Alice, what have you done?
The voice was in her head, at least that's what she told herself, but the plaintive eyes of the albino shepherd setting on the front steps to the hospital said otherwise. She pointedly refused to respond even when the flowers growing in their beds along either side of the building started whispering among themselves.
Watch this one ladies, the last roses that tangled with her lost their heads!
She shivered and closed her eyes tightly even as her father lead her up the steps of the building, the feeling of his bandaged hands making her stomach roil uneasily and her stress caused the voices to be louder.
Lost their heads! My what a shame, I'd yet to kiss their beautiful petals! For shame, Alice! For shame!
She swatted the bumble-bee away with a soft, "Shoo!"
It didn't help, Alice! ALICE! alice!
The voices came from everywhere... with her anxiety rising she had no way to focus and block them out. Again she squeezed her blue eyes tightly shut, "I'm NOT Alice, I'm NOT! How many times do I have to tell you!"
"I'm sorry dear, I'll make sure not to call you that again," said a nurse.
She hadn't realized she'd already entered the building even though the air conditioning kissed her flushed skin from the summer sun outside. Now she was slightly irritated because it was obvious the woman thought she was simple, the nurse hadn't been the one talking. It was all the blasted OTHER animals, "Not you! The flowers, the bee, that bird, and the dog! They won't shut up..."
"Of course, I'll give them a stern talking to," she said while obviously playing along. "For now though, I need your father to sign some papers. Set right over there in those chairs and I'll be right over."
She felt momentarily guilty, she knew she was making a scene... she knew she should be trying to hold it together but it was just so horrible being here. She'd always sworn she'd never let the voices, the images in her head, get to her... She knew they weren't real, right? They were just a symptom of a mental issue passed to her through her mother... At least, that's what she told herself. She took a seat as asked.
As she waited, her wide eyes watched the world go by outside the glass entryway doors. She imagined she saw a smile floating by itself and blinked her eyes hard to clear the disturbing image but instead mushrooms sprouted hither and thither along the door frame. She grimaced and wedged her eyes shut again and this time when she opened them the illusion was gone and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"There, not so difficult? Hold it together long enough to say goodbye," she mumbled to herself.
Her father came to her and hesitated before wrapping his arms around her, "Be good Tay... If you get better soon you can come home. Try and get better?"
She nodded and kissed him on the cheek, "I'll try..."
Nurse Cheery came over to her and held out a hand, "I'm Nurse Beth... I'm going to show you to your room now, is that alright?"
Taylor nodded absently, watching her father watch her sorrowfully. She knew what he was thinking, how could she be so coherent and yet still talk about talking flowers and birds? She didn't know either...