BACK IN TIME
A long darkness veils over my soul before I can even open my eyes. In my heart, I already know I’m back in time. It’s as if I can smell it. I wonder why a gut feeling doesn’t want me to open my eyes.
I’m lying on my back, on a thin mattress, probably directly on the floor. The place around me stinks. The rotten smell is familiar. Something about this past is terribly wrong.
Where am I?
I imagined myself waking up in a bed in my foster family’s house, still living a normal life, waiting for a phone call from Jack, maybe.
But this isn’t it. I need to open my eyes now.
But before I do, there is a knock on my door.
“Open za door!”
This can’t be. It’s Waltraud Wagner.
“Time to visit yor doctor.”
What? When?
My eyes fling open. I’m back in my cell in Radcliffe Asylum. The same cell I’ve been in for two years. The Tiger Lily in the pot bends over in the corner, the walls are stained with green grease, and the steel door shakes to Waltraud’s rapping.
I hear the rattling of keys. She is about to open the door.
“Waltraud?” I sit up.
The vicious warden stands before me, rapping her baton on her fatty hands. She tilts her head and grimaces at me. It’s as if she is surprised to see me, too.
“What am I doing here?”
“You’re on vacation, honey.” She cracks a laugh.
“A vacation?”
“From your mind.” She loops the baton next to her ears then laughs some more. “Soon enough, you’ll learn the rules. I advise you to make up your mind now.”
“Make up my mind about what?”
“Do you want to be electrified in the Mush Room, or would you prefer the Lullaby pill?”
I am speechless. Something is wrong. Not just with the timing. All of this doesn’t add up.
“And before you attempt an escape,” Waltraud says, “always know you’re underground. It’s really hard to escape.”
“Waltraud!” I say. “What’s going on?”
“This is the second time you’ve called me by my name.” Waltraud stands back. “How do you know my name?”
“What do you mean, how? You’ve been torturing me in the Mush Room for the past two years.”
“Oh, Lord.” She cups a hand on her mouth. “You’re like they said. A loon multiplied by infinity.” She lowers her head and taps her baton on my shoulder. “I’ve never seen you before, little girl. This is your first day in the asylum.”