10 A patient

Rose began to walk at a slow pace, pounding her shoes on the tile and in the elevator until the lounge area. It was noisy, yet she did not pay attention to the sound of her surroundings. Though she was walking forward and her face held up, she did not look at anyone's faces. They were all a passerby, a stranger, a no one in her eyes. Always has been crossing out other people's faces, she came to wonder how she even had a husband.

She was mesmerized by the flooding thoughts in her mind, but there was one, pale woman stood under the beaming light of the sun, as if the sky directly pointed at the woman for Rose to notice. Rose halted her walk "Janine" she murmured to herself. Then Janine smiled, so softly and pure. She faded into the light and among the passing people she disappeared.

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦, Rose continued walking.

The streets seem to be livelier than usual, or perhaps because Rose felt released from the tension of ever encountering such a ghost. It was only her relief that Janine did not hold any grudge not intend to harm anyone as an act of revenge. She hopped on the cement as a daisy waving to the wind. It was then the day felt alive and happy, free from anything. Until she arrived to her office. A mess she left yesterday in a hurry, the disastrous sight made her feel weary once more.

"Aw no, now I have to deal with this", her body unconsciously arched her spine.

"Why did I have to leave my office like this?" she complained to herself, picking up all scattered papers on the floor, collecting them each and by hand. When a knock interrupted her 'busy' day

"Now what?" she rolled her eyes around her head and faced her back where the door was flung open.

"Hi," A man panted to his breath, he could not help but to notice the papers that lied on the floor "Oh, I'm sorry I did not mean to interrupt your-"

"What is it? Why are you out of breath?" Rose was rather tired, but for others, it looked like she was pissed. 𝘈 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵?

"A patient", he paused.

"Calm down first, can it wait? You want to sit down first and have water?" gesturing him to come in "breathe and tell me what happened" she added.

He came in and seated "Sorry, I'm actually new here. I don't get around the hospital pretty much and I'm pretty new dealing with crazy patients"

"Don't say that, they are mentally ill and not crazy. Remember that" she offered him a bottled water. 𝘖𝘩? 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦.

She tapped to align the papers on the desk "So what and which patient?" Rose sat across him.

"A patient just arrived, the police were pinning her down until they handed her over to us" he arranged his sitting position "such sight I don't get to see every day" he added his opinion.

"Well, you better get used to it. She seems to be pretty violent huh, have you physically restrained her?"

"Yeah. She was yelling all over the place, I could still hear her on my way here" he was stunned to the fact that Rose did not even hear the patient screaming.

"Ah it occasionally happens, when they first arrive here some patients tend to be harmful at first, but they calm down soon" she shrugged and got up to put the files she had collected earlier into the vertical cupboard.

"Sigh, yeah I guess"

"Why were you running anyway?" Rose asked while organizing some folders.

"Oh that, they asked me if I can come fetch you if you're available. But it looked like you weren't, so I- anyway" he grabbed the armchair as his guide to stand up.

"They need you in the unit, and thanks for the water!" he lifted up the empty water bottle and took it with him on his way out.

Rose sighed, stacking up the papers on her desk. The clock's hand ticked quarter to noon. After collecting the last pieces of papers from the ground, she sat to her chair and rested for a minute.

*sigh*

Time for real work, you can do this Rose! She motivated herself and got up before flaunting her white jacket. She removed the unwanted folds in her suit's lapel by ironing it with her warm hand.

She grabbed the handle of the heavy glass door and flung it open, as soon as she stepped out of her office, a piercing scream greeted her in the hallway. "Wow, ouch" she grunted to the noise, crumpling her face and covering her ears.

"All right, this seems to be the real deal" she talked to herself on the way to a room where she was needed, according to the nurse.

The scream was getting louder and louder as she walked closer to the metal door and peeked in the glassed vertical window in the door. A woman in a white shirt, secured sleeves, seems to be restless is the source of all the ruckus. Many arms are securing her in the seat.

Her dark short hair rubbed in the back chair, causing her hair to tangle everywhere as she tried to free herself from the sleeves.

"LET ME GOOO!" Her voice was croaky, her vocal cords seem to slowly fail her.

"AHHHH STOP IT LET ME GO I SAID LET GO!" She screamed to the several nurses pinning her shoulder to the chair.

Her eyes met Rose's beyond the metal door, her eyes widened, and so did Rose's eyes.

The deafening noise was gone in an instant. She stopped screaming, she stopped struggling and slowly laid her back on the chair, she eased herself. The thunder has calmed, finally.

Rose on the other side of the door, standing ill. Her sight was blurred for a moment until one of the nurses opened the door for her.

Removing his earplug, "Ah Doctor, she was the one I was talking about earlier. Thankfully she stopped-" he noticed Rose's face

"Doctor, are you okay?" he asked

Rose stood pale and blue. "Yes."