Saiunkoku Monogatari Fan Fiction ❯ The Melancholy of Doctor Li ❯ The Melancholy of Doctor Li ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

It was a cliché that the doctors in a Mental Health Centre were indistinguishable from the patients, but he thought it anyway. The similarities began right at the top, after all. The nominal Head of the centre was going deep undercover in a bid to investigate the inmate experience and finish the research on his radical new therapy. The research appeared to consist of slacking off, eating grapes and watching the television. Of course, this led to more work for the rest of the staff.

The doctor made another mark on his clipboard. He started to count them up, but stopped when a frequent visitor walked through the swing doors.

'What are you here for?' He forced the words out through clenched teeth, but managed to remain reasonably polite.

'Stress,' replied the arrogant playboy, dusting down his smoking jacket and checking the room for attractive women who had only checked in to escape the media. 'I'm under terrible strain and need to recharge my batteries. Could you check me into a room on the Chrysanthemum wing, please?' He topped off his distracted speech with a nonchalant wave, before stepping into the conservatory and leaving his bags in the doorway.

'Not to worry, Doctor Li. I'll get them.' The orderly was simply marvelous. He took the bags with a gentle smile and the anger that had built in the doctor faded away. That man was worth twice his weight in gold. He seemed inoffensive and got on with all the inmates, but was deceptively strong. Many times, three or four attendants jumped on an unruly inmate, just to hold him or her steady until Shouka arrived.

A clock chimed somewhere and the doctor began his rounds. The centre catered to a wide variety of mental health issues, from the very mild to the extremely severe. There was even a few padded cells, although they saw more private than medical use.

He paused at the door of his first patient to knock. Knocking showed courtesy. For many patients, this centre was their home and privacy was an important issue when your mind is fragile. He waited a suitable time for a response and when none came, let himself inside.

The first patient was a strong and physically healthy man. The Doctor smiled and approached him, but kept a safe distance. He was a trained martial artist, which made his condition very dangerous. The man was filled with impotent rage and could get violent.

Before he could begin, the door burst open and an orderly fell in. 'Doctor Li. These test results are marked as urgent!' he said, breathlessly, before handing over a large, white packet. Distracted by the red stamp on the envelope, the doctor forgot to chide the boy, who was hard-working, after all.

The doctor opened the package, looked at the images and read the analysis, as well as the cover letter from the specialist. He hated these situations. Someone else should be doing this. The patient had seen the packet arrive, had seen his reaction. The doctor could not simply turn aside and pass this on to another doctor. Strange, his white coat had gotten so grubby, recently. It needed a good wash, but he didn't think that he had a spare. Maybe he could put in a requisition for a new one. Yes. He'd talk to one of the admin staff about that.

'Mr Shi, you're in the wrong hospital,' the doctor began, inelegantly. 'The results of your scan have shown something unexpected. ' He didn't know how to continue - training was severely lax on these matters. 'I'm afraid that it's very serious, but there is a good chance that you'll be ok. There's..' He looked down at the letter and prepared to read out the medical jargon that he barely understood himself, but stopped. The patient's face had gone white. He needed to be told as quickly and as simply as possible. 'There's a swelling in your brain, that shows all the signs of being a tumour. You're not crazy. The mood swings, the personality changes - they've all been caused by this swelling. Luckily, the Health Centre has connections with a very good hospital that specialises in' (don't say cancer) 'brain surgery and has a doctor who has carried out this procedure many times successfully. If you agree, then we can transfer you to this hospital within the day. You've already been scheduled an appointment with the specialist.'

It's only when tension leaves a body that you realise how much there had been. The patient seemed to deflate, strangely relived. The doctor would hate to have cancer in the brain, but he could understand the fear and taboo of being mentally ill. Strange that a tumour would seem preferable, although he supposed that a tumour could be cut out more easily than intangibles like rage, fear and forgetfulness.

'I'll sign anything,' he said.

Doctor Li nodded. 'I'll send in Nurse Shou with the forms. He'll answer any questions you have.'

He tried to slow down his steps as he left - it wouldn't be seemly to rush to the exit, even though he needed to get out and let the blush run to his cheeks. The doctor had been certain, so many assumptions and convictions and judgements on his patient and all of them were wrong. Mr. Shi had been vindicated, but his doctor should have treated him better, should have considered physical reasons as well as the well thumbed pyschiatric theories.

He stopped outside the door and leaned into the nameplate. The buffed metal cooled his forehead and the flush retreated. Only when the polished surface showed that the colour was gone, did Doctor Li approach the nurses' station. He asked for the transferal forms and wrote an extensive note on the last page. He finally attached the text results and cover letter to the form and handed it back to the nurse, with orders to prioritise the transfer. She took the form and passed it to another man in a white coat - much cleaner than his - who glanced over it and signed immediately.

Beyond him, reflected on the glass panel, the accountant strode though the lobby. The doctor cringed; that man gave him the heebie jeebies. They'd never talked, he didn't even know what the accountant's name was, but the guy had to be some kind of freak. He always wore a mask and it completely covered his face.

The man was also on friendly terms with the Centre's Head, which was definitely a mark against him. The doctor leaned further and further to the left, as he followed the other man's progress through the area. He finally disappeared from the glass reflection, though and Doctor Li had to turn around to check further.

The lobby appeared safe, but you could never tell with that man's friends, so the doctor decided to skip a few and visit the patient who was furthest from the room. His name was Ryuuki and his was a sad case.

Ryuuki had been incarcerated in a now discredited facility as teenager, when he first displayed homosexual tendencies. A family member had signed him in and approved every evil done to that poor boy in the name of a cure. Of course, there was nothing wrong with homosexual tendencies and the full force of the law came down on that disgraceful operation, but the effects of the treatments were catastrophic on the gentle-hearted soul.

They kept him in Rose Ward, one of the quieter areas, far from the attention seekers and the inquisitive. Doctor Li found those rooms refreshing himself and tended to dally there on days that he felt down. It was peaceful and relaxing, usually. Today was different.

Rose Ward corridor was guarded. The defender was was an unflappable, long-haired moon-child, dressed as the back end of a pantomime horse.

'Kouyuu,' said the moon-child.

'Doctor Ran,' replied Doctor Li, emphasising the word deliberately, but getting no reaction.

'You haven't been to any of my sessions,' accused the horse. 'The group was very disappointed. Ryuuki drew a number of amazing portraits and I wanted you to sit for him.'

'Err.' The doctor stalled. 'I'll get to the next one, for sure.' Unless a clashing appointment could be arranged.

'Musical therapy is starting in two weeks,' the moon-child pressed. 'It's important to attend as many of those as possible. Come to them.'

'I'm not convinced of the benefits of having the mentally ill play the recorder,' Kouyuu tried to dismiss the other doctor, but was interrupted.

'Try one session. You can learn a lot. There have been truly outstanding results documented.'

'I'm only available next thursday, Doctor Ran.'

'Then that's when we'll begin!' The pantomime horse clapped him on the shoulder. 'And I've told you before, it's just Ryuuren. Doctor is far too formal, Kouyuu.'

'Err, yes.'

Over Ryuuren's shoulder, the orderly, Shouka approached, carrying a small tray.

'I'm afraid that they've moved your room again, Doctor Li.' The kind and gentle orderly took the doctor by the elbow and guided him down the hallway.

'Again?' he asked. 'Have they moved the bathroom too?'

The orderly nodded. 'Orders from upstairs, I'm afraid.'

'I understand.' The advantage of working in this centre over any other, was that room and board were provided, although the administrators did keep messing about with the layout - moving consultation rooms, bedrooms, receptions, gardens, everything on a whim.

'They have given you the same view, which is something.'

'I'm very fond of it.' Tears welled up in his eyes. 'Thank you.'

As he was led past them, he heard a nurse and doctor, a new girl, converse.

'Is it wise to let him prescribe medicine?' She sounded worried and her nails had the rough edges characteristic of a biter.

The nurse shrugged. 'His diagnoses are always correct. I don't know if he used to be a doctor or not, but it seems to keep him calm and we need all the help we can get.'

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This fic reads very differently the second time around.