Part 6: Discharge

A misty rain covers the city.
The square is empty save for two figures.
A white umbrella and a black umbrella.
Elegy: Your news has reached the family in Berlin. They send their regards, Mesmer Jr.
Elegy: Now that you've been promoted to a level two therapist and are fully responsible for artificial somnambulism, we have granted you a seat on the family council.
He hands her a badge.
Elegy: We've sent many children to the SPDM over the years. You're the only one to reach such status.
Elegy: Thanks to you, the St. Pavlov Foundation has requested a third meeting with the family.
Elegy: Your parents have conveyed their pride to us.
Mesmer Jr.: So the matter's dealt with. I can leave now, right?
She pockets the badge without a glance.
Elegy: Not quite so fast. I'd like to speak with you personally, Mesmer Jr.
Mesmer Jr.: Personally? Alright, then allow me to begin.
Mesmer Jr.: Your bureaucratic tone makes me sick, Elegy. Or should I call you Jeffrey Mesmer?
Mesmer Jr.: It seems you've settled right into your role as the family agent.
Mesmer Jr.: From the family's illegitimate playboy son, who scoffed at the rules and ran off to an underground clinic, to this.
Mesmer Jr.: It seems you've turned over a new leaf, or were you left no choice?
Mesmer Jr.: Though I won't speak on the family's decisions, I'm afraid I'll have to maintain a degree of skepticism about your position as the family agent.
Elegy: Ah, how nice it is to drop the formalities.
Elegy: I'd heard about your sharp tongue, Mesmer Jr. If you must know, I—
Mesmer Jr.: I'm not interested in your story, nor do I want to answer any of your questions. I'm leaving.
She turns and walks.
Elegy: Then, are you interested in the medical student funded by the Eleventh Mesmer Foundation?
Elegy: According to the records, you worked together for a time. Her name was—what was it ... oh, Dorothea.
Mesmer Jr.: ...
She halts.
Elegy: The Mesmer family pulled some strings to get her through the LSCC's review process. I heard she died at the hands of a deranged patient. What a pity.
Mesmer Jr.: You're overthinking it.
Elegy: Is that so? The family is rather concerned about this matter since it involves the Foundation's decision to release Jerry Wilson.
Mesmer Jr.: I have no doubts about his release.
The immense hand of the Mesmer family has always loomed over her. She is quite familiar with it.
Mesmer Jr.: Such matters are down to the appointed members of the Mesmer family. My view is limited. There's no use speculating.
Elegy: What if I told you that Dorothea was pushed into the LSCC to help pave the way for your current achievements?
Elegy: Though there have been some twists and turns, you've far exceeded the family's expectations.
There is no smile on her face.
Elegy: Of course, if it weren't for you, she might not have died. She'd probably still be living her ignorant, foolish little life.
Elegy: Such a pity that decisions always come with sacrifice, Mesmer Jr. I truly regret that.
Mesmer Jr.: What are you trying to say, Jeffrey?
She grips the umbrella handle tighter.
Elegy: But if even a thousand—ten thousand—deaths like Dorothea's could create someone such as you, Mesmer Jr. ...
Elegy: It would be worth it, would it not?
He drops his umbrella, letting the rain soak his coat.
Elegy: After all, who is she in the face of all those our family can save?
Ah, I'm jealous. I've always been more on the figure-it-out-as-you-go train.
Elegy: And besides, being part of this great plan is something the children funded by the Mesmer Foundation could only dream of.
You know, humans like me always need something to rely on.
Elegy: She was just a small weight on the scale. She's fulfilled her purpose.
I hope you have sweet dreams, Junior.
Her umbrella is low, hiding her face from view. She starts to step backwards.
Elegy: Do you agree? I'd love to hear your thoughts, Mesmer Jr.
His face is full of anticipation, like an interrogator about to get his long-sought-after answer.
She lifts her umbrella, revealing a surprising expression.
Mesmer Jr.: You're expecting me to be disturbed by your words—to have a strong stress reaction.
Mesmer Jr.: Should I have fallen into hysteria so you could report on my instability back to the family?
Mesmer Jr.: We're all Mesmers, Elegy.
His face suddenly turns cold.
Mesmer Jr.: Many times I've been dissatisfied with the decisions of the Mesmer family council; there's no doubt about that.
Mesmer Jr.: But rationality must always outweigh emotion.
Mesmer Jr.: The purpose of a scalpel is to make an incision.
Mesmer Jr.: We all know that the time of the Hippocratic oath is long past.
Elegy squints, intrigued.
Elegy: It seems you're no longer that nervous little girl.
Elegy: Good. Very good.
He lights a cigarette, smoke rising amidst the rain.
Elegy: Do you know why they made me, an illegitimate son with no inheritance rights, the family agent?
Elegy: Because a lamb that has left the flock best understands what the other lambs are thinking.
Elegy: The most devout believers are the ones with the most fragile faith. The followers deepest in the field are the ones who most want to leap the fence and see the outside world.
Elegy: I'm very happy, truly. Mesmer Jr.—the youngest in the family, the "darling" in everyone's eyes.
Elegy: I'm glad you're standing here now.
Elegy: Tell me, what did Dorothea say to you in her final moments? I heard she whispered her final words only to you.
Mesmer Jr.: She didn't say anything.
Elegy: Hah, I get it. Go ahead and keep your little secret.
Mesmer Jr.: That's not what I'm doing.
She raises her umbrella and stares directly at him.
Mesmer Jr.: I didn't hear what she said.
Mesmer Jr.: She'd started to bleed out. Her throat had already filled with blood.
Mesmer Jr.: I leaned in to her pale lips.
Mesmer Jr.: But I couldn't hear anything.
Elegy: ...
Mesmer Jr.: The shard of glass had penetrated 6 centimeters into her neck.
Mesmer Jr.: All I could hear was the gurgling of blood in her throat.
Elegy: ...
Mesmer Jr.: Can I go now?
Elegy: Go ahead.
The two umbrellas leave each other.
Like two pieces on a chessboard.
Cristallo and Tooth Fairy are chatting in the ward. They have just completed her second treatment.
Cristallo: So, Ms. Tooth Fairy, where did that doctor named Dorothea go in the end?
Cristallo: I haven't seen her around here. She lost something important, and I want to return it to her.
She holds the book in her hands, a slight worried look on her face.
Tooth Fairy: Ah, I remember that doctor. I'm afraid she's no longer with us.
Tooth Fairy: I think it's best to leave it here. Someone else will take care of it.
Cristallo: Wait, could I ask you one more favor?
Cristallo clenches the book in her hand.
Tooth Fairy: Ms. Mesmer Jr.'s office is right here.
Tooth Fairy: But I heard she's on leave today.
Cristallo: It's okay.
Cristallo pushes herself up from her wheelchair and struggles to her feet.
Tooth Fairy: ...!
With all her strength, Cristallo raises her hand.
Tooth Fairy: Ms. Cristallo, I can deliver it to her for you.
Cristallo: No, thank you. I just want to make sure Ms. Mesmer doesn't lose it again.
Cristallo: cough That should do.
She sits back down in her wheelchair.
Cristallo: Let's go back, Ms. Tooth Fairy.
Tooth Fairy: Of course.
They make their way back.
The dreamcatcher hangs on the doorknob, awaiting the return of its owner.
*click*
Jerry Wilson: Hm?
Rehab Center Staff Member Danny: Jerry Wilson, right? You're free to go.
Rehab Center Staff Member Danny: Get out of Laplace.