What’s Best...

Abigayle sat looking at the wall; she was trying to make sense of a poster with a forest scene. ‘Did the poster come to them as a gift or was it something they bought?’ she wondered. Her eyes scanned the image up and down trying to decide why this poster was chosen. It was a serene setting with a small pond pouring over the edge of a small natural spillway, the ground was covered in leaves of various colors and the trees seemed to be of the maple variety. To the right of the poster was a large ornate wooden door. She did not break her concentration even when the door swung open and they looked out at her.

The doctor stood there with her parents observing Abigayle for a moment. She seemed to just be staring at the wall and did little to acknowledge their presence. He was confident in his decision now to suggest she be sent away. Abigayle’s parents stood next to each other in the open doorway opposite the doctor.

“It's your decision, but I believe this is for the best,” the doctor said as he glanced back a  at Abigayle one last time before stepping out of her view. This was not the first doctor they visited regarding Abigayle's mental state. They nodded toward where the doctor had been and went to join their daughter in the waiting room.

“Hey Abby!” her mother said with an enthusiasm that was uncharacteristic as if she were surprised to see her own daughter. The kind of greeting you give when you are either genuinely surprised to see someone you missed, or trying to soften the blow of what is to come next. This surprised Abigayle as her train of thought was derailed, but she hid her surprise not sure what was to come next.

“Hey baby girl,” her father said as he knelt next to her trying his best to mask his worry. “I think that we need to talk, this doctor has an idea,” he said trying to frame things lightly.

“Yes,” her mother said still in the same enthusiastic tone. “We want you to know that we love you and want you to be happy, we want your opinion about something.”

“Now honey if you think this is not for you we can still look elsewhere, I want what is best for you,” her father added trying to hide how hard this was for him to even consider. He shuffled through his papers and a pamphlet slipped out resting neatly between Abigayle’s feet below the grey plastic chair on the waiting room floor. Her mother reacted trying to grab it before Abigayle could see it, but her father put out his arm to stop her. “Go ahead honey, pick it up.”

Abigayle reached down slowly and found the edge of the card-stock pamphlet pinching the sides together causing it to crease so she could pick it up from the linoleum floor. She had not even fully had it in her grasp before it all made sense. The reason her parents seemed to be acting odd. They had not found a doctor yet that could give a proper explanation. After all the money, time, and tests, perhaps going away for a while would help. Abigayle hid her feelings with the flash of a smile.

“Maybe this is best,” she said slowly forming each word holding back a tear. She knew her parents loved her, but she also knew they would never fully understand. To see the memories of others wasn’t something you could explain with modern medicine.