She walked nervously through the corridor, both in fear and anticipation of what was to come.

"So this is what its like to be on the other side," she thought to herself.

Her mother had frequently been in one of these places, and she had gone to visit her. She had sympathy for her mother, but she never quite understood how she felt. Until now. Locked up like a caged animal. Like a freak. She stopped as she approached a thick metal door. Taking a deep breath, she rang the buzzer and was admitted into the Psychiatric Disorder ward of Coppel South Hospital.

She had always known there was something wrong with her. Ever since she was eleven, she and her mother would argue bitterly, for what seemed like all day, everyday. She understood that her mother needed help, but she couldn't give it to her. She loved her mother so much, and it hurt her when she was told by her mother that something was seriously wrong with her. But inside, she knew her mother was right. She hadn't felt happy, truly happy, in a long time. Her mother would frequently suggest that she visit the psychiatrist for her "problem". But she refused. If she had accepted, it would be like admitting that there indeed was something truly wrong with her. And that just couldn't be. Her mother was the "crazy" one, not she. She couldn't let herself end up like that. Her life was going to be perfect.

And it was perfect. A perfect hell. It took her two years to realize that she should see the damned therapist. But it was too late. Her mother was already slowly slipping away. However, she did not notice this. She was too busy trying to be the perfect person. The perfect daughter, child, and friend. She excelled in all of her studies, and made some good friends, but they never fully knew what was happening. She spent all her time trying to keep the curtains up, so no one could see what was beyond them. Then her mother got worse.

Her mother's disease was slowly getting the best of her. It controlled her life and she relapsed from being sober for 9 years. 9 years! She threw it all away. Skye couldn't help her mother. Rather than have her curtain fall, she ran away from her problems, leaving the curtain hanging by a mere thread. She left her mother, and everything she knew, but could no longer take, for a new life in Jersey.

There she tried to keep up the walls. She wanted to be normal. She enveloped herself in her studies, and extracurricular activities. She was a Junior in High School. On the outside, everyone thought she was fine. Not even her closest friends suspected the torture she lived inside. And as her mother began her trek on the road to recovery, Skye was traveling in a downward spiral.

"It took a helluva lot longer than I thought." She said, referring to how long it took for her walls to crumble.

"Skye, you have a visitor," said the nurse on duty.

"Great! Just fucking great!" Skye muttered to herself. Another person to offer her false sympathy, while wondering what the hell was in fact wrong with her. Wondering why she was crazy, and why she wouldn't just snap out of it. A lot of people had come to see her, except the person she wanted and needed the most.

Then, as if it was a gift from the spirits above, reading her thoughts, there she stood. Her mother.

Skye just sat there mostly in shock. It had been so long since they had seen each other. While Skye was busy trying to keep the walls up, they drifted further and further apart. Her mother sat down, and they both just say there, looking at one another. No words were needed to be exchanged. They had understanding. Skye was beginning to understand how hard her mother's journey was. Skye knew that her mother knew what she ad been going through; how she felt, and she would now be there to help her.

Entering into a tight embrace, she smiled to herself, with an extreme hope that she would turn out exactly like her mother.