Evaluation

Following behind the nurse, I walk past the Common Area to go to another set of doors on the other side, near where that girl had a breakdown. The ruckus she caused still floats in my head.

The moment I walk through the doors, the hallways appear more rundown. I see some grime and more adults walk around with various files and bottles of medicine. I approach a set of stairs going up, with the nurse still leading me.

“Excuse me, but why is everything dirty here?”

The nurse turns around and looks down at me with her piercing eyes.

“We didn’t have enough time to clean up properly. We’re a fairly new facility but your rooms and the Common Area are all clean thankfully.”

She continues leading the way as I follow behind.

“Does this place have a name at least?”

The nurse turns around, looking more annoyed than before.

“Young lady, welcome to the Haruki Psychiatric Institution. Are you happy now? No more questions, okay? You can give them all to Tanaka.”

The nurse leads me upstairs to the second floor as I see a bunch of cracks along the sides of the walls. Even the stairs look very old, they have this grimy streak, like rust.

Keeping my mouth shut, the nurse makes me go through a pair of doors through the second floor. I see a lot of rooms, some dark and some fully lit. I see more adults around here though, some Japanese and some are foreigners.

Walking along the hallway, I pass by some doctor and him holding a boy by the shoulder.

“There, there Yoshi. We’re nearly to your room.” The male doctor comfortably says strolling away from us.

“Here we go. Doctor Tanaka is there, you can ask all questions you want with her, but you must answer hers as well. Got it Amaya?”

I nod at her.

“Yes, I understand.”

Opening the door, the nurse lets me in as I see a well-kept office and Doctor Tanaka in front of me. She is sitting in her chair with her hands closed on her desk.

“Thank you Nurse Li, you may go about your business.”

The nurse behind me closes the door as I see Tanaka point towards an empty long chair for me.

“Please, lay down Amaya.”

Following her order, I gently lay back on the comfy green chair.

“There’s a button on the side to make that chair relax your legs too.” Tanaka adds.

Looking around, I see a black button beside my left side. Pressing it, I get surprised as the chair goes back further and now the front has become slanted. Fully resting now, my body feels relaxed, even more than my room.

“Okay Amaya, let’s begin your evaluation. This will help us determine what is causing your problems and if you need to stay here longer. I am going to ask you some questions and you need to be fully truthful with me, even if you’re mad, happy, or sad.”

“Sure, but I have a lot of questions of my own.” I readjust my body to face her better.

“Okay. How about this, I ask a question and then you can ask one to me, sounds good?” Doctor Tanaka slightly opens her eyes, waiting for my answer.

“Yes, I’m good with that.”

“Excellent! Let’s begin with an easy one: Do you remember how you even got here?”

Blinking a few times, the room was silent for what felt like a minute. I had no idea what to say and just decided based on my thoughts.

“I have no idea. The thing is I just woke up in that room and kept trying to figure out where I was. Oh yeah, that nurse told me this is the Haruki Psychiatric Institution.”

Doctor Tanaka writes something on a clipboard, looking at her, it seems she was impressed with me.

“Okay, your turn Amaya.”

“Do you know where my family is and can I call them?” I sit up in an instant, as Doctor Tanaka taps the desk a few times.

“That’s two questions but I get it that you’re curious. Yes, we know who and where your family is but you have no authority to contact them.”

My throat struggles to make a sound, as I lean forward.

“Why can’t I contact my family?”

“Amaya, it’s nothing against you. Phone call privileges were taken away as a precaution as many of the kids here either made prank phone calls or even threatened someone. Some went as far to threaten their own families or police.”

I lay back down, staring at the ceiling as I took in the info.

“Next question, have you had any side effects from the medicine we have given you?”

Turning my head, our eyes look at each other as my head remembers the horrors I have seen.

“What can the side effects give us?”

“Well, the medicine is meant to calm you down, but some kids have either seen weird stuff or feel their throat dry up.”

Thinking back, everything scary I saw comes flooding back to my mind, even with Itona being thirty.

“Yes! Please Doctor Tanaka, I can’t handle the scary stuff again. I don’t want to go back to that room with medicine again!”

My heart races as I leap out of my chair. Looking down, my hands lay on her desk. In fact, I don’t even remember leaping out of the chair.

Doctor Tanaka lays a hand on mine and lightly taps it.

“It’s going to be alright Amaya. These side effects will go away, and we’ll be changing your medicine too.”

“Okay. I have something to ask now. What happened to me before I was sent here? I know you told me I wandered around weirdly but was I on the news?”

Doctor Tanaka looks at me with a more serious demeanor, marking down something on her clipboard.

“No, you weren’t thankfully. Some locals found you acting strange and the police sent you here. We then notified your parents, and they agreed to have us evaluate you.”

“My family knows I’m here?”

Doctor Tanaka nods.

“Of course, it would be illegal if we didn’t. This question is personal and meant for you Amaya: Are you having issues with remembering?”

Knowing the answer, I fully nod.

“I didn’t even remember my name when I woke up. My head struggles to even remember the faces of my family and where I live. Doctor Tanaka, where do I live?”

Looking at her, she writes down something that takes a few minutes.

“Hmm, okay. As for your question, you’re from Osaka. I have to say, your family must love you for sending you here.”

I lay back down, weirded out by her words.

“Why would you say that?”

“Our facility is top secret and pretty expensive. Your family must have paid a lot to send you here to feel better.”

Doctor Tanaka gets up and pats my head.

“I have to say Amaya; you are certainly one of the better patients here. You’ll feel better in no time. Following rules, getting over the horrible side effects and answering straightforwardly are all top qualities we see.” Doctor Tanaka puts her clipboard face down as she lays back.

“I actually have one final question and feel free to be weirded out: Do you feel sleepy?”

Glancing at her, she smiles bizarrely at me.

“You know, it’s weird as my body feels more relaxed. I have to say…”

Yawn

My eyes begin to flutter, slowly they shut as I see nothing but darkness and can hear Doctor Tanaka close to me.

“There, there, Amaya. You’ll feel better in no time.” I feel a soft touch on my hair again.

My ears hear her footsteps go around her desk, pulling something out from a drawer.

“This is Tanaka, take Amaya to her room and please switch her medicine to the more diluted version.”

The sound turns into nothing but echoes, as I drift off to sleep.