In the fleeting moment of Penn's silence, Rosalynn sensed something amiss. She tousled Ivy's hair affectionately, "Go ask Calvin to do your hair, sweetie."

Ivy murmured in protest, "Doing my hair is such a waste of time. When it's summer break, I'm just going to cut it all off!"

"Whatever you like, darling," Rosalynn said with a shrug.

Soon after, Rosalynn stepped out onto the veranda, her eyes sweeping over the lush greenery before her. In a tone that was neither light nor heavy, she ventured, "You've been quiet for so long. I guess you didn't call to tell me that Wayne can come home now?"

"Sorry," Penn replied softly. "Mr. Silverman's been having hallucinations and delusions again. Seems like it's tied to his past memories."

"Go on," urged Rosalynn, her hand clenching unconsciously by her side.d2

"I've been analyzing the reasons. His monthly evaluation should be out any day now, and if all is well, he should be able to come home."

"Mhm," Rosalynn hummed in response.

"This uncertainty has become a source of stress for him," Penn said with a hint of resignation. "He's been arguing with another version of himself. He's insisting he'll change, that he won't hurt you again." Rosalynn's brow furrowed, a wave of irritation flooding her.

"I've told him time and again, the past is the past. Why can't he..." She trailed off, suddenly realizing that Wayne was different; he was ill...

"If he can't come to terms with his past, I'm afraid these hallucinations and delusions will be hard to resolve," Penn added, sounding somewhat helpless.

Even therapists have their limits.

Mental illness can be elusive. Some people fall ill without a clear reason, remain untreated for years, and then one day, they just recover.

Others never seem to get better, no matter the treatment.

In his career, Penn had seen it happen more than ten times: his patients were chatting with him, seemingly fine, then he would receive news of their suicide days later.

In the end, whether a patient overcomes their hurdles depends not just on the environment, family, or doctors but largely on whether they can untangle the knots in their own heart. Rosalynn took a deep breath, a thought suddenly striking her.

"I have something that might help. I'll have it sent over to you. Give it to him for me."

These past few nights, Wayne had been sleeping terribly.

Usually, he managed over eight hours of sleep, but with the sedatives, he barely scraped six.

His anxiety was palpable.

Penn knocked gently on the door to Wayne's room. Wayne turned around, dark circles under his eyes, visibly exhausted.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Dr. Lange, let's continue with the physical therapy," Wayne said, stepping forward. "It must be that the previous sessions weren't intense enough!"

"You don't need physical therapy anymore."

"But I can still see him. He's there every day, threatening me with Rosalynn and the kids!!"

"He's not real," Penn said, his voice calm and steady.

Wayne froze, his whole body tensing.

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