Chapter 9
Deborah and Dr. Fried try to talk about what was going on in the world during the times that Deborah spent in Yr, but Deborah couldn't remember anything but darkness. Deborah had been interested in sketching when she was younger, and she was a promising artist. She shares a memory with the doctor about a time when one of her drawings fell out of her sketchbook amid a group of other children. When a little boy tried to get her to claim the piece, she refused it. She accuses the children of forcing her to deny her work, and Dr. Fried points out that that was only the way she saw it and not really the way that it happened.
Deborah draws a picture for Dr. Fried during her appointment, and Dr. Fried tells her that creative strength that is strong enough to grow even through such a sickness is a healthy thing.
Carla, a B ward patient is moved up to D ward. When she and Deborah talk about how long they've been in the hospital, Carla mentions Doris Rivera. Doris was a patient that Carla had known, and Doris had gotten well enough to leave the hospital and go out into the world. Those who overhear the conversation are as frightened by the thought of going out into the world as Deborah is. That night many of the women on the ward are either put into packs or isolation. Deborah feels the descent into the Pit coming on and asks an attendant to put her in a pack. When she wakes up, Carla is bundled up in a pack in the same room. Carla says that she thinks the ward went crazy that night because of Doris Rivera and the idea of the real world. Deborah says something cruel to Carla to deny the truth that Carla unearthed. After a few minutes, Deborah feels bad for hurting Carla, and so she apologizes, which is a difficult thing for Deborah to do. When Carla forgives her, Deborah realizes that she is more afraid of the fact that Carla could've hurt her and chose not to than she is of Doris Rivera and the world outside the hospital.
Topic Tracking: Fear 5
Topic Tracking: Friendship 5
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