[ WP ] A schizophrenic falls in love with one of her hallucinations .

Alex ’ s supervisor looked at him with disappointed eyes. 
 
 “ …I ’ m not sure what ’ s going on with you, Alex. Lately your behavior has been erratic and well, it ’ s frightening our customers and the other employees. ” 
 
 Alex ceased his eye contact and began looking at a tile on the floor. He could just make out something scurrying across from the side of his vision, but worked hard to keep himself from following it. 
 
 “ I know this might be uncomfortable, but have you thought about…you know? Seeing someone about this? Maybe going to a doctor? ” 
 
 Alex continued his silence. This wasn ’ t the first time he was being fired from a job, and it will probably not be the last. The recommendation to see a doctor always stung though. He felt broken. He knew something inside was not right. 
 
 “ Look, I feel horrible about doing this. You ’ re clearly going through something right now and I think you need to get some help. But I can ’ t have you working here if you can ’ t perform the normal job duties. I really want you to go see someone. If you are able to, uh…get better…you know that you can always come back and we can find a position for you. ” 
 
 Alex stood outside of his former workplace, waiting for the bus to take him home. He tried to shut down his senses. But they were too overwhelming and frightening at times, he just had to respond to them. He remembered the horror he caused his family when it all started happening in his 20s. How they desperately pleaded with him to get help, then how they slowly sank away when he got worse and worse. 
 
 He looked down at the pamphlet that his supervisor gave him. It ’ s the county ’ s mental health center. He looked at the address and phone number. 
 
 Suddenly Alex felt a presence behind him. The man ’ s sent was strong and unmistakable. He always appeared at just the right times. 
 
 Alex always felt more at ease around him. The air surrounding him just felt warmer and the sent was intoxicating. He was Alex ’ s only comfort in a life of isolation and loneliness. 
 
 Alex has never seen his face and has never learned his name. Even though his presence and aroma was overwhelming, there was something in his mind that never allowed him to turn around. He knew he couldn ’ t trust himself – his conversations with his supervisor confirmed that. Alex wanted so desperately for this man to be real – to not be a hallucination. So he never turned around and just allowed his presence to envelop him. 
 
 The man whispered gently to him. He could feel the air that passed by his ear as each word was pronounced. He was whispering the closest thing that Alex could classify as sweet-nothings. He always knew the right thing to say when Alex desperately needed reassurance. 
 
 Alex closed his eyes and enclosed himself totally in the man ’ s presence. He felt the man reach an arm down his shoulder and onto his chest. He held him so tightly in his embrace. The man continued to whisper reassuring words. Alex allowed all the humiliation and frustration of his termination flow out from him, it seeped from his heart and onto the pavement below. 
 
 The rough and mechanical sound of the bus stopping in front of him jolted Alex from comfort. The whispers ceased and the warm feeling and sent was gone. 
 
 He didn ’ t even know that there was a small downpour of rain that had started while he sat at the bus stop. He shivered through his wet clothes. He calmed his body and told himself to wait patiently for the man to return – he would always know the right time to show up. 
 
 As the bus drove away, Alex had forgotten his pamphlet. He dropped it in the midst of it all. It was wrinkled and fading from the downpour. The splash-back from the bus caused a large amount of water to flow underneath it. The water carried it gently down the sidewalk and into a storm drain.
