I woke up in an empty room, well, empty save for the bed I was lying on. I sat up, and my head swam for a few seconds, but the sensation passed. A man knocked on the door and opened it a fraction. I knew him. "Uncle Ben?" I asked.
He smiled at me. "Hey, Gracie. Long time no see. The last time I saw you was when you were--what, 5?"
"6," I corrected. "You were diagnosed with...something, and sent away."
"Clinical depression," Uncle Ben said. "It's the best thing that ever happened to me. Welcome to the asylums."
My blood chilled. So they had sent me away. Uncle Ben must have noticed my face because he waved away an invisible force with one hand. "It's not like the rumors say at all. In fact, it's one of the safest places to be in all the world."
I frowned and Uncle Ben just beckoned me closer. I followed him out of the room and to what I assumed was the common room of sorts. I looked around. People were playing board games, typing away on computers, or scrawling in notebooks, writing and drawing alike. There were no faces I recognized, but some of the artwork hanging on the walls was very familiar, and some half-finished mathematics theorems littered the floor that I remembered reading about in physics with new discoveries in the higher ranks. I looked to Uncle Ben. "Okay, you've lost me."
Uncle Ben smiled. "Anyone who is deemed unfit to live in the outside world comes here, where they can receive proper treatment and medication. You never have to leave, but why would you want to? In here, you can do whatever you want, and even change jobs when you get bored with something."
"Change jobs?!" I asked.
"You heard me right! You can do what you want, when you want, how you want. Most people here are responsible for the rest of the world's entertainment and scientific breakthroughs!" Ben gestured around. "You're in luck, because you happen to be in the entertainment hub of the world! We have the creators of many science fiction shows, crime dramas, and spin-offs that are world-renowned. Why, Steven and Mark over there are responsible for one of the most famous Sherlock Holmes remakes of all time!"
The two men looked over from their laptops when they heard their names and nodded to us. My jaw dropped. "Those two are the creators of the new Sherlock Holmes?"
"You're a fan?" Uncle Ben asked. "I can introduce you!"
I blanched. "But...what would I say? That I've been writing fanfiction of their show for 3 years straight?" I hissed.
"Pretty much, yeah!" Uncle Ben laughed. "They never get to meet their fans on the other side, and most people here just criticize their work. Maybe they'll let you work with them!"
I squeaked at the thought. Uncle Ben nudged me over and when we got close, the two looked up. I blushed. "H-hi. I-I'm Grace. I-I-I love your work," I stammered.
The two smiled, and the one wearing thick-rimmed glasses pulled a chair over. "Really? What do you like best about it? I love being able to talk to fans!"
The one with black hair nodded. "He never shuts up if you get him going. I'm Steve. He's Mark."
I smiled and shook their hands, and didn't even realize Uncle Ben had now left to find something else to do. This might not be so bad!
ns 15.158.61.45da2
