Hazel in the Demon's Den

Hazel flushed with pleasure that this strange boy had guessed her name correctly. She nodded and clasped her hands together in excitement.

Billy grinned at her. "So, Hazel. What brings you here?"

She wilted with disappointment. He only wanted to know what was wrong with her like the doctors did. And here she actually thought he cared a little since he bothered to learn her name.

She pointed to her throat, made an 'x' with her arms, and then placed her hands palm to palm and pretended to use it as a pillow. That was what she normally used to indicate 'sleep.'

Once she made the sleep sign she jumped forward a little and made claws out of her hands, pretending to be scary. Hazel really didn't have a better way to describe a nightmare.

"So you can't talk and you have nightmares. Are you the one who screams every night, then? I did wonder. You scream, the kid next door to me cries, and another one beats on the walls. We're all crazy here," Billy said with a shrug.

Hazel wasn't sure which was more surprising; that this boy understood what she was trying to mime or that he was so casual about why everyone was here.

"That wasn't what I meant though," he continued. "I was asking why you were outside. This is my first time ever sneaking out. I'm kind of a high security prisoner around here because I'm dangerous."

She eyed him curiously. He certainly didn't seem dangerous. Did he bite one of the nurses or something? The girl next door to her had done that once and had been branded as a dangerous patient ever since.

But Hazel was pleased he hadn't been asking her why she was in the hospital. He had been asking her a question as if she was a normal person. She answered by pointing at the moon.

Billy looked up and smiled nostalgically, leaning backwards and supporting himself with his arms. "It's been a long time since I've seen the moon. Ever notice how this place doesn't have any windows you can actually see out of?"

Hazel had noticed. There weren't many windows to begin with but each one was blurred out with something that had been put on top of the glass. Nobody could properly see in or out.

She nodded and Billy laughed. "They don't want us getting any bright ideas about escaping. Or having anybody else see what we're actually treated like here by mistake. They act completely different on inspection days than they normally do."

Inspection days? There were days were the doctors and nurses acted differently…days when people with clipboards came by. That must be what Billy was talking about.

Hazel wasn't sure why those clipboard people were important but after hearing him talk about it she got the feeling they were in charge of the doctors. Like the bosses or something.

All she could do was nod again. Billy scrutinized her.

"So you know what I'm talking about? You're pretty smart. Do you know how to read or write?" he asked.

She shook her head. Her life would be so much easier if she could. Then all she would have to do was have a piece of paper and a pencil to tell people what she needed instead of pointing or miming.

"You know the alphabet though…come on. I'll teach you."

Billy stood and offered her a hand with a confident smile on his small face. Hazel took it hesitantly. No one had done anything like this since she came here. She wanted to believe his intentions were sincere but…

He didn't let go of her hand and led her to a dirt-filled clearing before breaking a twig off of a nearby bush and handing it to her.

"Show me what you know and we'll go from there," Billy instructed.

She probably knew a few dozen words at this point. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get by without being able to speak. She couldn't exactly say "I need to go to the bathroom" using sight words. Pointing to the bathroom was her best option.

Billy eyed her work when she was finished and she waited expectantly to be scolded. To her surprise, he smiled.

"Not bad, Hazel! You know more words than I expected. I'll teach you some more. You like the moon so much…why don't I spell it for you."

He took the twig from her and spelled it out. M-o-o-n. She had forgotten that two 'o's made the 'oo' sound. Her mother had told her that at one point.

Billy continued by doing other words with the same ending such as 'soon' and 'spoon.' He then explained how double o's could sound different as well by using words like 'look' and 'cook.'

"English is kind of a funny language," he explained. "It has a lot of weird rules."

Hazel's cornflower blue eyes shone with excitement. She used to love learning but it had been so long since anyone had bothered to teach her. She tugged on the sleeve of his pajamas, trying to convey that she wanted to learn more.

He seemed to understand what she meant. "Somebody's eager! We should probably wait until tomorrow though. Look, the sun's coming up."

To her immense disappointment, the horizon was beginning to light up pink and orange with the sunrise. Billy was right. If they didn't get back inside soon, people would notice they were missing.

Hazel didn't want to miss out on the chance to learn how to write. But how was she supposed to know when to meet him? He had said this was his first time sneaking out.

He pulled a face, thinking along the same lines she was. "I normally get woken up by your screams around 3 AM. Why don't we meet once you wake up from your nightmare?"

She nodded vehemently. Yes! She wanted to meet him again and keep learning!

Billy's hazel eyes twinkled. "I'll see you tomorrow night then. Try not to go too crazy during treatment."

Was he making a joke because the nurses and doctors thought they were crazy? That didn't matter. She needed to get back to the girls' side of the floor immediately. Boys and girls were kept separate except for during yard time.

There was a tiny playground and a few balls that the children were allowed to utilize for an hour a day. But Hazel was certain that she had never seen Billy during yard time before. Was he new? Or was he banned from yard time because they considered him dangerous?

She wondered what the reason was all the way back to her room, even after she pulled the covers over her head to pretend to be asleep. She nearly smiled to herself. Billy was pretty nice for a dangerous person.