I first met Monica on February 2013 at the psych ward at Bellevue Hospital on 1st Avenue and 27th Street in Manhattan. I saw her just before dinnertime when she was at intake at the nurse station on the 18th floor of the hospital. She was in the process of being admitted. I had been admitted a month earlier. A white woman: she caught my attention because she was dressed like a Muslim, which I found out later she's not. Her face was covered by some kind of chador. In any case, my hospital friend (Zora-more about her later) and I soon went into the dining room for dinner. We all write out our desired menus the day before. She and I sat at our usual table, which also was shared by one other patient.