Constant Beeping

One beep after another constantly rolled through the monitor. Though musically the beep had no sense of beauty the boy tried in vain to imagine a shadowy background to add emotion to the sound. It kept adjourning once a viable sound could accompany the noise. 
The beep interrupted any sense of reality staring up at the dried crusting cracks. “Tómas,” the voice prompted. “Tómas,” it repeated. “You need to focus.”
“Sorry,” Tómas mumbled out. “I just… that noise. It needs to stop.”
“What noise?” the voice questioned. Hands became more visible to Tómas and he began to buck out of his chair. 
“Don’t, please don’t,” Tómas begged. 
“It’s all in your head,” the voice continued to say stoically. 
“The beep must stop,” Tómas protested. “You can’t play the beep.”
“There’s no beep,” the voice protested. Its hands, long and hairy. It seared into his skull as he stared at the hands turning the dial for the beep. It kept playing on the monitor. 
“It’s just the screen,” the voice sighed. “What letter do you see?”
“I see me,” Tómas answered. 
“What letter do you see?” the voice repeated. 
“I don’t see any letters!” Tómas muttered out in distress. “I see me.”
“What do you look like?” the voice questioned. Tómas stared mutely for a moment listening to the beep. He could see himself clearly. 
“I’m a boy,” he explained. “I’m wearing my favorite blue shirt. The one mom hates.”
“Tómas,” the voice started. “What is your age?”
“Five,” he answered distantly. “I have never been to school yet. I’m playing out in the field, but the beeping. Oh, the beeping… make it stop.”
“Why am I here?” the voice inquired.
“To play the beep,” Tómas replied. “You’re torturing me.”
“There is no beep,” the voice answered. “It’s all in your head.”
“It’s not!” Tómas whined letting out a low whine. “I hear it. You’re playing it on the monitor.” All he could hear and focus on now was the low repetitive noise. It kept hitting an invisible beat that the voice controlled. Back and forth it went. 
Each time it sounded he felt a huge dull ache rush through his skull. Starting from the tips of his ears and rushing through the center of his brain. The collision between them made him wince. It was too much. For a brief moment, there was a moment of peace when the image of a cluster of red balloons and a red rose appeared in his mind. 
“I’m sorry,” the voice announced to someone. “Tómas isn’t doing well enough to have visitors. If he can’t pass his physical he won’t be cleared to see you.”
“Isn’t there something?” a female voice questioned. “He’s important to my-”
“Your book can wait,” the voice cut her off harshly. “My patient still needs to be kept in confinement.”
“Give me just half an hour,” the woman insisted. 
“Fine,” the doctor grumbled. “But have him back here in perfect condition. I can’t risk the consequences of him being harmed in any way. He’s already in stable condition and is set for his surgery this afternoon.”
“What you people do isn’t helpful,” the woman muttered under her breath. The doctor continued writing and ignored her comment. 
“You can take him out to the garden,” the doctor told her. 
“Thank you,” the woman muttered. She wasted no time in hoisting the man up from his chair. 
“Where are we going? Will you make the beep stop?” he questioned in a daze.
“Yes,” the woman answered kindly. “I’ll make the beep stop.” His shoulders drooped into a more relaxed state and his tight expression loosened. 
“Good,” he sighed sounding relieved. 
The young woman remained quiet as she noticed the doctor’s eyes resting on their backs carefully. It was now or never to begin. The woman put her arms around Tómas’s neck and back to ease him onto a bench. She took out a notebook and pen before adjusting her dress which had become slightly wrinkled. “Okay Tómas, let’s begin our last session.”
“Is the beeping gone?” he asked grasping her hand in desperation. “Please tell me you’ll make it stop.”
“It’ll stop,” she lied looking down into her book. “Do you remember Zumara?”
“My… wife,” Tómas wheezed. His breathing accelerated. “The beep is louder, it’s coming.”
“Tómas,” the woman cooed. “It’s okay. The beep isn’t coming. It’s just you and me.”
“Who-who are you?” he gasped. 
“My name is Jessica Sanchez,” she answered soothingly. “You tell me stories about Zumara and I write them down.”
“Will the beeping ever stop?” he asked looking down in misery. “I want to see her and have the beeping stop.”
“I’m sure it will,” Jessica tried to reassure him. 
“Are you Ms.Sanchez?” a voice asked startling them both. 
“Yes, I am.”
“My name is Zumara,” the woman introduced herself. She had a light blue headscarf around her head with a long black dress following suit. Despite the bags that formed under her tired brown eyes, she held herself with effortless grace. “I am Tómas’s wife.”
“It is an honor to meet you Mrs.Lopez," Jessica answered. “I wanted to speak to you about the books I’ve been writing with Tómas’s stories.”
“I came here to visit my husband and to tell you to stay out of our lives,” Zumara told her sharply. 
“I’m sorry ma’am, you misunderstood me then. I already published three books using what Tómas told me,” Jessica explained. “All three are New York Times Best Sellers. I’m working on the fourth and final one, but I want to know if I can use the book profits to let Tómas leave facility care and have his own apartment.”
“You are aware of his condition are you not?” Zumara questioned. 
“Yes.”
“And you are aware that he is considered a danger to others.”
“I don’t think…”
“I didn’t ask you what you thought Ms.Sanchez, I only asked if you were aware of this.”
“Then yes.”
“Then Tómas will never set one foot outside this facility. He has schizophrenia, Ms.Sanchez, that is no joking matter despite the trash you write.”
“Mrs.Lopez, I beg of you to please reconsider. Tómas’s words have touched the world. In a different environment, Tómas would thrive. He could integrate into society,” Jessica insisted. “For your husband’s sake, you must let him leave this place.”
Zumara’s eyes became ignited with a particular fire that seemed to light her entire body. She quivered with anger. “If you knew of the illusion and falsehood of your words you would be outraged as well, Ms.Sanchez. Do you know what got Tómas put in this place?”
“No, ma’am.”
“He beat me so bad one night that I had to be sent to the hospital for two days. The doctors insisted against my will at the time that Tómas be arrested for domestic violence. He avoided a jail sentence because he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Tómas is a danger, Ms.Sanchez. It is only thanks to the work of these doctors that you could have a safe discussion with the man who sits before you today. The husband I know and love will never walk the Earth again.”
“Mrs.Lopez, my literary agent told me you wish to sue me for a breach of privacy,” Jessica began clearing her throat. “I know you do not think highly of me for wishing to take Tómas away from this place, but will you consider at least dropping the charges? These stories bring joy to millions of people.”
“Do you know why I hate fairytales, Ms.Sanchez?” Zumara asked giving the woman a sarcastic smile. 
“No.”
“Because they are based on nightmares,” she answered. “It is not okay for you to make money off of our misery.”
“I am trying to bring happiness to readers across the world. The stories may not be true, but the love Tómas and you have for each other is not false.”
Tómas, who was neglected during the argument made himself known as he shouted, “MAKE THE BEEPING STOP!”. Zamara looked at the woman with a deadly glare. 
“It’s okay Tómas,” Jessica cooed. Her hand was slapped off Tómas’s shoulder. 
“You need to leave,” Zumara hissed. “You will not write another lie about the two of us, you will never make another penny off of us, and you will leave us alone.”
“I told you, I keep the profits in a bank account for Tómas to live off of for when he leaves this place,” Jessica replied earnestly. 
“Will you make the beeping stop?” Tómas asked looking into Jessica’s eyes. 
“She can’t,” Zumara answered before Jessica could speak. “The beeping will never stop.” Tómas took in those words, his eyes becoming large in fright. 
“No,” he whispered in horror. “No!” he wailed desperately. 
“I need to take him inside for his surgery,” the doctor announced. 
“Please reconsider,” Jessica begged. The doctor shoved her aside. 
“It’s time for you to leave Ms.Sanchez. Mrs.Lopez will not allow Tómas to have any more outside visitors. If you come back again the police will arrest you,” the doctor informed her. 
“You can’t do this,” Jessica tried one last time. 
“Make the beeping stop!” Tómas begged. 
“The beeping will never stop Tómas!” Zumara snapped. Tómas crumpled to the floor. The doctors heaved him up with the help of a few nurses. 
“It’s time,” the doctor sighed.