This is a strange one. Everyone having sex is over 18
Property of Myra
Mike Harmon was sixteen when his mother was sent to prison. He was twenty-two now and had just graduated from college.
About four months ago his father had been arrested with a multitude of felony charges. During the investigation, the authorities discovered how he had setup his wife to be blamed for many of the things he was now charged with.
Once this evidence was disclosed, his mother was given a full pardon. She had been released from prison but transferred to the psychiatric facility where she was now. Mike was to pick her up and bring her home today.
During her first year in prison, he had been able to visit on a monthly basis. Then she was transferred to another more secure facility. He'd only seen her once at that facility before she began refusing all visitors.
Before her release, he was scheduled to meet with her psychiatrist and spend a few hours with her to make sure she would accept him. He had no clue what that actually meant.
When he arrived at the facility he was shown to a single chair in the hallway outside a locked unit. Staff came and went, but he saw no patients. The door across from where he sat had a sign.
Richard A. Wilbur, MD - Staff Psychiatry.
The door finally opened and a woman in an old-style white nurse's uniform stepped out.
"Mr. Harmon?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said standing quickly.
"I'm Jenny Carroll, the charge nurse. Doctor will see you now," she said, gesturing to the door.
She followed Mike into the small, cluttered room and directed him to a chair facing the doctor's desk. The doctor didn't look up as he continued reading the folder in front of him. After a couple of minutes, he closed the folder, removed his glasses, and looked at Mike.
I'm Dr. Wilbur. You're her son?"
"Yes, sir. I'm Mike."
"Precious has been with us for two months...,"
"Sir, my mom's name is Ashley, Ashley Harmon."
Dr. Wilbur looked at the name on the chart. "Yes, Ashley. She only answers to Precious. We'll get to that. Since her confinement six years ago your mother has developed some psychiatric conditions. That's why, rather than sending her home when released, she came to us. The first is called Stockholm Syndrome. In this condition an inmate, or prisoner, develops positive feelings for her captors. In your mother's case, it's to a woman who is what we refer to as a bull in the prison. She's like a very powerful gang leader. She made your mother her property by giving her protection from abuse by other inmates and guards. The truth is, this bull caused her abuse and rather than protect her, she used her for her own purposes. Precious was her slave to do with as she pleased. She still sees the bull as her protector. Since she's been here, nurse Carroll has become her protector or mistress, I suppose. You'll be taking over that role when you take her home."
"You mean like a parent?" Mike asked.
"You'll be her master. You'll understand better after you meet her," Nurse Carroll assured him.
"The other problem is called Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's like PTSD but found in captives. Many of the symptoms are different than with PTSD. As long as Precious has her protector near, she doesn't present with the anxiety and nightmares that plague PTSD patients. Any questions?" Wilbur asked.
"Probably a million of them. How long is she going to have these conditions?"
"I don't have a good answer for that. I'm hoping that returning her to her home will help in her recovery. It may take days, weeks, years, or she may never be the mother you once knew."
"Are there medicines she can take for this?"
"She takes two medications at present. They seem to help keep her calm most of the time."
"She can bathe and feed herself, right?" Mike asked.
"Yes, but you'll need to permit her to do that," the nurse said. "I'll show you shortly."
"I guess, I should see her. I'll have more questions then."
"Nurse Carroll," the doctor said then abruptly stood and left the room.
"It's just his personality. I think all shrinks are a little off," the nurse told him smiling.
"Okay."
"What did your mother used to call you?"
"Mike. When I was little it was Mikey."
"I'll be calling you Mike, so she can get accustomed to the name again. We're going into a locked unit. The residents aren't dangerous, but many are flight risks. Your mother is in a private room. We never lock her door. If it's open she'll sometimes leave the room and roam around. Often just to follow me. If the door is closed she won't even try to open it. That was one of the bull's rules. Her name was Myra, by the way. Many, if not all of her behaviors were taught and demanded by Myra. Some you may find shocking."
"Such as?"
"Bedtime, as an example. After she has dinner she goes to her unit. Here it's a bedroom. In prison, it was a cell. She disrobes completely and gets on her hands and knees waiting to service someone."
"Have sex, you mean?" Mike asked.
"Yes. Inmates and guards paid Myra for it. Your mother got nothing except protection. Before Myra they did the same thing but often beat her in the process. Myra arranged the beatings to get her to submit."
"Damn. They've been raping her for six years?"
"Five. It didn't start until she was moved to the maximum-security prison where Myra is. Mike, your mother is a total submissive. She'd likely step in front of a moving train if her master or mistress told her to."
"Can she be left alone?"
"Put her in a room and close the door. She won't leave that room."
"What if there's a fire or something?"
"Think of her as a child. You can leave them alone for a while, but don't leave the house. Take her with you. As long as you're there, she'll be fine."
"Is she over the naked thing at bedtime now?" Mike asked.
"No. It's still an everyday occurrence. Dr. Wilbur thinks that being at home with someone she loves and trusts will curtail it."
"So how do I deal with that?"
"She's expecting sex to please her protector. For a couple of days, you can cover her and say, 'Not tonight Precious.' She'll lay down and go to sleep if her door is closed. If it's open, she'll lay down for a while then go look for her protector to service them."
"I don't know if I can do this," Mike said.
"If not you, she'll be institutionalized for the rest of her life. Meet with her first. For the most part she comes across as sound as we are."
"Okay," he sighed.
"No belts or shoelaces on the unit. Empty your pockets and leave it on the desk."
"No belts. Loafers," he said putting his wallet and keys on the desk.
Using her ID card, the nurse unlocked the unit then led Mike to the far end of the hall. She opened the door and gestured for Mike to follow her. His mother stood quickly and smiled at the nurse, not even looking at Mike.
"Hi Nurse Carroll. I'm so happy to see you," she said with a genuine smile.
"Hello Precious. Remember I said you were going home today?"
"Oh, yes. I'm looking forward to it."
"Precious, this is Mike. He's your new protector."
Ashley looked at her son. "Hello Mike. I promise, I'll be very good to you. You seem familiar. Have we met before?" she asked.
"We sure have. You and I met on December fifth, twenty-twenty two," Mike replied.
"That's Ashley's son's birthday. His name is Mike. Oh my god! You're Ashley's son. You're Mike," she said tearing.
"Any chance I might get a hug?"
She quickly moved in and put her arms around him then rested her head on his chest.
"My Mike. My protector," she whispered.
Mike teared as he held her then kissed the top of her head.
"You've grown up," she said.
"You were gone a long time," he told her.
"I was with Myra. She protected me."
"And now you're going home with your son," the nurse said.
"Ashley's son is my protector now."
"Precious, why don't you show Mike around the unit?"
"I'd love to."
"I'll be in the nurse's station when you finish," the nurse advised.
His mother seemed the perfect tour guide with one exception, she never spoke or even looked at other people unless they addressed her first. Otherwise, he saw no sign that she was any different than anyone else. She was calm, pleasant, smiled, and spoke appropriately. 'Maybe this will work out okay,' he thought to himself.
Following the tour, they went back to her room to talk.
"Let me know what you'd like," she said sitting on the side of the bed.
"Thanks. Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Are you alright with me calling you mom, rather than Precious?"
"Mom doesn't need a protector, Precious does. You're my protector now. Precious takes care of you, and in turn, you protect Precious."
"What does Precious need protection from?" Mike asked.
"The ones that hurt me. They aren't allowed to hurt me when I have you."
"Hurt you how?"
"Let's not talk about that right now," she said, dismissing the idea.
Nurse Carroll came to the door. "Mike, can we have a private talk?"
"Sure," he said, standing.
His mother stood to follow him.
"You can stay here. He'll be right back," the nurse told her.
Ashley looked at her son for guidance.
"I'll be right back," he said.
She smiled and sat back on the side of the bed to wait. Mike and the nurse walked to an empty room.
"What have you observed?" she asked.
"She seems pretty normal, mostly. She kind of doesn't look at people."
"One of Myra's doings. She was Myra's property. If Precious looked at someone without her permission, she was punished."
"Could someone just walk up and take over the protector thing?" Mike asked.
"Not really. In her eyes, I gave her to you. She saw and heard the transfer."
"Yeah, but with Myra being in prison you couldn't do that."
"Video call. Myra was threatened with transfer to a section where there was a bigger, tougher bull if she didn't do it. She gave me the role."
"This Myra isn't getting out anytime soon, is she?"
"No. She's a lifer." The nurse handed Mike a piece of paper. "This is my personal phone number. Years ago, I spent some time as an inmate. I've seen the kinds of things your mother has been put through. To survive she had to submit to Myra. She resisted at first. When Myra had one of her flunkies assault her with a mop handle it ruptured her uterus. She nearly died before they did a hysterectomy. That convinced your mother to surrender herself to Myra for protection, and mentally dissociate herself from Ashley. She became Precious. It was a matter of survival."
"I can't believe they allow that kind of stuff in prison," Mike said.
"Prisons are overcrowded. The only way to stop it would be one person to a cell and never letting them leave the cell. It's sad, but it is what it is. Anyway, you have my number. Call me if you get into situations where you need my help or guidance. Or just need to talk."
"Thanks. I'll try not to bother you too much. It's a four-hour drive to get home. She won't have a problem with that will she?"
"Think of her like you would a three-year-old. In public you don't let her out of your sight. Tell her, like you would a child, to go to the bathroom before you leave. If you stop to eat or take a break keep her with you."
"Okay. I can handle that."
The nurse looked up and smiled. "Hello Precious."
"I just wanted to be with Mike," she said.
"We're almost finished here. Do you have your things packed?"
She smiled. "I'm ready to go with my Mike."
"She'll want you close to her. Very close, at first."
"Okay, when can we leave?" Mike asked.
"Give me ten minutes to get her paperwork and meds."
"Okay."
Mike stood and walked to his mother. She took his hand as they walked back to her room.
"It's a long drive. You should probably go to the bathroom before we leave," he told her.
"Okay," she replied.
As soon as they entered her room she walked into the bathroom. Without closing the door, she pulled down her pants and sat on the toilet. Mike quickly looked away. She washed her hands when done and took his hand again.
