six

Game. Game. Game.

What kind of game?

If it weren't for the mysterious grin that formed on Doctor Diana's lips, Anne probably wouldn't have thought about it all day long. She didn't know that there was an annual game held in a remote Criminal Mental Hospital.

Considering that this place was deep in the forest, it was likely that the game was made to entertain the workers in this hospital. They may be so stressed that they need entertainment. Well, Anne is not surprised. After a whole year taking care of mentally ill inmates with various backgrounds, they certainly need something to keep their sanity. 

However, what kind of game is it? Will they be asked to duel? Or fight to the last drop of blood?

Anne got out of bed and pondered for a while. Looking at the way Doctor Diana spoke, it didn't seem like the game was that way. Not one on one. Maybe more towards a game that directly involves a lot of people. 

The new prisoner, she said. That means that familiar man will also be included. Anne still couldn't remember anything, but her plans wouldn't change. She would meet the man if she had the chance.

Anne got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom. The sun had not yet risen and the wind that blew brought a chill that was so piercing. It was probably four or almost five in the morning. She intended to clean her body that had been neglected for a few days before Cindy came.

The only thing she was excited about today was the notification that she could go out.

Anne turned on the faucet in the bathtub before picking up a set of hospital gowns that were exactly the same as the ones she wore in the nightstand drawer. Usually, she only lightly cleaned her body. But today, she scrubbed her skin hard and washed her hair, even though all she provided was liquid soap which didn't smell at all.

Anne seemed to be able to breathe more freely when her whole body was clean.

She stood by the window while waiting for Cindy to arrive. The sight she always saw every day was the blooming cherry blossoms. She also noticed a small bird that often perched on one of the sequoia trees.

In quiet moments like these, Anne usually tries to remember her past. She replayed some of the memory fragments that were still stuck in her head, hoping that she would remember the others. But it feels like a waste. Anne didn't really care now. Maybe she had started to surrender to what was happening.

Reality is sometimes that painful.

Not that Anne would just lean on her chin and wait for her memory to come back on its own. The familiar man was still her priority. It's just that Anne's belief in being able to recover has begun to erode. Who knows. Maybe she just needs encouragement to keep on living.

Like making friends, maybe?

If her sleepiness hadn't bothered her last night, then she would definitely see Emily again. Then the woman will tell her how to get a duplicate key. She wondered if Emily had been waiting for her last night? Did the woman come to check at the front of her room when she didn't show up at the door because she overslept?

Anne sighed and walked back to the bed. She seemed so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that the door to her room was open. She felt her heart nearly burst when Cindy suddenly stood in front of her.

"Good grief!" Anne shrieked in surprise. She rubbed her chest and took a slow breath. "You surprised me. Since when did you come?"

"Just now," Cindy answered flatly. Her eyes scanned Anne from head to toe. "You look so clean?"

"Yeah, I just took a shower."

Cindy chuckled.

Anne's eyes widened for a moment. Did she see wrong? Cindy just laughed. Good grief. Anne thought she couldn't laugh. She never even saw Cindy smile, even though she made a funny joke. Whenever they spoke, Cindy always wore a nonchalant expression.

But now... Cindy laughed for the first time just because Anne said 'she just took a shower?' What's so funny about that sentence?

"Sorry, but was there something funny about what I just said?" Anne asked confused.

"No, but you shouldn't take a clean shower like that," Cindy said, and a second later laughed again.

This girl's sense of humor is very strange. Really.

Anne frowned, confused. And waited until Cindy's laughter had completely stopped. "And why did you say that? What's wrong with a clean shower? " She asked.

Again, Cindy laughed.

What the hell is this? Does she look like a clown playing a joke? Probably the funniest word in Cindy's life is 'shower'. Anne had mentioned it three times and Cindy always laughed about it. Her sense of humor is truly astounding.

"You'll find out later. Now come with me out." The girl reached for the keys in her dress pocket and Anne realized that Cindy's appearance was very different from usual. Where had the jeans and t-shirt she always wore gone?

Anne noticed Cindy's appearance, which looked neat and formal. She was wearing a peach-colored cotton knee-length dress. Her hair, which was usually tied up high, now flowed admirably on her shoulders. She even put a light make-up on her face!

"Cindy, are you going on a date?" The question just flowed out of Anne's lips. She spontaneously clapped her uncooperative mouth.

Of course, a sharp glare was the answer Anne got.

"None of your business," said Cindy curtly. She told Anne to come out through her eyes. Cindy locked the door and Anne noticed the collection of keys she was carrying, about eight of them. She also noticed which key was used for her room. When she was done, Cindy told her to walk back down the corridor.

The second floor corridor was very quiet. Only the sound of their footsteps could be heard. As she passed Emily's room, Anne heard no sign of life in it. Is Emily sleeping? Or is she out?

They walked in silence towards the first floor stairs. Anne noticed everything she could see. Clean white ceiling. Clean white walls. Clean ceramic staircase. Even the air feels fresh and clean.

Sterile.

But when Anne stepped on the last stair that connected to the first floor, a pungent smell pierced her nostrils. The scenery presented was so inversely proportional to what she saw eight seconds ago.

If the second floor corridor is sterile, then the first floor corridor is the opposite. This place looks like it's never been cleaned.

When she first came here, Anne didn't pay much attention to the surroundings, though she was aware of the stench. But now, she realized that the floor was brown, full of dirt. She was tiptoeing because she didn't want to step on something that she didn't know what it was under her bare feet. Mud, maybe? Why isn't this floor cleaned?

Anne glanced at the holding cell whose door was open and was surprised to see that it was empty. She turned and saw that the cell next to her was also unoccupied. Where are all the residents? She recalled that there were a large number of mentally ill prisoners in each cell.

"Where are all the prisoners on this floor?" Anne asked Cindy, who was walking behind her.

"Works," Cindy replied curtly.

Working?

Anne frowned and stopped, then turned to Cindy. "What do you mean work?"

"They work, get hired, don't you understand? The reason you were taken out is also to be hired."

Anne blinked. Her mouth opened to ask, but dropped when she finally understood what Cindy was talking about.

Geez. Of course. It was stupid that Anne had thought she would be allowed to walk around the hospital leisurely.

They have to work.

Anne sighed in frustration. Even though she was very excited to go out, but it turns out...

Ha. The reality is that painful.