The Bizarre Case of Randolph Berger

 Randolph was possessed with delusions of grandeur since he was a young teen when a voice in his head promised he was destined for greatness. The voice vows to speak to Randolph periodically but he must be patient until the time is right to receive prominence. Then he would begin basking in the joys of his rightful place in the world and be superior to all humans. 

 He was currently in a mental institution as he had been most of his adult life. He was sometimes placed in a padded cell and wore a straightjacket when suffering one of his more extreme psychotic episodes. The voice spoke and announced it would soon appear in the human form of a woman and she would be called Maia.

 When he was still young, he imagined a beautiful woman, who would approach him and she would grant him superpowers as promised by the voice. That seem so long ago when the voice first came to him. Randolph estimated he was getting close to middle age considering his gray hair. He remembered someone once said Rome wasn't built in a day. He held on to that thought.  He became excited that Maia planned to make herself present and they would rule the world together therefore age wouldn’t matter. Randolph surmised that with such power, he would be immortal! Such thoughts possessed him to scream with laughter for hours until heavily sedated by hospital staff.

Evander Berger, a powerful US senator was Randolph’s brother. The institution informed Evander that his brother was well enough to be released. Evander made a promise to their late mother that he would always provide for Randolph when released.  Evander decided to allow his brother to live in a section of his estate, temporarily until other arrangements could be made. A nurse would visit Randolph daily to keep him heavily sedated and government security personnel would be there to watch over him.

In Randolph’s distorted delusions, he was convinced Maia arranged his release and in exchange, he swore allegiance to her. However, she had not yet come to him in physical form with specific instructions as the voice promised. I will soon meet her and be in my rightful place, at long last! The thought of it made him laugh hysterically as he was transported away from the institution in a government security car. He sat in the back and two burly security guards were in the front. They were amused, at first, at Randolph’s screams of laughter but soon became weary of his erratic behavior. Relax, buddy. Don’t make me come back there, said the security guard in the front passenger side. Randolph obeyed for he was used to night shift security guys at the institution who would occasionally slap him around, and worse when he was out of control. 

Senator Berger was having second thoughts about keeping his brother on his estate. He’d been receiving reports that Randolph was increasingly difficult to care for. Randolph’s situation had always been guarded against the public. The senator was determined to keep it that way even if it meant breaking his promise to their mother. Reelection was coming up and the senator’s enemies were in full force for him to lose. It was easy keeping Randolph a secret in the institution but a lunatic in his home could easily be exposed to the public. The senator decided to return his brother.

The same two security guards who drove Randolph to the Berger estate were carrying him back to the asylum. They were about halfway there when the voice spoke that made Randolph scream. The same security guy who reprimanded him for getting too loud threatened to climb in the back seat to keep Randolph quiet. This time Randolph did not stay silent. The driver stopped the car. The voice ordered Randolph to jump out of the car and run when the security guy opened the back door. Randolph did as he was told, bolted out the door, and managed to escape. He continued to run until he was exhausted.

He walked toward the sound of cars and arrived at a busy city street. Randolph sat on the sidewalk with his back against a building, confused and not knowing what to do next. Pedestrians stared at him as they walked by. Terrified at the stares, Randolph shouted and cursed as people walked along the opposite end of the sidewalk to avoid him. On their way to lunch, two accountants passed by and looked at him in disdain. He looked back at them with a scowl. Their opinions of Randolph didn’t matter to him. They are all fools. They don’t realize who I am. They don’t understand but they will very soon. Very soon, indeed!

The two security men caught up to Randolph, one on each side grabbed him by the arms, pulled Randolph up to his feet, and handcuffed him. 

Randolph was returned to the institution. As he sat in a holding room, he shouted out for Maia to finally appear for he felt she had betrayed him.  He became enraged there was no response.  He shouted until security overpowered him and strapped his hands to a bed for his own protection. Hours later, Randolph awakened, still tied while lying on his back inside a soundproof cell with no windows.  Standing over him was a creature with a nightmarish appearance. Too repulsive for him to look at, Randolph closed his eyes with the hope it would disappear. However, when he opened his eyes the creature was still standing over him with a hideous smile. 

“I’m Maia,” uttered the creature in a screeching voice. 

“No!  You can’t be!” Randolph was petrified with fear and revulsion at her appearance.

“But I am. Get used to me.”

“The voice said you would grant me power. It said that you and I will rule all humans!”

“We will, in your mind. You and I will rule or anything you want but all in your mind, Randolph. I’ll never leave you. I’ll never go away. I’ll always be right here with you.”

Randolph screamed and cried for hours but no one could hear him.

He was never allowed to leave the institution again.