(Author’s note: I wrote this last summer after a profound encounter in an unusual place. Names and details have been changed. If you’re the kind of person who might find a phrase like “In the Psych Ward” triggering, consider this your fair warning.)
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My friend Raya is in the psych ward of a local hospital. Raya isn’t her real name (I’ve borrowed it from a college acquaintance, who I hope won’t mind), and if I explained how I met her, it would come too close to revealing who she is.