“Dreaming about a monkey symbolizes your childish side. You probably are a curious, imprudent and malicious person, so be aware of the problems this may bring to your life. Don’t think that being yourself can justify being bad to another person.”

— So… Have you waited for someone to take you out of your misery? — Said doctor M. sounding ironic.

— I can’t say I was waiting if I didn’t want her to do that. She just appeared out of nowhere and wanted to change me.

— Interesting. Was she successful in bringing the best out of you?

— No…

— No?

— No. She wasn’t being bad with me and tried to make me a new person, but the fact is she didn’t believe in me. All she thought was that I was being creative and that all I said was just an invention from my mind. She used heavy medicine on me trying to help me not to see what I was seeing. It just made it worse.

— Have those chemicals made you able to see the shadows better?

— I can say that is indeed a yes. For whatever reason I was seeing those shadows when I soul tried to materialize on our plane, making an electromagnetic disturbance in the air, they left this dark thing in the air and through that, they were able to touch things and humans, even though humans couldn’t see them properly. David’s brain was able to capture this disturbance better than anyone was. Once she tried to manipulate David’s mind using all sort of medicine, his mind became more open to capture them and enhancing it.

— What did you see now that you were able to see them better?

— How they are humans… How they simply are humans…

— What would be different from before?

— I don’t think there was any difference. I just saw them being like actual humans, with no shadow around them anymore.

— I see. How did you feel about it?

— That I would be lucky if I could get out of the asylum alive.

__________

On the next day after Doctor Mary talked to me, she came back in the morning with my new medicine, a weak one. She still wasn’t planning to let me go from the straightjacket and she just took me to the garden, so I could have a sunbathing. The morning was calm and pleasant. There was dew in the leaves around us and some mist coming out of the near trees. She didn’t give me anything to eat and just left me for a moment.

As I wasn’t able to sleep properly, I tried to sleep a little on the wheelchair. Right after I closed my eyes, I felt something was thrown at me. I opened my eyes and I couldn’t see what it was.

— Help… — I said, expecting someone to hear me. — Help! — Still nothing.

I waited for someone to appear and I gave up.

— Hello? — I said, trying to talk with whoever was responsible for that thing being thrown at me. — Can you hear me?

I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I could hear some whispers coming from a nearby tree. I stared at that tree for some time until I could hear them clearly:

— Come here… We can help you…

— I can’t go.

— Come here… Please, come here… — it kept saying.

— I can’t get out of this chair! — I shouted.

— Don’t be afraid… We're not going to hurt you…

— Can you hear me? I can’t get out!

— Come little one… Come to us… We want to play with you…

— I can’t!

Then I saw a dark hand coming out of the middle of the branches making a signal for me to follow it. After that, my wheelchair started to move on its own. No… I could sense there was someone there, someone making some effort to make it move. I looked back, behind my head and I saw no one there. I looked to the floor and I could see a dark thing moving there, although I could see only part of it.

— What do you want from me? — I asked.

— We want to play with you… You are so lonely… We can help you…

— I doubt a shadow can help me.

— We can little one… Come to play with us… It’s more fun up here…

— I can’t climb the tree. My hands are tied.

— Don’t be afraid little one… We can help you…

The chair kept moving and, once it reached the tree, it was being pushed up. With the weight of the chair being too much for it to be lifted up, soon the doctor was back, and she hurried to come towards me, making the wheelchair falling back.

— I’m sorry! — She said pulling me up again. — I must have forgotten to lock the latches… I’m sorry…

— It’s not your fault… The shadows on the tree wanted to talk to me.

— Did you see them again?

— Yes.

— The medication must not have worked right.

— What did you give to me?

— Just something for you to stop seeing those ‘shadows’.

— Do you think I can stop seeing them? — I was interested in it nonetheless.

— It may be difficult to find out which medication can work better on you, but I’m sure it can be something good for you.

— Okay… and about Joseph? Is he okay?

— He didn’t come today. He got a cold.

— I hope that thing I saw isn’t the cause of his cold…

— No, no… The cause of the cold is a virus and, with some rest, he will be fine in no time.

— I hope so… I couldn’t even see his face yesterday. He was covered with the shadow and I couldn’t see a thing.

Doctor Mary started to move my wheelchair without saying anything about it. I tried to look at her and she smiled at me.

— You know you don’t need to help me if that is making you uncomfortable with me… — I said, feeling she was just pretending.

— Don’t worry about me. It’s my work. I can deal with it.

— But you are not happy with this. You are trying to smile, but you aren’t smiling.

— I smile because I want.

— People should smile when they are happy. This way I will not know if you are happy with me or if you are just pretending to be happy.

— It’s nothing. You don’t need to ask about it.

— Okay, but, please, don’t smile to me like that. It reminds me of the shadows… about how they are smiling because they want to eat you alive.

She took me back to my room, gave me some food and let me rest. On the afternoon, she came back, still not happy to see me.

— Is Joseph doing well? — I asked.

— Yes, he is. Thank you for asking.

— Okay… — I got silent and she couldn’t handle it anymore.

— Do you want to know about what happened? — She asked, without letting me answer. — We had a discussion. He was so upset for me to talk with you and trying to change what the older doctors did to you, that we had a fight last night, but then he just wake up coughing and sneezing, and now he’s at home resting. That made me sad.

— Oh… I’m sorry to hear that. You really didn’t need to. I was fine, really.

— Joseph said the same, but I’m feeling it here… — she pointed to her own heart. — You need help. I’m a doctor. I swear to help anyone in need, but Joseph only cares to work on and on and on… He is only working! Not helping anyone…

— He must have his reasons…

— I know! But he’s not even trying to pretend he is a doctor!

— Maybe he just not good at being a doctor as you think. Maybe he is good at working, like a researcher, or something like that. They are important too.

— Hum… You are right. Oh… — she slapped his forehead. — Why am I talking with a crazy person about my life?

— Because you don’t want to be judged? Believe in me, I would like people to stop judging me.

— Again, you are right… — she smiled at me, not pretending this time. — If I asked Joseph about this, he would say I’m just being dumb or something worse… and I already miss him.

— Are you two…?

— Dating, yes.

— I was about to ask if you were married, but… I guess that works — I smiled back to her, making her giggle.

— I really believe that you don’t deserve to be here David.

— π12-45.

— What?

— My real name. My name is π12-45.

She laughed out loud:

— Oh, David, I hope the medication starts to work and you forgot about this little play of yours.

— And I hope someday someone understands that I’m really saying the truth.

She smiled at me once again, as if I was just being silly and did the usual, gave me some food and some medication, letting me rest.

On the next day, she wasn’t feeling well and her face was showing it from miles away.

— Has Joseph got worse?

— Is it so clear to see it on my face?

— I guess it shows how much you like him.

— Oh David, you such a sweet man — she smiled at me.

— Man?

— Yes. You are a man now. You passed so much time in here you just forgot that you are older than eighteen years old now.

— I… I guess I did — I smile to her. — How old I am?

— You are twenty-two years old, David. Your birthday was last week. That’s why I came to see you. I’m not feeling it’s time to say happy birthday to you, but maybe next year if we make some progress.

— I see… Since David’s father died, I never had a ‘happy birthday to you’ from anyone anymore, but his cousin Gabriel. Rest in peace.

— Rest in peace — she said too. — You don’t think you are David, don’t you?

— Definitely not. Being a robot from the future, while being a human at the same time, is kind confusing sometimes, but I’m sure who I am. Going back to the future just make me sadder about being a miserable human.

— David? — She approached me. — There’s no future. You must forget about it. This future is just an invention of your head, dear. You are only David. There’s no Pi’twelve. You must have disassociated your personality from who you were when you were younger, but you are still David. I will help you forget about your little bubble and you will see the world being a better place for you.

— Even if Joseph dies?

— Joseph will not die, David. We will take care of him and he will be brand new in no time!

— Even if Joseph dies?

— Oh silly… You are so hurt for being lonely for so long that you only see tragedy around you. Things are okay, David, as they need to be.

— Even. If. Joseph. Dies?

— Yes, David, even if he dies.

— If I were you, I would hurry. I’m not feeling good about how he is right now. The shadow is draining his life slowly and soon he will not be able to stand a single cold.

— It was a flu, actually. It’s normal for someone to be feverish with the flu.

— Yes, I hope so…

Everything was normal for some time. Doctor Mary was changing my medication, as she wanted, trying to force the shadows to stop appearing. Anyway, after some days, Joseph’s health condition got worse and Doctor Mary was getting sadder with it.

— What do I do? — She said, bursting into tears.

— Be by his side until he is fine again.

— Again, you are being so sweet David — he caressed my shoulder. — I will be as soon as my work shift ends.

— You will regret not being able to be by his side now.

— Also, you are so creepy sometimes, David! Geez!

— …or, maybe I have been living so close to death that I know when it’s around, even though I am an insane person.

She giggled again.

— I can’t just leave my job. Someone needs to take care of you.

— Someone else can do the job. Please, be by his side now.

— I will…

She left me in my padded room and went to see him. It took three days for him to finally get a little better and, one week later, he was back working at the asylum. When Mary needed to see me, she brought him with her.

— So, were you worried about me? — He asked with a happy smile on his face and hugging her with love.

— Joseph! We are at work! — She complained with a smile on her face.

— Our little friend here doesn’t mind… right? — He asked.

— No, I don’t — I said. — But I have something to say.

The two were cuddling each other and didn’t pay attention to me. Someone called Doctor Mary at the door and she and Joseph talked for a moment, as I needed to take my medicine and be taken to my sunbathing, Joseph would be the one who would do it that time.

Alone with him, he stared at me a little mad:

— Don’t you ever think you will get my girl!

— I don’t want her. I want to tell you something.

— Oh… and what the crazy boy wants to tell me?

— Don’t ever get close to any tree in the garden. Principally the big one close to where the others have their sunbathing.

— Are you kidding me? I take no advice from a crazy person!

— Well, I don’t want you to die…

— You are just crazy! I will show you!

He took me to the garden and I couldn’t beg for him to not do it.

— It’s my fault… — I said as he wasn’t listening. — I shouldn’t have talked about the shadow monster on the tree…

— Monster? On a tree? You make me laugh, you crazy!

— I would like to say the lion shadow had left you… but it’s still there on you… You will never hear me, no matter how much I’m saying the truth…

Joseph laughed out loud, as we were basically alone outside. He got close to the tree and kicked it, just to show there was nothing there.

— What now, you crazy! Hahaha… — He laughed, holding his belly with his two arms still thinking it was all a joke.

— Watch out — I said, without forcing myself to warn him. — There’s a hand coming out of the tree.

He stopped laughing, cleaning a tear on the corner of his eye and looked back.

— There’s nothing in… — The hand, this time looking like a furry hand, got inside his head as it was made of air. Joseph made weird noises, his body shook and completely stopped, and then it fell.

The hand, covered in blood, took a piece of his brain in its fingers.

— Help! — I said. — Help! Help! — It took a while for someone to appear. — Help!

Doctor Mary was the only one to appear and she came directly to me:

— David? What happened?

— I tried to say to him to not get close to the tree…

— No! — She cried, running to help Joseph.

She called more people to help her and while they took him inside, I finally saw his face. He was just a normal man, black hair, light skin, a mustache, probably pretty young. With the shock of seeing one of the doctors becoming ill, the others at the asylum forgot about me and I was left outside until later when the sun was setting.

The worst part was the medication was working. As I said, it wasn’t making it disappear; it was making it worse. I could clearly see something I can’t describe better as a mix of tens of different human bodies, like a chest with a leg that continues on an arm, and then it has a belly with a head in it, a hand coming out of its mouth and the confusion keeps going. On top of it all, there was a hairy person, like a monkey, but even its face was covered with hair. On its hand, there was a piece of Joseph’s brain and the thing ate it, making a new part on its horrible body to grow… The new part had Joseph’s face:

— Help me! Please! Help me! — It was all it kept saying all the time.