Rebecca had taken Adelaide for her first session with a therapist. She had explained to Adelaide that the dr. would be someone that would listen to anything she wanted to say and would not judge her.
Adelaide was scared of talking. Scared of the memories that would replay on loop.
"Welcome Misses Sinclair. And you must be Aurora. I am Dr. Thomas Cavalli. It's a pleasure to meet both of you."
"It is nice to meet you doctor. Aurora won't you say hi? So sorry she is a bit shy amongst new people."
"It's quite alright, misses. Let's head inside and we can talk a bit. All of us."
Dr. Cavalli led them into his office. He was a specialised child psychologist and would have Adelaide as a client for years to come. He had briefly read the reasons Adelaide needed the sessions, but didn't want to know too much from outsiders. He wanted the child to open up her mind to him. He did know why Rebecca had specially requested a male doctor.
The reason Adelaide was here was mostly caused by a woman. She had become fearful of women. Rebecca seemingly the exception to her fear. Gynophobia would be one of the things they would tackle.
Rebecca and Dr. Cavalli talked a bit more before he requested Rebecca to sit on the other end of the room. This way she would still be in a safe distance for his patient, but would not lead their conversation. This was their introduction phase.
"Would you like to tell me anything about yourself, Aurora? Or should I start with telling you a little about me?"
Adelaide said nothing, she just looked at him, observed him from a distance.
"Alright. As I told you, my name is Thomas and I am 37 years old. I know I sound ancient." A small smile got to Adelaide's face and Dr Cavalli knew they could have a good relationship together. She was open to it, she was just afraid of it.
"What else can I tell you... Oh I know! I absolutely love the colour green. Do you have a favourite colour?"
After a bit of silence Adelaide gave small nods. "Am I allowed to know your favourite colour?"
Adelaide nodded again. "Blue." She whispered softly.
"So my favourite colour and your favourite colour we can both see in your beautiful eyes." Dr. Cavalli said with a smile.
"And what is your... favourite animal? Mine is a butterfly."
Adelaide was still apprehensive of the man, but with Rebecca sitting behind her in the same room, she became more and more relaxed and dared to immediately answer the man.
"A Chameleon."
"Why a chameleon?"
"Because of its power to adapt and survive in harsh environments."
"Just like you."
Adelaide looked up at the man, who was still sporting a soft smile, confused.
"You have been living in harsh environments for a long time and you were able to adapt in order to survive. It may not have been painless, but survive, you did. And now I heard that you still have bad dreams about those times. So together we will make sure those bad dreams go away. What do you think about that? Is that something you would want to work on with me?"
Adelaide contemplated her options while looking voer her shoulder towards Rebecca. Rebecca had brought her here. If she had done this, it would be to improve Adelaide's life.
Adelaide simply nodded at the question. Dr. Cavalli would be a new constant in her life for the next years to come.
She will finally got the support she needed.
Till next time,
Love Sarah