A Free Day

“Oh look!” Meredith shrieked, grabbed Ethan’s wrist and pulled him along. “Come on, I’ve always wanted to try that.”

Ethan moaned quietly, they’ve been running around all day and his feet ached. Apparently, she’s never been to a beach or seen a pay-per-view telescope. He searched his pockets for a quarter and inserted it into the coin slot. “Here you go,” he adjusted the lens, “go ahead, look into it.” He smiled.

“Ooh, ah,” she reacted while turning the telescope left and right. “I can see far far away.” She said.

“That’s great!” Ethan exclaimed and checked his watch. His shift was almost over. “So did you enjoy your day?”

She nodded, “Mm hmm, I did. You should check me out of that place more often.”

He chuckled quietly and part of it was relief. He was relieved that nothing catastrophic happened today because Dr. Carol had warned him about Meredith’s mental instability. In fact, that’s how Meredith wound up in that hospital. When she was 15, she went crazy and strangled both of her parents and siblings, believing that they were possessed and threatened her.

“Aww, the session’s over. Can I have another quarter, pleeease?”

“I’m sorry but it’s time for dinner. Maybe tomorrow, okay?”

She shrugged and hopped off the stand. “Okay.”

This story was originally published on October 25, 2014.

Written for Sunday Photo Fiction, a flash fiction challenge hosted by the blog A Mixed Bag where we are given a photo prompt and must write a piece of 200 words or less. Each prompt is provided on Sunday.