Krista followed the man down the bare white corridor. She had a visitor. She was mildly excited. It was the first time in weeks that she'd had a visitor, the first time in months that she'd had a real visitor. She wondered who it could be. It definat3ly was not her mother. Krista's mother never visited; Krista knew why. She was a disgrace, a disappointment. Her mother was embarrassed to have a daughter in a psychiatric hospital. She wrote sometimes. Very formally. Mostly it was to tell Krista about her brother's success. Ben had graduated from his Uni. course with the highest possible score. He was being offered a job with some big computer corporation and would earn millions of dollars in a few years time. Big difference to her daughter the crazy one. The unstable one. Krista had had so much potential, or so everyone said. One day she just snapped. A loose canon. Maybe due to a traumatic childhood. That was everyone's theory. But Krista knew more than they could ever know. As far as she was concerned, screw them all. Krista couldn't give a damn about what happened to them. It was obvious no on gave a damn about her.

Krista turned into another white corridor. She wondered who else would come to see her. She hoped it wasn't that doctor. Doctor Fuller. Krista hated him with a passion. Hated his never-ending questions that made him feel like a three-year-old. Hated the smug look on his face, his apparent intelligence, and her apparent stupidity. Sure he had his Ph.D. and certificates plastered all over his wall, showing his 'Intelligence'. But Krista had an intelligence that he could never have, she knew more than he could ever know.

They neared the end of the clean, white hallway. She was led into a bare room. The guard frisked her to make sure she had not 'Dangerous Objects" on her. They'd done that ever since she had attacked the Doctor. Krista had grown sick and tired of his endless questions. The same questions over and over. Not that he ever listened to her answers. She wasn't stupid, but he made her feel brainless, like a vegetable. A quote floated into her mind, "The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they'll be when you kill them." The good doctor certainly was surprised when Krista attacked him. He thought she was incapable of thinking, planning, acting. But she planned it carefully. She had sharpened a rock into a sharp point, hidden it in her clothes when she visited him. She waited until he started asking his stupid questions, then jumped at him, gouging at his arm. The guards dragged her away, kicking and screaming. Krista could still remember the look of pure horror and shock on his face. She laughed. He was scared of her. She had seen the scar. It was a beauty. Went all the way from his elbow to his wrist. She was very proud of her handiwork.

Krista leant against the wall. Looking up through the window in front of her, she caught sight of a girl in the room opposite. She was pale and thin. Way too thin actually. She was wearing the hospital uniform: pants and a loose shirt, white of course. Her hair was dull and frizzy, hanging loosely about her face, down to her waist. The thing that struck Krista about the girl were her eyes. They were a brilliant blue, like the sea, glittering, hungering for freedom. Krista knew how she felt. She took a step closer to the girl, and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She could hardly believe that this girl, thin and sickly, was her. She had changed so much. If she didn't recognise herself, how would others? As Krista stared at her reflection she felt hopelessness, a deep pain inside of her as she realised that she was a prisoner. She had no freedom. The will power and determination that she possessed was extinguished. A part of her died.

The guard returned to the room, roughly grabbing her by the arm and pulling her through the door into another bare, white room. He shoved her fiercely; she stumbled and fell to the floor. She heard the door click closed behind her. As she looked up, Krista noticed that the room wasn't so empty. Her visitor. He was standing in the middle of the room studying her. Looking her up and down as she staggered to her feet. Krista stared back at him. He seemed so familiar to her.

"You have changed so much I barely recognise you." His voice was like a key, unlocking the long-since forgotten memories, the memories hidden in the depths of her mind.

"Justin!" Krista ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She held him so tightly; she didn't want to let him go. She was afraid to let him go. She didn't want to lose him again. Justin was her best and closest friend. Krista loved him with all her heart. A spark of hope was lit inside of her.

The guards burst into the room. Yelling at her to let go. No contact was supposed to be made. But Krista wouldn't let go. She couldn't. The guards grabbed her and dragged her to the floor. She struggled. Her spirit, her willpower was stronger now. Justin was her motivation. He was her freedom. If she could reach him, he would make everything all right.

As she struggled to be free of the guards, Doctor Fuller walked up to Julian and motioned for him to leave. She managed to catch some of what he was saying.

"Sorry about that Mr. Walker. We thought she was stable enough for visitors. Perhaps you could visit in a few months, when's she's had more rehabilitation. I'm terribly sorry."

He led Justin to the door. Krista struggled even more. She put all of her strength into it. He was all she had, her hope, and he was nearly gone.

" Justin! Justin!" she screamed her lungs out, kicking and flailing. Justin turned around to face her. He studied her face. The determination flashing in her eyes. The spirit that lived in her was still strong. She was the same Krista he was sure of it. He looked into her eyes. Those brilliant blue eyes. Full of life and spirit they were. He could see a yearning in those eyes. A longing to walk in the park, to swim in the cool blue water. To laugh with friends, to hold the one she loved and never let go. A longing to watch the stars on a clear night without bars on her windows. He could see, in those wild blue eyes, a longing to be herself; to be free. He watched her being dragged away, screaming his name. She had spirit, but it was dying, he could see that. She was like a candle that had almost finished burning. He was the one trying desperately to stop that from happening. Trying to stop the flame from going out, from leaving the world in darkness. He knew that if it were to happen, if the eternal candle was to go out, some part of the world, his world, would forever be in darkness. Some part of him would die with the flame of her spirit.

The doctor tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow. Walking down the deep blue corridor to the front of the hospital, Justin was reminded of her eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes. Krista was full of intelligence, he knew she didn't belong here. She wasn't crazy, she was a genius. But that girl, with the wild hair, that wasn't Krista. Krista only existed in those eyes. Those eyes were full of spirit, determination and intelligence. Krista, the beautiful blue eyed girl.

Justin walked down the path towards his car. A wind blew around his feet, gentle but chilling. As the wind died down, he felt the flame flicker, and go out. It left his world forever in darkness.