Criminal and the Inmate

A modern take on a classic fairy tale

The sound of the Judges gavel rang through the silent room.

"Belle Ackerman, you are to complete one year's community service for your crime. You will have no say in where this takes place. You will have no contact with your family during this time. You will live and work in this establishment. Do you understand?" the Judge proclaimed to the convict. She found herself nodding, unable to talk from shock. Her crime wasn't that bad... was it?  

"I understand." she spoke after a pause, sealing her fate.

She was only going to work at an asylum after all.

***

For three long weeks Belle worked at the nuthouse. She had been assigned one of the inmates. No one would say what he was committed for, though he was kept in solitary so Belle always assumed the worst. Never had she been left truly alone with him either, almost as if they feared something. My safety perhaps? She pondered daily as she took his food and medication to him. He would never say anything, just stare; like a beast watching his prey.

Perhaps he CAN'T -

"You will join me for dinner" came a booming voice from behind Belle one day as she was bringing her charge his food. With a gasp of fear she spun around to find him blocking her way out, almost as if the beast had grown tired waiting for his prey to surrender.

"You will join me for dinner" he repeated, this time louder. It was obvious to the girl that she was trapped until he decided to release her, and judging by the look in his eyes it wouldn't be any time soon.

"What?"

"You will join me for dinner"

"But I-"

"YOU WILL JOIN ME FOR DINNER!" By this point he had grown so angered he threw the object in his grasp towards her, barely missing her head...

How had he procured a shard of broken mirror?

Nurses rushed in to restrain him, knock him out until Belle was safely out of the room. As she rushed past she heard him murmuring the same few words over and over, though she couldn't make out what they were.

***

As time passed Belle grew accustomed to her beast of a patient's mannerisms and outbursts, however it seemed they were becoming fewer and less violent the more time she spent in his company. The nurses could hardly believe what they were witnessing, the idea that a simple criminal could tame their most volatile patient was beyond comprehension.

***

As her year of service drew to a close, Belle grew more and more eager to escape the confines of the asylum, yet found herself less than eager to abandon the strange friendship with her patient. On the eve of her final day of service, he asked her to have dinner with him once more, as he had each day since the first. On every other occasion her response had been a firm "no", as that sort of intimacy with a patient was highly frowned upon. However this time she found herself agreeing to his odd demand. Why, after so long, would he still wish for a night of her time? It made no sense at all.

As the time for her to join her insane friend drew nearer she unexpectedly grew more excited, almost like she was waiting for a date.

As their night together drew on, they found themselves dancing to songs only they could hear, her head resting on his heart and him holding her close. The fear he felt of losing her only making him pull her closer. When she looked up to ask what was wrong he murmured those same three words he had been whispering all year, yet she had never caught.

"Please love me" over and over until his mantra was embedded in her mind.

***

The next morning as Belle packed the head nurse entered her room, she found the courage to ask what had been plaguing her mind since she first saw her patient-

"What was he committed for?" she asked. The head nurse could only stare in disbelief, as though she was expected to already know. The answer she got was not what she expected and it shook her newfound love for this man to the very core.

"Dear girl, he's in for delusions and for murdering his whole family. He believed love could free him. He committed suicide this morning: he found his freedom." 

Author's Note

Feedback is welcome

Reviews

[barleygirl]

For a year-long story compressed into this short amount of space, the writing is understandably skipping over some things that would be interesting to know & watch unfold, if included. I like the premise of your story, the probationary "sentence" being to visit this violent person in an insane asylum, and lessons coming forth from this experience. Also, the ending is fitting & understandable. All along, the reader is compelled to keep reading, as the interest is high.

There are a few HUGE aspects of your story which are not at all likely, thus it takes away from the credibility of your story. I guess it must be necessary to read this as a fantasy, rather than a reality story. That's the only way I can process this sequence of events, which would never happen in real life.