Day 1
I reach toward the door knob, and I flinch at how cold it is.
“Don’t be afraid,” she said putting her arm on my right shoulder, “open it.”
I look back at her and reluctantly put on a smile, then nod. I twist the knob and it opens. My nose is filled with a smell of a vanilla candle.
I slowly walk in as she follows behind me. As I walk further into the room, I sit down at my seat, and she sits across from me. I shiver at how cold the seat it is, and I rub my hands together.
“Are you cold?” She asks me, and I nod again. She gets up and goes to the thermometer and presses a few buttons before she comes back. She sits down and exhales before she speaks to me again.
“Are you ready for today’s session?” She huffs out.
“Honestly? You should be lucky I decided to get out of bed.” I deadpanned.
She looked surprised, but then she said, “Oh! I almost forgot, good thing you reminded me.” She gets up and heads towards the couch. She pulls at the seat cushions, and a mattress flips out.
“W-what’s that for?” I asked.
“Oh, this?” She pats on the mattress, “this is for me to know and for you to later find out.”
“Haha, very funny.” I retorted
“Okay, now seriously let’s get started.” She says ignoring my reply. She comes back to the seat and sits down.
• • •
“How does everyone feel about this person?” She begins, asking me seriously.
I breathe in, “Everyone actually likes him…”
She nods, “Ah~ so it’s a boy?”
“Yes… It’s a boy. My mother loves him, and my father adores him and admires him. And if my father was younger, he would probably want to be like him. But he was shining so brightly that my parents claimed me as his shadow…”
“Explain to me why, or what do you mean that your parents have claimed you as his shadow?” She questions.
I hesitate and think about it for a while before I speak. “Um, how should I put this? Okay… For example, if I get in trouble for something he and I both did- since I’m the shadow- I get blamed for everything. But other than getting in trouble, my parents don’t pay attention to me. They ask me when he’s coming home. And sometimes I just feel so misplaced whenever he’s around. Like- like I didn’t even exist…” I trail off.
“Have you tried to do something about this situation?” She asks me
“I-I have, I’ve tried to speak! I’ve tried to say something, or at least mutter a few words. But then again, I was his shadow, so I was ignored.” I feel my eyes get a little watery, but I force them back in.
“Is that all? Have you made a private conversation with him about you being the shadow?” She leans in towards me.
I gulp. “I was trying to avoid a question like that.”
She arches an eyebrow. “Wait what? Why would you try to avoid a question like that?”
“Behind his big, perfect complexion, he has bigger secrets that have yet to be revealed that’s behind closed doors…” I choke out the last words.
YOU ARE READING
Therapy
Mystery / Thriller"How would you describe your old self?" She asks "I-I was a butterfly, but he beat me down, snapped my wings and forced me to crawl. I was turned into a pest; I was disgusting, dirty. He would step on me, and laughed when I slowly tried to revive my...
