I stepped back into the hall. It was mostly empty. Antoine was gone. An orderly had started removing leftover plates and cutlery from the tables and stacking them on a trolley. The hall seemed vast and peaceful when it wasn’t full. A cool breeze blew through taking some napkins from the tables. I was still hungry, but it seemed inappropriate to hang around. I turned and started walking back to my room. I needed the toilet and searched for one in the long hall. I tried to avoid making eye contact with the occupants of the rooms as I filed past. Some hissed and spat at the door, others seemed lost in their own worlds. I came to my room. I entered. Napoleon was nowhere to be found and one could only assume he’d gone to rouse his troops or some other stately act. As I changed into my clothes, outside I could see the patients wandering the gardens. It was a beautiful day out. I did up my trousers and closed the door behind me. I continued further up the hallway. It seemed to go on forever. I figured as the wing was mostly empty that it was a designated time for outdoors. I kept up my search for a toilet. The names of the patients occupying the rooms were written on a piece of card that hung outside the rooms. I scanned the cards looking for Antoine’s name.
It seemed women’s rooms were on the left side of the hall and men’s on the right. I walked slowly reading the names. At last, I came to it. Antoine Anouilh. I knocked and waited for an answer. There was none. I figured he must be outside or maybe taking a rest. I cracked the door ever so slightly. What I saw confused and shocked me. I swung open the door. Antoine hung from the ceiling by a sheet around his neck. His body moved ever so slightly in the breeze. His face and lips were blue. His hands were bound behind his back with a torn sheet. He was quite dead. I stood there in the silence for a second. I looked out the window to see if anyone had seen me. No one had. I then stepped backward, closed the door, and walked into the hallway. I did not think to get help or cut him down. Twice he had pushed his mortality on me. This time he had achieved his wish. I walked back down the hall opened the door to my room and lay on the bed. I thought of home, the chickens, tea, and toast. Soon I would be out of here and away from this madness. A scream echoed down the hall followed by the rushing of footsteps past the door. I would go home pack my belongings and leave this place forever.