Elvira's mental house

My sister told me that many years ago, in the town of Colquechaca, there was a kind of mental institution. The way it operated is not very clear; rumors say that a group of psychiatrists, who were expelled from the Gregorio Pacheco Institute, used it for the most severe patients. Among them was a lady they nicknamed Elvira. No one ever knew her real name or even the circumstances of her life. All that is known is that one afternoon, she appeared at the doors of the place, said, "I've arrived, sorry for the delay," and that's it.

I don't remember the name of the diagnosis my sister mentioned very well, but I do remember she said Elvira talked to imaginary people all the time, and she had terrible paranoia, a constant feeling of persecution.

One of the psychiatrists came up with a clever idea to solve her case. She said, "Elvira, every time you're talking to someone, try to find another person to confirm their presence. Just ask a third person if they see your interlocutor or not." The treatment worked quite well, and the hallucinations began to disappear. In fact, it was so successful that, after a few weeks, Elvira obtained the coveted permission to go out on Sundays to the town square.

Unfortunately, age worked against her. At 78, it's very difficult to convince the body and the brain that everything is okay. Her hallucinations returned, and it became impossible for her to distinguish who was real and who wasn't. The worst part is that more and more imaginary people kept appearing; the first days were dozens, then hundreds, and later thousands. Colquechaca is very small and can't handle so much fantasy, so Elvira began to imagine other towns that soon became cities where she could fit so many people. After three months and three days, she had imagined the entire world.

"Protect my mom" is the final line of a little girl's bedtime prayer. Hopefully, Elvira will heed it this time.