"Lilou."
"Is that your real name?"
"Yeah? You don't like it or what?"
"Not at all, I think it's beautiful — really," a cramp suddenly caught my right calf out of nervousness, but I tried to push the pain deep down so she wouldn't notice. "I don't know if it's the right question, but… what are you doing here?"
The name Lilou echoed in my head along with the question I'd asked. Maybe she, like me, doesn't know why she ended up here. What if we're the same kind of people, from the same planet, sharing the same difficult experiences? Not talking about genes, of course — I know I'm an only child.
"I almost overdosed," she said, and the smile returned to her face with surprising speed.
"Oh… I'm so sorry," I said awkwardly. I didn't know how to react — it was the first time I'd met someone who had almost overdosed. It was completely beyond my understanding, and I was just glad it hadn't happened to me.
"Don't worry, I'm better now," she took my hand. "And you?"
"Me?"
"I'm not talking to anyone else — what are you doing here?"
"Erm… for peace of mind?" It didn't sound very convincing. Lilou looked me up and down. I stepped back a little to create some space between us, just in case something weird happened. Damn, why am I treating her like some kind of lunatic? I shouldn't judge people like that.
"I think I've seen you somewhere," she changed the topic — an interesting one, since I couldn't remember ever seeing her before. She must've mistaken me for someone else.
"Where? When…?"
A few patients passed by with doctors in white coats. I thought no one wore those anymore.
I had to wait a while for her answer; she froze for a moment when another doctor passed by — he looked rather strict, the kind of man you can't really talk to calmly without risking trouble.
"You're from Willow Hollow, right?" she sniffled after a moment.
"Do you want a tissue?" I asked politely. I pulled one from my pocket — the last one I had — and handed it to her. "And yeah, I'm from there. How did you know? Do you live there too?"
"I work at the cinema. I don't know if you go there, but I think I remember seeing you once at a screening. You like those old, black-and-white films, right?" She sniffled again.
"I think I went once," I wasn't entirely sure; at the moment I couldn't recall. "And how do you like it here?"
"I'm here every two weeks for a full week. It seems fine when I'm working, but when my shift ends it feels really unsafe — especially when I go back by bus that late."
"Every two weeks?"
"My dad lives there. Mom makes me get used to him and his family. The only thing I like there is the park."
"You mean the one full of homeless people?"
"Yeah, I've had a few unpleasant encounters, but they actually seem pretty decent."
"I hope nothing… something serious happened."
She turned her head.
"The session's about to start, we should go," she said, taking my hand. "The first time can be rough, but once you get used to it, it gets easier."
***
"Do it to me," my quiet voice rang in their ears. They all turned to me.
"How generous of you," James stared straight at me.
I pushed up onto my elbow, trying to stand. I got one knee up, gasping for air. The other leg wasn't as bad.
"Mike, you don't have to beg," Malachai rushed over to me. He grabbed my neck, cutting off my breath. "If that's what you want." Malachai handed the contents of the bag toward Joshua. 'Hurry up.'"