Life in a nutshell

Her eyes wandered around the room as if she was looking for something. Or was it someone? She kept looking. Her eyes moved quickly in different directions as if she was trying to take it all in, at once. Was she? The pale walls seemed dark around her. The light coming in from the window was not enough. It looked across a park where no seemed to come and go; the window.

"I must get out of here," she thought. Slowly she got up, looking back once as if making sure of something. She moved out of the room, into the corridor; her shadow on the peeling pockmarked walls down the steps, out of the gate and onto the street. It was nice and breezy. A lot of light was here, unlike her room. "Maybe I should take a stroll," she thought, and so she did.

Morning turned to noon and noon to evening. She kept on walking the streets; taking in the sights and scenes of the day. She saw a balloon seller at the kerb, content with so many kids surrounding him. She imagined how a balloon, filled with gas, brought so much happiness to a child? Wouldn't it finally fizzle away? It would, like life does right in front of your eyes.

Walking through the in-roads and the out-roads, passing the lazing cats in the sun, drowsy dogs with droopy eyes and men, and women with solemn looks on their faces, she made her way through.

Why solemn? She wondered.

Did they find her queer? Bah, they are the ones who are queer!

She walked on. It was the time when the sun dipped into the water. She gazed at it slowly drowned. She wished it wouldn't!

In the meantime, she realised she had not eaten the entire day. The wafting smells from the food stalls nearby had caught her fancy. Something pungent would be nice, she thought!

And so she moved towards the stall. The huge cauldron had something simmering in it.

The world around her had been clear just a few moments before, but now it was blurring. The huge cauldron had something simmering in it. A sharp ray of light hit her eyes only when she was going to touch the huge pot…

And she let out a blood-curdling yell!

“Stupid woman! What have you done now?” yelled the supervisor. “We have been looking for you the whole day, and you have the nerve to hide around the place. Who will answer the doctors ha? I will have you locked up! Yes, that would be the right thing to do!”

Tears kept falling as she tried to nurse her hand. Life in a mental hospital sucked out the imagination in you.