Snippet #1335543

Riley lay wide-awake in bed, the familiar white ceiling a canvas for her over active imagination. Tonight there were no fantastical images of some enchanted wood, or scenes of daily normalcy she so longed for. The ceiling remained as empty as the rest of Riley’s life would be if she allowed her freedom to slip away. This possible loss was almost more daunting than the return of the shadows. Well almost, but not quite. With a shudder Riley saw piercing yellow eyes, heard those horrible raspy promises of torment to come. Clenching her sheets with the effort, she willed the images away. The last thing she wanted right now was to become frightened. As her breathing became regular, her grip slackened, and she rolled onto her side.

Her view of the ceiling was replaced with the colorful collages she’d so carefully chosen to cover her walls, reminders that should she be released, she still had enough time to live. Tomorrow a man trained to rely only on fact and academic insight would decide if she was well enough to experience the world, should she tell the truth her stay would no doubt be extended. So Riley would pretend that underneath her bandages were self inflicted scratches. For the first time in her life, she would deny that everything she saw and felt was real, because in the end that’s what they wanted to hear.

Eventually exhaustion won the battle with anxiety, and Riley began to drift into an uneasy sleep. With her final thought she wondered who wrote the cliché “the truth will set you free”, clearly the author had never been institutionalized.

Riley was faintly aware of someone entering her room, prompting her to wake up and eat something. Apparently it was morning, and though she wanted nothing more than to drift away again, today she had to be on her best behavior. So she groggily sat up and obliged the old nurse.

"How do you feel today?" Teresa's face was creased with concern.

"I'm fine." Riley replied between bites of horribly bland oatmeal. I'm only terrified that some hellish creature is going to come out of the woodwork and try to kill me. I can't do anything to stop it, and if I tell you about how worried I am, I'll be stuck in this place for the rest of my life. Riley made eye contact with Teresa, "Really, I am."

Riley's sudden shift in demeanor was disconcerting, after last night's ordeal Teresa had braced herself for the worst. "All right, well Ted is right outside the door should you need anything. Your appointment isn't until later this afternoon."

Yes, the dreaded appointment. Riley hoped her story would be convincing enough to get her out of this mess.