I wiped my face with the back of my hand and looked down. My hands were still shaking, just not the way they used to. It felt different now, and that was the part no one ever bothered to explain. There’s this idea that you break in one moment, like something just gives out and that’s it. But it doesn’t happen like that. Something in you moves, just a little, just enough that the things that should ruin you don’t land the same way anymore.
I straightened up slowly, looked back at the cabin, at the door. And I realized that I could just go back inside like nothing had happened. Sleep, continue. And that terrified me. Not enough to stop, never enough to stop, but enough that I took a mental note of it.
You’re still listening to me tell you this, even now, even after that. I know you might wonder what that says about you, because it says everything about me.
The Segmentation
Chapter 20
CONFIDENTIAL PSYCHIATRIC REPORT
(Translated from Polish. Original Document Archived in Panstwowy Instytut Psychiatrii Dzieciecej, Kraków)
Patient Name:Rowan [Surname Redacted]
Date of Birth:August 18, 1996
Age at Admission:11 years
Case File Number:PD--1173/04
Date of Admission:[Redacted]
Date of Discharge:[Redacted]
Attending Psychiatrist:Dr. Aleksander Wróblewski, MD
Institution:Pediatric Psychiatric Unit, Kraków
Translator’s Note (Certified Translation)
This document is a direct translation from the original Polish medical record. Certain idiomatic expressions and clinical terminology have been preserved as closely as possible to maintain diagnostic integrity. Minor structural adjustments have been made for clarity in English.
I. Reason for Admission
The patient, an 11-year-old male under institutional care (state orphanage), was referred for psychiatric evaluation following repeated incidents of self-inflicted superficial lacerations localized primarily to his forearms and thighs.
Referral notes describe the patient as:
Persistently non-communicative
Socially withdrawn
Demonstrating atypical pain tolerance
Exhibiting prolonged periods of unresponsiveness to external stimuli
No prior psychiatric interventions were formally documented before admission.
II. Initial Presentation
Upon intake, the patient presented as:
Physically stable
Malnourished
Clean but poorly expressive
