Chapter 13: Saving Horizons-August 14th

Theme: "Dead Inside" by Skillet

August 14, 2012

Once again, this is Dr. Rowan Candall reporting on patient Yale Maston at Saving Horizons Hospital. Well, this week certaintly has been...hectic.

While patients have all the right to write, every year at Saving Horizons, we have an event in which all family members of the patients get to visit, see how we're handling stuff here and if they're getting better. With all his talk about home, I thought Yale would be excited. Instead, he acts rather...empty.

"Good afternoon, Yale."

"Hey doctor."

"How has your week been, sport?"

"It's been...fine, I guess."

"Sit down, Yale. What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little...tired is all."

"It has been awfully slow, hasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Funny, I thought you'd be more excited. Your family is coming here, aren't they? Aren't you glad to finally see them?"

"Y-yeah...no...I don't know."

"Have they sent you any letters recently?"

"Yes."

"Did you write back?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why should I? All they ever send is how they miss me, how the house feels lonely without me, anything that'll keep the issue at hand away. They all just want to act like things are all fucking dandy."

One topic that is often avoided during my sessions with Yale is the talk of back home with his family. It's a hard thing to talk about, and to this day I still have no idea what they're like.

Another thing I've noticed about Yale is that he seems conflicted on how to exactly how to feel on his home life. Sometimes, he is angry and hostile towards the mentioning of his parents; perhaps feeling betrayed and angry. He's very hard to work with and any slight mistake seems to set him off.

Other times, he acts like a young child, feeling abandoned and heartbroken. He's often quiet at this stage and always seems to be on the verge of breaking down, often close to hyperventilating.

"What do you mean, the issue at hand?"

"You know...him."

"Mr. Slim?"

"Yes. No matter what, they want to avoid Him at all costs...like he never existed and I'm just psycho."

"How do you know he exists, Yale?"

"I've seen him! How the hell else do you think I got these fucking scars?"

"Son, please lower your voice."

"O-okay, sorry about that."

"Now, if you don't mind me asking, why don't your parents like talking about him?"

"They...they thought I was making Him up for attention. Then, when I started..getting hurt, they thought I was hurting myself. T-then, when I had to go to the hospital-"

"For the burns and cuts?"

"Yes. Then, they thought I was absolutely insane. That's when they brought me here."

"I see,"

"They thought that being here, I would 'get over it.' But I haven't gotten over it, Doctor. If anything it's only gotten worse since I've been brought to this hellhole! Ever since I've been here, he's been tormenting me! Watching me and letting me know that he's out there! My parents say that it was to help me, but all they did was leave me to rot!"

"Yale, calm down!"

"'It's to help you, sweetie' Mom says, 'We're only worried about you' Dad says, 'We don't want to see you suffer' Jill and Arnold say! What a bunch of idiots. I hate them, I HATE THEM!"

"..."

"..."

I have to say, in my three years of experience, never have I seen even the most demented of patients with such malice in their eyes. It's as if there's a blazing inferno deep within those jade green pools...

"...Yale-"

"What's wrong with me, Dr. Candall? Why am I feeling this...this darkness?"

"Well, your heart is feeling a lot of things that your mind is struggling to identify. Right now, you're angry and your mind is trying to comprehend if that's what your heart is feeling."

"So...so what is this feeling I have, if it's not hate?"

"Longing. Hurt."

"Doctor, I-I don't know what to do. One one hand, I can't wait to see them and I've missed them so much. On the other hand, I think back to why I'm here and I just feel fury at my family."

"Yale, that's common. Heck, probably 99% of the patients here feel the same way you do."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

"Well, it seems we're just about out of time here. It's been very nice seeing you again, Yale. I hope you enjoy you have a good time with your family? And Yale?"

"Yes, Dr. Candall?"

"You don't have to be strong all the time."

"..."

"Okay?"

"Okay. T-thank you, doctor."

"You're welcome. Goodbye, Yale,"

"Goodbye, Yale."

I'm really hoping that all goes well. If something bad were to happen, who knows what would happen to Yale. He can be very unpredictable...