We're All Strangers in This World

Schizophrenia - a severe psychiatric disorder with symptoms of emotional instability, detachment from reality, and withdrawal into the self.

I'm not crazy, am I? Mikey says I'm not... But I know better. I hear things that aren't there, I see things that aren't real. If I'm not crazy what am I? Certainly not sane, not one bit.

"Hey Gee! I'm going out."

I shift my eyes over to Mikey and I smile slyly at him. He raises an eyebrow, "What?" I quickly sprawl 'to your girlfriend's house?' on my note pad and show him. His face starts to get red, "She's not my girlfriend." I answer that back with a 'Not yet anyway' He rolls his eyes.

"Well I'm going to go, are you going to be okay here alone?" I nod and write down, 'I think I'm going to go to that new coffee house on the next block.' Mikey just nodded and said he'd see me later.

I let out a sigh before slipping into a coat and heading out the door into the cold bitter fall air. It wasn't that long to the shop, just a couple of steps really. But by the time I got there my fingers and face were numb from the cold.

I walked up to the counter and wrote down what I wanted. The cashier smiled at me, I forced a small one back- not wanting to seem rude. I handed her the money and sat at a table.. waiting for my coffee to come.

Out of the egde of my vision I see a flicker of flames. I pale, when I try to find nothing there. Not here, please, not here. I feel a breathe ghost against the shell of my ear, one I know wasn't actually there. My eyes slip shut.

"Whatda mean not here suga?" A piercing femenine voice fills my ears, I try to ingore her. Not here. Not now.

She cackles, "You can't block me out suga! You never can." I open my eyes to find pitch black ones looking in, fire red hair whisping over her pale paper white forhead.

'Go away Audrey.' I thought to her patheically. She didn't listen though, she never does. She just pulls back sitting on my table putting one fishnet-covered leg over the other.

"Mmmm-mmm, that's some fine piece of ass." I looked over the man she was taking about. He wasn't that tall, but he had that don't mess with me look. Medium length dark brown hair an old hoodie and worn out skinny jeans.

He was beauitful.

"Like you could ever get that!" She laughed and hopped off the table, circling around the man. Staring at him like he was her prey. "He is mine."

A forgein furry spreads through my veins. "Get away from him Audrey!" I tried screaming at her, though no words came out. They never do.

Just at that moment the man turned to me and looked confused before struting my way."Hey, I'm Frank." I wished at that moment that I could speak.