Leanne glanced inside the bedrooms as she passed them and saw empty metal bedframes. She wondered if the asylum had even been whole during her stay there. Some of the damage looked older than thirty years.

Plants had grown across the staircase and climbed through holes in the wall. Water dripped from the ceiling. One of the stairs fractured as Leanne tried to climb down, but she was too tired to find another route out.

As she reached the base of the stairs, she glanced back. A procession followed her. Patience led the way for a stream of children. Leanne wanted to tell them she didn’t know what she was doing and not to follow her, but her mouth was too dry.

She continued along the hallway. It was still narrow, but when it turned, the corner was straight, the way it should be. Down another flight of stairs, her legs threatening to give way with every step, then Leanne pushed past a rotting door and stepped into the foyer.

Ahead, the decayed front door stood ajar. Dawn’s light poured through. She had spent the whole night inside Bellamy. As she moved towards the door, she heard the cane clicking on the old stone behind her. It was softer than it had been. Muffled, more like a dream than a real noise.

Leanne stepped through the door and stopped on the front porch. She took a deep breath and felt her lungs ache with the first taste of clean air in hours.

Patience came to a halt at her side. Leanne felt ashamed to meet the older woman’s face. There was so much she needed to apologise for—the way she’d spoken about Patience and how she’d hated her. But when she looked at the woman’s face, there was no resentment. Just relief. She smiled at Leanne, and the smile looked as tired as Leanne felt.

One of the boys stepped through the door. As he moved into the sunlight, his body began to dissolve. It faded, breaking into fragments. The fragments became dust that swirled upwards, snatched away by the breeze.

Leanne gasped and reached a hand out to stop him, but he was gone before she could move. A girl followed him. Leanne snatched at her dress and, for a second, felt the material. It was strangely cold and thin, like spiderwebs. Then the fabric disappeared between her fingers as the girl evaporated.

More children came out, and Leanne realised there was excitement on their faces. They were racing outside, reaching towards the sun, their eyes closing and their features relaxing as they faded.

Leanne looked towards Patience, asking a silent question. The older woman gave a small nod. This was right.