In the fourth chapter, Elena returns to the library of the Oltrecolle mental hospital, determined to uncover new fragments of Dr. Morandi's clinical past. Among dusty filing cabinets and forgotten files, she stumbles upon the records of four patients, each bearing intense and incommunicable suffering.
The stories of Maria Teresa, Giovanni, Augusta, and Silvana emerge as painful portraits of lives on the margins, marked by loneliness and the inability to truly communicate their pain. Analyzing Morandi's detailed notes, Elena perceives the human and professional burden of care, but something in the records catches her attention: all the medical records come to an abrupt end on the same day, leaving an inexplicable void.
As she investigates the stylistic oddities of the subsequent notes, Elena confronts the limits and dangers of the therapeutic relationship, recalling the lessons of her psychiatric training and emblematic clinical cases from the history of psychiatry. The chapter ends with a growing sense of unease: behind the gaps and changes in the records lies perhaps the key to the fate of Morandi and his mysterious patient Claudia.
From forgotten files to the psychiatrist's crisis: Elena investigates the stories of Oltrecolle patients
As soon as Elena crossed the threshold of the asylum, she was immediately struck by the air, thick with humidity and ancient odors she now recognized. Her steps led her, almost automatically, toward the library: the silent heart of the institution, where the dust seemed to preserve the memories and obsessions of entire generations.
The silence was almost absolute, broken only by the faint hum of the pipes in the wall. He knew what he was looking for: not just Morandi's diaries, but also traces of the other lives that had passed through that place—and, perhaps, left behind fragments that would help him understand Claudia's mystery.
He began to work among the metal filing cabinets, pulling out folders, notebooks, and ledgers bound in rough cardboard and worn leather. In a dusty section, he finally found four files, each bearing a yellowed label with a name written in a bold, angular hand.
He sat down at the table, turned on the lamp, and opened the first file.1. File: Maria Teresa Volpi
Age: 42 years old
Profession: Cook at the boarding school of the religious institute "San Clemente"
Entry diagnosis: Schizoaffective disorder, major depressive episodes, persecutory delusions.
The file was thick, filled with minute notes and pages of mood charts.
© Reproduction Prohibited
