vivarium

Up the patient rises from her slumber as soft rhythmic tones coax her out of sleep. Her eyes focus on a large Monstera deliciosa in the corner of the triangular room, the largest wall curved frosted glass through which a green light filters onto the dark blue carpet. The patient stretches in her expansive bed. The glass door slides open, and an oval automaton floats in, scans the room, makes a cheerful noise, and exits, leaving an aroma of lavender with a hint of cinnamon. If the patient listens closely, she can hear a dull pulsing deep within the building. There is healing in this sound. The world sleeps, no sign of others. The entire wing belongs to her, and she is free to wander. She steps out of her room, and the door slides closed behind her. Huge windows lining the curving hallway reveal a boreal forest with moss-covered floor. Her bare feet sink into omnipresent carpet as she explores the corridor flanked by nondescript rooms sparsely furnished and dimly lit with soft lamps. She is momentarily transfixed by an aquarium set between two walls. She presses her hand against the glass and a tiny octopus spreads its tentacles over her fingers. In a mirror, she finds her hair bright green. She wouldn't expect it, but it fits her perfectly. A shower with rainfall showerhead draws her in, and she loses herself in the rejuvenating steam before walking back to her room, free of clothes. No reason to conceal herself here. There is a peculiar absence of agitation in her mind. The ordinary drive to entertain herself is gone. She is steeped in natural contentment. No thoughts of outside this place nor future nor past, just here, now, settled, healing. Near her room, there is a door open to the outside, revealing a soft dirt path meandering into lush woods, beckoning. She stands on the threshold, imagining the potential adventures awaiting her there, the endless variations of emotion stretching to the horizon, and she grabs the knob and shuts the door and makes her way to bed. She lays her head on the soft pillow that seems uniquely sculpted for her skull and lets the weight of the warm sheets settle around the contours of her body as she falls into the deepest sleep she's ever known.