How's June? Madame Lilith, I haven't seen him in a while."