Misplaced | Teen Ink

Misplaced

June 11, 2016
By AliBarlett SILVER, Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
AliBarlett SILVER, Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 0 comments

She finally lost it; not her mind but her sacred ring that had been placed on her tiny, petite finger for as long as she could remember. Every obstacle she’d previously faced had been because of that ring and there was no way she could possibly survive without it. It had held all of her thoughts together and kept her sane. Now that the ring was gone, so was her ability to get through life. She was sitting on the floor of the kitchen in her apartment with no idea of where she was.
Outside, she could hear busy noises of car horns and crowds. As she peaked out the window, she automatically realized she was in a city. “But which one?” she curiously blurted out; “New York?... Chicago?” for all she knew she could even be in Sydney. What would it matter anyways, not remembering her old life would just mean she’d have to start fresh; and being in a different country definitely sounded like a fresh start.
The rush of her thoughts suddenly came to a stop as her body tensed up with alarm. Her front door lightly shook. Someone was at the door trying to get into her apartment. Finding a hiding place was the first thing that popped into her head. Her eyes darted around the room for a concealed area but it was too late, the person was already inside and had spotted her. With wide eyes, she observed the man in the doorway as he paraded towards her grasping a bouquet of roses in his hand.
“Honey I’m home!” he announced, giving her the flowers and attempting to lean in for a kiss.
“Who the hell are you?” she demanded.
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Something was not right. Nothing seemed to be making any sense. The situation was definitely not right. Her eyelashes bounced on and off the bags under her eyes. She could tell she was waking up in a different environment. As she was about to rub her eyes to get a better look at her surroundings, she was startled by the fact that she could not move her left arm. She looked over at her scarred wrist that had been cuffed to the narrow bed where she lay. Before her thoughts could settle, a female, dressed head to toe in white, caught her eye. The woman, who was now walking over to her, appeared to be a nurse. It was beginning to make sense now. She was in a hospital; but not just any hospital, a mental hospital… The same one she’d been sent to only a few months ago by that man who referred to himself as her husband. A panick overtook her. The nurse who had been on her way over, had been stopped in the hall by another nurse who looked as if she had some serious news to discuss.
“Now is my only chance,” she concluded as the two nurses conversed. She looked around the depressingly empty room for a way out. On the metal bedside table next to her, she noticed a small key. With her right arm, she grabbed the key and used it to unlock the cuff that retained her left arm. She was free. Sliding into a scrub she found on a hanger by the door, she slipped out the exit way leaving the empty bed behind. Many doctors and nurses passed her making eye contact, but the uniform camouflaged her so that none of them suspected she was a patient. It took her awhile to figure out the right direction, but she made it to the front doors of the facility and swept right outside.
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Sun rays beamed hot on her face and she squinted. Commotion was all around. Walking on the sidewalk, the rush of the city intimidated her. It was all too much. She had to get out. But where would she go? Her home was the only place she knew of and she would head there to collect her belongings. Luckily, she was not far from her house. She and her husband had located themselves close to the facility, her “other” home. 
Passing clusters of coffee shops and fruit stands made her hungry. She felt dizzy. Loaded up with medications on an empty stomach was not her ideal. Finding food was on her mind. Her options consisted of two choices: option number one, would be to wait to eat until she was home, option number two, would be lingering up to one of the concession stands and quickly grabbing a piece of food. The second choice would satisfy her grumbling stomach much quicker, but the risk of getting caught and having to go back to that place was too treacherous to think about. She would wait. 
She started to see the red bricks of her apartment building up ahead which gave her some hope. The bricks came closer and closer as she walked on the cracked cement road and once she could see the window to her apartment, she noticed that there was a light on. Her husband was supposed to be working… “Maybe he forgot to shut the light off before he left,” she said to herself. As she arrived at the front door of the building, she typed the resident passcode in to get inside. Walking up the first flight of stairs she started to worry. Pushing aside the fear, she put her hungry stomach before her worried mind. She got to her door, which was already unlocked for some reason, and cautiously stepped inside. The bedroom light had been the light she’d seen from outside. Before she could go in the room to turn it off, a tall blonde female walked out holding a glass of wine.“What are you doing here?” The blonde asked.


The author's comments:

Writing is my medatation which I enjoy. This piece was inspired by my english teacher who advised me to, "take an old story, and put a twist on it."


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