A new reality.

Evan sat in a very clean and cold room, one that instantly signaled that he was in a hospital. His sheets were white, the walls were whiter, and the door that led to a small dark bathroom showed that everything else—the sinks, the tile –was a clinical white as well.

A reality. He trusted it, for once.

Here, he only found he had one hand working. The other hand was purple, and bandaged. Broken.

His mind seemed broken as well. Usually, thoughts came to him in a steady stream, one after another. Here, every notion and belief attacked him from every corner, leaving a constant pit in his stomach.

He reached to touch his glasses, only to almost poke his own eye out. Well, at least one thing wasn’t broken. Let’s try not to destroy my eye, though… He put his shaky hand back on the cold side of the bed.

A polite knock came at his door. “Evan? Time to wake up!”

He was already awake.

He sat up and rolled off the bed, slapping the floor clumsily. His body apparently forgot gravity existed. He moaned, but a gentle hand helped him sit up. Surprisingly, his room wasn’t locked. A woman in white pat him softly, asking if he was alright. He smiled timidly as an answer.

Evan, now accompanied, was led out. In a circle, a group of kids sat, waving goodbye to him. He stared at them each, glassily, not recognizing a single face. They each blurred together, almost seeming inhuman even though they must have, at one point, sat beside him and conversed with an understanding heart.

“Are you excited to go home?” The woman piped up.

Evan nodded. With all the white around him, it was almost like he was leaving heaven with an angel to return to earth.

“Well, you’ve showed significant improvement with your medication. The doctors are very happy, and I’m sure your mother will be as well.”

Medication…? He nodded again, making it a point to seem like he knew what she meant, but his eyes were blank as he did.

At the end of the white hallway, they reached what appeared to be the heaviest door Evan had ever seen. The woman needed to swipe her ID to open its doors. The door clicked mechanically, revealing a small, sectioned off room. Inside appeared first colors he has seen all day, with a green couch and an amber table with rainbow toys. She directed him to relax, so he sat, and time ticked by carefully. In a few minutes, another door opened.

“Hey honey!” His plump mother appeared from the door, running to grab him into her arms. He patted her back as best as he could with one arm.

“They didn’t mistreat you in there, did they?” She whispered lowly.

Evan shook his head, smiling. She smiled, turning to say goodbye to the escort that had brought him to the room. Evan shyly waved goodbye, leaving the colorful room with his mother.

They entered a hallway with very colorful murals. Cars, kids playing with a ball, and flowers were painted in acrylic. Evan stared at them as he walked with his mother.

“Your friends have been worried about you. Texting non-stop.” Evan looked at her, his eyes landing on the cellphone his mother pulled from her large purse. She plopped the phone into his free hand.

Text messages. Here he realized he must reenter the real world once again. It felt strange, just rolling out from a mental breakdown to ward to the outside world again, as if the cycle continued seamlessly. Evan was faced with the gravity of his responsibilities, the ones that told him he must clear up his situation with other people.

Especially since he dropped off the earth for…

“Mom, how long was I in there?”

“Three weeks.”

That’s… a long time.

He looked at his phone, pressing the power button. When it came on, a whole list of texts appeared before his eyes. He was not the least bit surprised with the names that appeared.

He was also not surprised by the papers that his mother handed him when they exited the hospital. The stack told him of his ‘progress’ through the three weeks.

Diagnosis: Major Depressive Disorder, Obsessive-Compul—

Evan closed the stack of papers, giving them back to his mother. He didn’t need titles to tell him what he had. He knew the problem inside and out because he lived in it, all alone, by himself. He dealt with it the best he could, even though sometimes he failed to keep himself safe…

Evan stated, as they reached the parking lot, that he wished to go home as soon as possible. His mother happily agreed.