“Ayla’s case is a bit special. Since her admission, she hasn’t had any visitors. Right now, we recommend you observe her from a distance rather than go straight up to her.”
Observe from a distance? Hadley wondered what exactly he meant. She soon found out.
“We’re here.” The director came to a stop at a doorway and gently pushed it open.
“Ayla is inside.”
As the door swung open, the sound of raised voices and shuffling feet drifted out.
“Get down!” shouted a nurse.
“No!” Ayla’s cry rang out.
Hadley listened to the commotion and stepped inside, moving cautiously. Her eyes landed on Ayla, separated from her by thick iron bars. Instead of sitting in her chair, Ayla had climbed onto the windowsill.
A nurse hovered close by, arms out, her voice soft and careful.
“What are you doing up there?”
Ayla pressed a finger to her lips.
“Don’t talk so loud. You’ll wake my baby!”
“Your baby?” The nurse sounded baffled, and Hadley’s heart skipped a beat in surprise.
Where did Ayla get a baby from?
“Yes, yes!” Ayla nodded again and again, pointing outside.
“Look, the sun is shining! My baby needs the sunlight to grow!”
What was she even talking about? The words made no sense at all.
The nurses shared a look, both clearly uneasy.
One kept talking to Ayla, trying to calm her, while the other quietly crept closer—then lunged to grab her.
“No! Leave me alone!” Ayla screamed as they pulled her down from the sill. She thrashed wildly, her anger boiling over.
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“You’re all monsters! My baby—give my baby back!”
The nurses exchanged confused glances.
“What baby?”
A sudden thud made everyone jump.
They looked down to see a boiled egg lying on the floor—leftover from breakfast.
“My baby! That’s my baby!” Ayla wailed, her distress mounting at the sight.
“Let me go!”
“Quickly!”
“Call the doctor!”
“Get a sedative!”
Hadley could only stand frozen, unable to believe what she was witnessing. Nothing could have prepared her for this. She had never imagined things would turn out like this.
“You’ve seen how it is for yourself.”
The director let out a heavy sigh beside her.
“That’s the reality. If it weren’t this severe, White Lake Prison would never have sent her here.”
“I understand,” Hadley murmured, feeling numb.
.
.
.