The Girl Who Couldn’t Read. John Harding

Morgan was suddenly beside me, tapping his foot. ‘That one? Is it to be her?’

      The question alarmed me. It was the very one I had always asked myself. All those other times. That way madness lay, and worse, I knew. Hold back, you fool, I told myself; don’t ruin things now when you are safe. Don’t do it, man, turn away now before it is too late.

      I looked at the girl. She looked back at me. She tossed back her long dark hair as though to let me see her better. Her eyes were black and defiant.

      ‘Yes,’ I said slowly. ‘Yes, let it be her.’

      He beckoned to one of the attendants and spoke quietly to her, indicating the girl with a nod, which I took to be him asking for the patient’s name and history. After a short conference with the attendant he came back to me and said, ‘Very well, let’s go to my office and look at her records. See what you’ve got for yourself.’

       7

      Morgan turned the pages of the file. ‘Hah! Yes! I remember now. I fear you’ve given yourself a hard task. The poor girl cannot even communicate properly. Besides being mad, she’s probably mentally retarded.’

      He looked up at me and smiled, pleased as punch. The smile gradually faded as he saw he’d drawn no reaction from me. He’d expected me to be crestfallen at the news, whereas I did not believe a word of it. The girl’s brain might be damaged, true, but even if he couldn’t see it, the light of a sharp intelligence positively blazed from her eyes.

      Disappointed, he once more studied the file. ‘Hmm, let’s see, not much to go on. Found in a state of distress wandering near the railroad depot three months ago. Refuses or is unable to tell anyone her name. We gave her the name of Jane Dove. We always call the unknowns after birds, for some reason, don’t ask me why, and “Dove” seemed to suit her. No relatives have come for her. The police took her to the city asylum and she was judged mentally impaired and sent here. Origins and age unknown. She could be anything from, say, thirteen to around eighteen. Her height may make her appear older than she is, of course. She has no menses, which may be because she’s young and hasn’t started them yet or may not signify at all, because it’s common for mentally ill women to have delayed menses or for them to cease altogether.’