"It's beautiful," a woman said as she walked into a room consisting of Tyler Joseph.
Tyler looked up from his song book, looking at the woman.
"What?" He asked. His voice came out as a whisper because he was truly scared of people who heard him sing. He was afraid to sound bad. He was afraid to be bad.
"It's beautiful. I can hear you singing from the hall..." She trailed off and stood up straight. Her breathing turned short. "Your mom's here to pick you up, Tyler."
Tyler nodded, grabbing his song book, his bag, then walking out of the room.
"Tyler, before you go," a male started. It was his doctor. "make sure you somehow remember to come back Friday. You cannot miss any appointments. God knows what may happen. And don't worry. You won't be locked up in that room over there. We'll be able to talk."
Tyler simply nodded and headed to the front desk where his mom was standing.
"I'm sorry I was late, Tyler," she said as they sat in the car.
"It's fine."
She sighed a shaky sigh and backed out of the parking lot, heading towards home.
Once they arrived home, his father approached him.
"Joining us for dinner tonight?" He asked, having a hopeful glint in his eye. Tyler just hesitated. Hesitated for a long while. And then he nodded. "Sure. I'll join you for dinner."
It was a mistake. He didn't have the strength to be with his family. He wasn't strong enough to cope. They all think he's crazy.
Tyler's father smiled. "I'm glad, Tyler."
Tyler flashed a weak smile and just headed upstairs. He had some things to work on.
~
"So, Tyler. What made you decide to join us? All you usually do is ignore us. Why not ignore us today?" His sibling's voice boomed through the room. Tyler looked up at him.
"It was a mistake, clearly, seeing you don't want me here." His voice came out in a whisper, due to being terrified of his brother. He's never done anything to him, but he doesn't know him. He's only talked to him once or twice.
"Zack. Eat your food." His mother's voice was harsh, yet very weak at the same time.
Tyler stood up and grabbed his plate to take it to the kitchen. He hadn't finished, but he still had no strength.
His father and his mother exchanged hurt glances. It was like they knew their son would never get better. They knew he would only get worse.
~
"Tyler? You have an appointment with your doctor today. You have to get ready," his mom said on the Friday morning. There was an hour until the appointment and Tyler had to be there. Who knows what may happen if he misses one single appointment.
"Alright," Tyler said as he woke up from his sleep. He only got about three hours of sleep last night, but it was good enough for him.
His mom looked at him, concerned. She sat down on his bed. "Are you feeling okay?" Her voice sounded worried. But it always had sounded like that.
"I always feel fine."
His mother didn't believe it.
"Tyler, don't lie to me...You can tell me what's wrong."
At this point, Tyler was confused because...nothing was wrong. Everything was fine.
"I think you believe something is wrong because I'm feeling fine. Because I look fine. It's strange to you, I guess. You all have accepted me as," he lifted his fingers up, " 'crazy'." He put his fingers back down and continued talked. "For what reason? Who knows. And you know what? It sucks being seen as the crazy person."
His mom looked hurt.
"I'm not crazy, Mom. I'm just not normal. I don't see things the way others do."
His mom thought he was crazy. Even the speech was crazy to her. He was not a normal child.
"I'll leave you to get ready, Ty."
~
"Hi, Tyler," the doctor, Dr. Evans, said.
"Good morning. How are you?" Tyler asked politely, looking at the doctor. The doctor smiled and nodded. "I'm well. How are you feeling?" Tyler thought for a moment before saying, "Not normal."
The doctor knew what it meant. He meant he felt himself that day. He felt like Tyler Joseph. He felt like his strange self. He felt like the kid everyone knew, but no one really knew.
"And how did your mom react to that this morning?" He asked Tyler.
"She asked if I was okay. She asked if I was feeling fine...I told her that she only asked that because she usually sees me as crazy, but today I looked like any other normal person. But I'm not normal. She just doesn't understand."
His voice turned into a whisper.
"No one does."
The doctor nodded.
"Did you see anything today?" He asked the boy sitting in front of him. Tyler nodded.
"I saw a boy sitting on the side of the road. I saw a girl in a tree. I saw art on a wall. My mother said it was blank."
Tyler thought before continuing.
"I saw something I have never seen before...When my mom talked...I saw colors. I had names for those colors. I was able to think in the colors..."
The doctor looked startled.
"Alright...I think we're done. You can go ahead and sit in the common room."
Tyler said his goodbyes and headed out to the common room. He saw a person sitting there.
Tyler decided not to speak to them. He did not want to communicate with anyone.
"Hello," the person said.
Tyler cleared his throat and looked up. It was a red boy. His hair was red, at least. But he was fake. Tyler knew no one would talk to him. His family convinced him that.
"Hello," Tyler responded, scanning the red boy. His arm was covered in art. But it didn't exist. He didn't exist.
"My name's Josh," the red artist said, rubbing his blank arm with his colorful one.
