Who Else to Talk to but Yourself?

[Atrina]

Fall the 4th, Mid-Morning Atrina walked down the street, gray overcast shedding a stable, sad light. She had escaped her mind's anxieties just enough to leave her shack. Zeltiva was still calm at the moment, with most of the traffic staying away from the smaller roads and pathways. It wasn't long before she found her way to the back streets and found herself nearly alone. Strangely, she had decided to leave Diary at home. She had written in him the night before, talking to him into the early hours of the morning. The decision to let his bindings rest closed for a few extra hours was a difficult one, but made for his health and not Atrina's. She, however, was even more afraid than normal, her security "blanket" thrown off as she went gallivanting off for groceries. "It's ok. I'm a sane... whatever I am. I think I'm sane anyway. Do sane people talk to themselves? Oh dear, am I talking out loud? I think I am.. Oh no, I have lost it. Straight to the crazy house, that's what happened. Atrina, what the hell have you done to yourself?" The overwhelming panic of being out of her home was dwarfed by the fear that she might be insane. Look at me, talking to myself. Hell, now I'm even thinking to myself. Syna help me, I'm loosing control! Atrina didn't notice, but she was fast approaching the market. And along with it, hundreds of people, all bustling back and forth to purchase goods and bid on the service of others. It was a mental gauntlet for her, and it would catch her unaware.