Midnight Circus

Chapter 6 - Pudding Club

Rosaline Levington:

After a long while, Lulu finally spoke up, breaking the spell of silence. "I think..." Lulu carefully started, rubbing her porcelain chin, her back to Rose, while Rose combed Lulu's tangled hair, "...getting to know the people here may be of a benefit to you and your secret endeavor." Rose's hands stopped working through the tangled mess. Her brows drew together. "Yes. Yes. I believe that would be a good start. They may just be the key," Lulu turned to Rose, "you must talk to the others, see what they know." 

"Must I really?" Rose asked. She was already dreading the idea of having to converse with the patients here, well, with anyone actually. People made her anxious and uncomfortable. Rose was not, by any means, the type to socialize. And neither were they. Most of them were too lost in there own world to care for a meaningful conversation. That notion alone made Rose doubt that there will be any positive outcome to this. 

"No. You don't have to." There was a pause before Lulu spoke again. "But we would not get anywhere with this investigation if you choose to not go with it. It is your choice." 

*****

Rose squeezed her eyes shut as she down the content in the glass, winced at the bitter aftertaste. She had emptied the glass of her daily medication just before the nurse came through the door to retrieve her and the tray. 

It was leisure time. Those deemed stable were permitted to go to the recreation hall to have some social quality time. Rose did not understand why they even bothered doing this; from what she had seen, none of them, in any sense, had actually interacted with one another.   

She took a deep breath in before stepping out of her safe, cozy cubical and following the nurse through the bleak corridors. She brought Lulu with her of course--the doll was snugged safely in her arms. They made their way down a flight of steps, then towards the west wing. 

Rose usually occupies her time drawing in the corner of the room, isolating herself from the rest of the crazies. Most of them were simply too odd for her liking--she had seen a grown man act like a child, a seemingly soulless women who did not realize she was drooling on herself, and an old man who swore to have slain a dragon in his youth. 

Maybe they weren't so odd, it could just be that the ones who call themselves normal are. Perhaps dragons were real, wingless fairies were, so why not dragons? 

Her mind spun in circles.

Lost in thought, Rose did not realize that they had made it to the recreation hall. The nurse ushered her in. 

Inside, pale light bled through the tall panes, providing less than sufficient lighting. She wished they would put a flame to the large iron lanterns that hung from the high ceiling. Everything was cocooned in gloom. 

The lofty recreation hall was equipped with rows of long wooden tables, chairs, a shelf of books, and a old chest full of board games.

She noted the two brawny guards standing by the door upon entering. There were about twenty five or so individuals here today, of five were Monitors, the staffs who overlooked their activities. 

Rose walked to the back and took a seat at her usual spot. Her eyes scanned the spacious hall.

A set of twins sat across from each other by the window, playing chess. They looked exactly the same--short bob cuts, cute button nose, peachy skin, hazel-eyed and petite. A mirror refection of each other. If Rose were to guess their age, she would say seven or eight. She wondered if they knew the rules to the game. Rose certainly didn't. Like her, the two girls did not bother to talk to anyone here, only among themselves. They had not been here long, sixteen months at most. Rose didn't know their reason for being here. If anything, they seem normal.