Story Time: Part 6

Recap the ending from part 5: "Let's FLY!" said Laura. Mike looked at Laura, lost of words for that moment or two. But soon, the worried look on his face turned into a smile and he replied, "Sure!" Laura held Mike's hand tightly and they flew to a place where lovers are destined to be together. Forever and ever. Eternally.

"Mdm, do you know about your daughter's condition at all?" asked one of the many policemen in Laura's apartment. Laura's mother was sobbing and too distraught for words. Her dad was trying to get to gripes what just happened. "If only we had known about her condition sooner and try to understand her better.." mumbled her father in a subdued voice. Strangly enough, the sight of two lost souls locked in a tight embrace on the cold and hard concrete floors set rumours running.

Youth nowadays face a host of pressures ranging from intense academic competitions to relationship commitments. Often, they feel suffocated by demands that they are unable to fulfil, whether self imposed or not. Once these limits are broken, they will be sucked into a phenomenon commonly know as angst. Often, self mutilation is a physical outlet for emotional pain. A further outlet is on the cold concrete floor, where Laura chose in the end.

Over at Mike's apartment, Mike's parents seemed more composed at the news. "Sir, do you mind if we do a search of Mike's room?" asked Bobby, the expert teenage suicide specialist from the police force. Mike's dad gave the go ahead motion. Trained in human pyschology in school, and the years of experience in the field of teenage suicide, Bobby has seen it all. "Hmm, what's this?" Bobby asked his partner. In his hands were bottles of haloperidol and perphenazine and a specialist prescribtion. He knew it, no doubt about it. Mike was suffering from schizophrenia. It a cluster of symptoms that typically includes delusions, hallucinations, disordered thinking, and emotional unresponsiveness.

Upon seeing that the detective has found out about Mike's condition, his dad stood up and walked over. "Mike has this condition since he was young. He always told us about his imaginary friend, Tim. We were concerned about his condition yet he was too young to understand. Thus, we mix those medicine in his food last time to curb his hallucination" explained Mike's dad.

Then a good chance came when Mike met with an accident. As he was crossing the road, a passer-by managed to push him away in a nick of time as the car dashed through a red light. Mike was only scratched and the passer-by was alright. In the hospital, when Mike was unconscious, the doctor told his parents that patients suffering from schizophrenia will tend to forget things for a while after a sudden impact to the body. Thus, when Mike awoke, he had no memories of Tim momentarily. Mike's parents also did not mention anything since then, but still secretly added the medicine to his food. However, things were not that rosy when Mike grew up. Apprantly, the voice of Tim grew stronger and stronger everyday when he was a teenager and one fine day, he stumbled across the medical report and prescriptions in his parents room when he was trying to find his jacket.

Mike was stunned that he had schizophrenia. He began to research on his own secretly and learnt that it cannot be cured. He kept what he knew from his parents and did not take the medicine that was mixed in his food. His condition worsen till he met Laura, who provided a temporarily relief for him. However, good things always come to an end and sadly, the two poor souls are now reunited in a place far far away, away from all the troubles. They are in a place they belong, forever and eternally.

"Well, thank you Sir, for all the information, we will seek your corporation again if need be, hope you get a good gripe on yourself. I feel for your loss too." said Bobby to Mike's dad. "Time to write a report again, wonder what my heading will be this time" thought Bobby as he was driving back to the station. Another case closed and time for a little holiday he was yearning for the past year.

At this moment, Bobby's handphone rang. "Hello?" answered Bobby. An air of silence hovered in Bobby's car. He jammed brake in the middle of the expressway. Lucikly there wasn't much cars around. Sweat broke out on Bobby's forehead as he waited in the silence. But then again, this will be told in another story........