He was in the day room working on a jigsaw puzzle of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. An orderly walked over to him - ‘Hey buddy - you have a visitor.’

He looked at the orderly, confused - ‘A visitor?’

‘Yes - a visitor.’

‘Who is it?’ - He asked, feeling nervous. He didn’t have any friends or family.

‘A lady - says she knows you. Pretty.’

A wave of terror washed over him - ‘Is it her - is it Annabelle?’

The orderly looked at his clipboard - ‘Nope - Laura. Laura Hastings.’

‘Is she blonde - and tall?’

‘Nope - brunette, and not that tall.’

The wave of terror subsided - ‘I don’t know anyone called Laura Hastings.’

‘Do you want me to tell her you don’t want to see her?’

He stood - ‘No, I’ll see her.’

‘Good - I think it’ll do you some good to talk to some other people other than Brian.’

He looked over the day room, and he could see Brian giving an animated monologue to some of the other patients about alien anal probes. The orderly led him out of the day room and down the corridor. The orderly gave him a lecture about the visitor rules, and then buzzed open a door, leading him into a room with a number of circular tables with stools bolted to the ground. Orderlies were standing around the room watching the patients and their visitors. The orderly then led him over to a table where a woman was sitting. It was Laura - Dr. Ambrose’s student. She looked up at him and smiled.

‘20 minutes’ - said the orderly before leaving the room.

He sat down and looked at Laura, smiling awkwardly - ‘Hey.’

Laura smiled a little awkwardly as well - ‘Hey!’

They sat in silence for a moment - ‘I hope you don’t mind me coming to see you, it's just that I….’

‘No - it’s fine.’

A moment of silence.

‘How are you….’ - they both said at the same time, and then laughed awkwardly.

‘You first’ - said Laura, smiling.

He looked down - feeling embarrassed.

‘I’m doing good - much better, actually. Dr. Ambrose is working with me to confront my past. He says I must confront the dark parts of myself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. And that my willingness to wrestle with my demons will cause my angels to sing.’

Laura smiled - ‘And are your angels singing?’

He smiled back - ‘I am not sure they’re singing - maybe they’re humming, but not singing yet.’

A moment of silence.

‘And you? How are you?’ - He asked.

‘I’m good - studying hard and working hard. I have two jobs I’m using to pay for school.’

‘How did the study work out? When you asked me all of those questions?’

‘Oh that - yes, it went very well. I got an “A” - Dr. Ambrose was very impressed with my diagnosis of you.’

He smiled - ‘Acute schizo-affective disorder?’

‘Yes’ - she said, smiling - ‘But you know, with the right treatment, you can live a perfectly normal life with acute schizo-affective disorder.’

‘That’s what Dr. Ambrose says.’

She smiled. He smiled. There was silence.

‘Why are you here? Why have you come to see me?’

More silence….

‘I just thought that….’ - she said, blushing a little - ‘I just thought that you might like some company.’

‘Company….?’

‘Yes - company. Like a friend. Someone to talk to about things. Normal things.’

There was silence again.

‘Like a friend?’

She blushed again - ‘Yes - like a friend. Would that be okay - if we were friends?’

He didn’t know what to think. He was confused. He had never had a friend before. All he had ever experienced was a “delusional architecture” - a fantasy world filled with anger and hate and violence and perversion. He smiled at her.

‘So we’re friends?’

She smiled back at him - ‘If you want.’

‘That would be very nice’ - he said - ‘To have a friend.’

She smiled - ‘I can come and see you as much as you like. And I can bring you books and things as well.’

He smiled. He looked at Laura; her pretty face and earnest eyes that sparkled and seemed to smile at him. She leaned down and took something from her bag. It was a book. She held it up and waved at an orderly. The orderly walked over. She told the orderly she had brought him a book - and the orderly took it from her and looked at the cover. The book was called ‘Emerging From the Fog’ - and it was a self help book for people recovering from psychosis. The orderly walked away and scanned the book with a metal detector, flicking through the pages and examining the book’s spine. He brought it back over and put it on the table and said it was okay.

‘This might help you - if you like’ - she said.

He picked up the book and looked at the cover.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever read a book’ - he said - ‘Well, not a real book.’

She smiled.

####

Laura started visiting him every week. She would come to visit him every Wednesday, and their friendship bloomed. Laura would bring him books and snacks - and even brought him a new pair of comfortable slippers.

‘How are you?’ - Laura asked as he sat down at the table.

He smiled at her. He had been at Lincoln Memorial hospital for two years now.

‘I’m doing good’ - he said - ‘Dr. Ambrose is very happy with the progress I’m making. He says I’m going to be transferred to a halfway house soon - to be reintegrated into society.’

She beamed - ‘I’m so pleased for you - how does that feel?’

He shook his head and looked at the ceiling before looking back at her - ‘It feels….it feels terrifying!’

‘I’m sure’ - she said - ‘But I think you’ll be just fine. I’ll be there to help you.’

The man smiled - ‘Can I ask you a question?’

‘Of course - what is it?’

There was a moment of silence - ‘Why did you come to see me? Why did you want to be my friend?’

Another moment of silence passed - she looked a little embarrassed. She glanced around the room and then back at him - ‘I thought - when we met during the study, when I was asking you questions - I thought that we had made a connection’ - she said, looking down.

‘Can you promise me something?’ - He said.

She looked up - ‘What is it?’

His eyes were wet - ‘Promise me that this is real - what you’re saying. Promise me that I’m not imagining it - that this isn’t in my mind.’

She smiled at him and put out a hand. He held it in his.

‘I promise you that this is real’ - her eyes were wet as well.