Chapter 47


    Mother of Grace Psychiatric Center


    The sun shimmered through the windows and inside therge, white recreation room of the third floor


    of the institution. ck men and women, young and old, either sat at various tables or aimlessly walked


    around in their white undershirts and white pajama pants. Most of the patients wore subdued zes on


    their hopeless faces, while others spoke to themselves with their wide eyes ring all around as


    though they were expecting the voices in their individual heads to speak back to them. Calm music was


    ying on the speakers above in the ceiling. The tune was settling enough not to upset even the most


    fragile soul.


    In a far corner was one youngdy who had her weary head lying down on a small, metal table that sat


    perfectly next to one of the caged windows. Her unspoiled undershirt and pants made her appear


    almost angelic with the sunlight beaming down upon her. While her scarred and swollen hands and


    face gave off the impression that her life, or what was left of it, had all but been discarded ages ago.


    The woman rested her red scarf covered head on her left arm while listening to the other sounds carry


    on throughout the area. Her eyes were closed slightly to where she could only see a few rays of


    sunlight here and there. She was so rxed that doing something as simple as lifting her head seemed


    laborious. The woman had no desire whatsoever to react to her surroundings. Her pale face and


    chapped lips made her look as if she had just awakened from a ten yeara.


    "Okay, Lyte, why don''t we start all over again." A Jamaican speaking man said as he sat down at


    the opposite end of her table.


    Lyte remained in her usual position for at least a full minute before she finally looked up to see the


    middle-aged, balding and bearded doctor with sses seated across from her. She wiped her face of


    any excess drool right before sluggishly resting her head on her right hand and twisting her lips in a


    half-hearted fashion.


    "Now, yesterday when we met, we spoke more of dis Mr. Bushard. A man no one has even heard of.


    Today, I want to speak of de one person you seem to have de most difficulty discussing. Isaac." He


    patiently stated.


    Lyte''s face never once seemed to budge, nor did it even be distressed. She just sat and idly


    stared at the man as though he were just another person in white.


    The doctor, dressed in an all-whiteb jacket, straightened his eyesses and handed Lyte a


    sincere re before saying, "Youngdy, we really need to talk."


    "But I''ve told you about Isaac before, Doctor Cornelius." Her tongue dragged.


    "Yes, but I personally believe dat dere is someting else more pressing about dis man dan what you


    have been telling me."


    "I told you what he was."


    Shaking his head in doubt and smirking, Cornelius replied, "My dear girl, your delusions of superstitions


    and fantasies are all but mere walls dat you have used to cover up de real issue at hand."


    Lyte sat back in her chair, and with ackadaisical pout on her face she sighed, "I know exactly


    what you''re doing right now."


    "Is dat right?"


    "Yep, you''re trying to screw with my head. No matter what I tell you you''re not gonna believe me." She


    shrugged her shoulders. "I''ve been here all this time and I still can''t convince you."


    "You must understand dat the matters dat you are trying to convince me of are of a fantastic nature."


    Lyte then began to giggle to herself. "Did I mention that Isaac had to spend time in one of these


    ces, too?"


    "No, as a matter of fact you did not."


    "Yep, the whole time I thought he was out of his mind. Come to find out...he really wasn''t." She coldly


    lamented.


    "Lyte, your fiancée may be de link we need to uncover de real mystery concerning your state of


    mind."


    "My state of mind," she questioned with a belligerent sneer. "Negro, my state of mind is nowhere in this


    gxy. Ever since I''ve been here I''ve told you all that went down with me. From my bathroom, to the


    Towers, to this shitty country. Do you know what it''s like to see a person change from a man into...that?


    That''s not exactly something a person tends to forget."


    "Is dat why you requested a lobotomy?"


    "Yes!" Lyte desperately pressed her body against the table.


    Taking off his sses and gently cing them on the table, Cornelius sat and remarked, "Lyte, you


    have a son, a mother, father and sisters back home. These marvelous stories of demons, you being


    beaten up by some Englishman, seeing dead people walk around in a forest, it''s all only a barrier to a


    much deeper root dat you must deal with. Do you realize dat we once had a person in here who


    imed she was Joan of Arc? She even attempted to set herself on fire just to prove such a facy.


    How far are you willing to take your aberrations? To de point where you may never even see your


    family again?"


    Lyte sank her body down inside her chair. She turned her eyes away from the Doctor momentarily


    to look at a couple ofdies who were whispering to each other in a corner before she focused her


    attention back to Cornelius again.


    "You have no idea what I''ve been through, sir." Lyte''s tone plunged.


    Sighing, Cornelius began to say, "Lyte, we''ve been over—


    "No, just hold on." She forcefully spoke in a more deep tone. "I remember ourst night together, me


    and Isaac. That man felt so damn good, even with those ugly eyes of his. I remember feeling all over


    his warm body. Him being pressed up against mine. I hate ''em, but I love him at the same time. Yes,


    I''m a slut. I also used drugs and lied to my parents. I never imagined in my wildest nightmare that this


    would be my life. I hardly even remember what my own child looks like after all this time. I don''t even


    know what the date is. Is it Thanksgiving? Christmas?" She shrugged. "But after all that I''ve went


    through, I''m not going to sit here and allow you to make me believe that I''ve lost my mind. I may be


    crazy, but I''m not that fucking crazy. I just wanna sit here...and melt away. Haven''t you ever just wanted


    to vanish out of sight? Leave this world and never return? Away from evil? Away from the scary things?


    From this day forward, I''ll be praying to God to take me away. To just let me vanish into thin air."


    Doctor Cornelius sat and stared misty-eyed at Lyte for a few moments before he put his sses


    back on and stood up and turned around to face the crowd of six men and women, all of whom were


    adorned in whiteb jackets. The studious res on each individual ck face told the stories of


    reflection and pity upon the subject they had been observing for the past few minutes or so.


    Cornelius took a pen and pad from out of his jacket''s pocket and started writing something on a page


    before he slipped it right back inside.


    "What we have here before us is an American woman, possibly between the ages of twenty and


    twenty-two, who just happens to be suffering from PTSD." Cornelius stated. "When she came to


    Jamaica and why she arrived here to begin with is still a mystery. When de patient was found she was


    badly beaten to the point where she could hardly even recall her own name. As ofte, Lyte has


    revealed a liaison with a man which ended up producing a child. A child dat was not de child of herte


    fiancée. As a result of her guilt, Lyte has chosen to indulge in hysterical delusions of shape-shifters


    terrorizing her and her hometown. Delusions dat she believes even led her to dis very ind, away


    from her family. Given her entricities, which by de way I attribute to an indulgence in cinema, I


    believe it prudent dat Lyte remain here for an indefinite time in order to evaluate her further."


    C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.


    "Doctor, you mentioned shape-shifting. What sort of shape-shifting would you be referring to exactly?"


    One of the female doctors inquired.


    Snickering, Doctor Cornelius replied, "I assure you, my friend, Hollywood has a very powerful influence


    on her society. Just think of Lon Chaney Jr. and you shall be enlightened."


    At once each and every doctor began giggling amongst themselves. Lyte, on the other hand, sat


    and watched as they all carried on, talking back and forth about her as if she weren''t there at all before


    they eventually went on their way in a tight huddle from her area.


    She sat totally still in her seat and watched others around her just wander about as though they were


    lost. In her mind she could see herself lumbering along with them,pletely adrift in her thoughts.


    Soon her right hand began trembling on the table. Lyte tried to stop it, but no matter what it would


    not cease from shaking. She then got up from the table and dragged her body over to the window


    where she looked out past the thin, ck bars and at the mist-burdened forest beyond. In her eyes the


    scenery went on seemingly forever.


    At times, while gazing out the windows of the facility Lyte would often wonder what resided within


    the forest. What was actually awaiting its chance to lurk out ande after her? The days went on


    endlessly. The nights were just as excruciating. Every time she dared look into the sky and see an


    airne pass she would always reminisce on Isaiah and just what on earth he was doing. But all of that


    was mere fairy tale.


    "There''s no such thing as a werewolf." She muttered so sadly at the foggy window. "Please tell me


    again, God. Please...tell me again."