"Gwen, is it?" Arthur enquired with knowing eyes.
"Yes, Doctor." She confirmed eyes dimmed in hopelessness.
"Gwen, I take it that you know Emmett better than all of us?" He stated as he fumbled with his pen.
"Yes, I do." Was all she said in response.
"Will you be willing to help us then? We need all the help we can get to know if we can be of any use to him." He remarked with a sigh as he dropped his pen on his notepad, mulling over his thoughts.
"You don't even have to ask. Em is my best friend, and I hate to see him in such a state but I will do my best in assisting you, Doctor." Gwen reasoned, eyes finally shining with determination.
"Very well. Can you tell us about the boy, the one without a name or something, then? Does the name sound familiar to you, at all?"
" Yes, I am well acquainted with this name."
"So, who is he?" Arthur was curious to know as he waited for her to collect her thoughts and foretell the tale of the mysterious boy from Emmett's past as it appeared to him.
"He was initially a transfer student in our school but after some time, he had permanently moved from his homeland, Australia, to Scotland in pursuit of his dreams. He was exceptionally determined and dangerously bold, to the extent of becoming exceedingly popular in our school because of his musical talent; singing. He was a heartthrob but not a heartbreaker, and I know that because I had spent two years with him as his girlfriend. At that time, I didn't know about Emmett, since we were formally introduced to each other in the Debate Club which was in the ninth grade if I remember it correctly. Nevertheless, we had a mutual breakup but I was unaware of Emmett's crush, and possible love for him. It was only when I had read one of his poems that I understood his affections towards him. In a way, you can say, that he had inspired Emmett to do better, he had unconsciously helped him in overcoming the loss of his Nana, and it resulted in Emmett's apparent love for him, which was unrequited at first, but when, at one of his parties, Emmett had drunkenly sent one of his winning poems to him in a text message, he , seemingly had invited Emmett to talk as he confessed to him that he did feel something for him but he couldn't be committed to someone due to obvious reasons." She exhaled, fiddling with the sleeve of her teal coloured sweater as she reminisced their past.
"He was Emmett's first love, that explains a few things. Can you elaborate further? Did something else happen with him?" Arthur couldn't help but sense that there was more to this story, as he encouraged the girl to speak her mind freely with sympathetic eyes.
"Well, after listening to his words, Em was heartbroken to an extreme wherein I'd purposely make him go out with me, as a distraction but it was short-lived for you see, he wanted to secretly take him out on a date, which was an adventure of its own, especially for Emmett but things were not the same between them. So we he and I had a conversation, he admitted to being afraid, in terms of coming out to his parents and Emmett, was in the same boat, but then he revealed that he loved Emmett and since it was forbidden in his family, he couldn't foretell it to anyone except me. I had persuaded him to profess his feelings for Em since he'd be elated to hear his confession and he followed through my advice." She further described to him the events that had previously transpired.
"I have a question."
"Sure."
"Do you know the location of their date? Was it, by any chance, Glamis Castle?" He questioned, eyes scrunching in concentration.
"How did you know?" She looked aghast and he couldn't blame her.
"I will explain it to you but can you tell me more? Like did they traverse around the city?" Arthur urged her.
"Yes, they did. Emmett did tell me that they had gone to this place with a treehouse..." Gwen trailed off, eyes widening with the familiarity of the situation.
"What's wrong?" He couldn't but be worried at her reaction.
"This stranger that he has told me about, he took him to the same place." Gwen referred to the knowledge that she had recently acquired from Emmett.
"The one from his delusions you mean?" Arthur asked as he reflected on Thomas' information which he had seemingly, gained from Gwen but Arthur already knew about the aforementioned stranger.
"Yes, how do you know?"
"Long story but I need to know if you know anything about this Lemon Lake?"
"Lemon Lake? Yes, Emmett took Denver to see the Lemon Lake, and he was surprised to see that Emmett knew about the quarry given our shared history, but for the sake of Emmett, he didn't react to it differently. It was also where he had confessed to Emmett about his feelings. I think they had even inscribed something on one of those rare lime trees, I do not remember what it was but from what I can remember, it meant a lot to the both of them." Gwen paused, as she tried to connect the dots.
"It makes sense now. It makes perfect sense." Arthur sighed, nodding to himself as he flipped the pages of his notebook.
"Do you think that.." Gwen started but couldn't find the words to speak.
"Yes, the stranger from Emmett's delusions is but the boy, yet I do not understand why he is hallucinating about him. Gwen, can we talk to him?" Arthur revealed as he scribbled something onto his notebook before looking up at Gwen when she didn't respond.
"I am sorry, Doctor." She finally answered with tears in her eyes.
" Is everything all right?" He was hesitant to ask, but he needed to know if it could, indeed, help them.
"He..he died in a horrendous accident, it happened approximately three months ago." Gwen unleashed the stream of her tears, she still missed him.
"He died?" Arthur detested himself for wording his raging thoughts, especially in such a delicate situation.
"Yes, it was at the quarry by Lemon Lake. He wanted to go for a swim and Emmett was afraid that he'd trip and fall and-" She began, but was interrupted by him.
"And he tripped on the stones, didn't he? Causing him to lose his control to save Emmett?" He confirmed, once again sighing to himself in disdain, it was more complicated than he had thought.
"How do you know that?" Gwen blurted out, still dazed at his sense of knowledge.
"Because, I found Emmett in the exact same place yesterday, screaming out in pain at the memory but he didn't realise the reality of the situation, he was merely hanging by a thread and could've died if I had not saved him in time," Arthur told her, reminiscing it for the umpteenth time.
"He was going to commit suicide?" Gwen shuddered at the thought of losing Emmett.
"Subconsciously, yes! But I think I know what could be the possible trigger for this disorder." Arthur rationalised but the picture seemed to be crystal clear from what it seemed.
"Do you think it to be his death, Doctor?" She frowned in contemplation.
"Yes but not completely. I think he blames himself for the incident. He looked guilty and believed in saving him but it was too late from what it seemed, anyway." Arthur elaborated.
"Emmett had completely shut himself, but after a week and a half, he was back for the preliminary examinations, and when I asked him about his state, he behaved normally, it was really surprising, I thought he'd at least, talk to me about him but he didn't even mention Denver's name." Gwen reflected on memory, that had left her confounded to the core.
"It was because of the trauma. It has been observed that people are not too adept in dealing with traumatic situations so shutting out is the only thing they can do sometimes, which I assume he did, but it had only triggered something in return. The guilt basically, poses as a hindrance in his path to full recovery and accordingly, he wants to evade the reality surrounding the boy's demise and escape into this fantasy wherein he is alive in the form of that stranger. He has conjured up a world for himself that has been built on realistic circumstances and shaped to run parallel to the reality but it is being controlled by him, and from what you have told me previously, it appears to me that his mind cannot remember the real boy clearly, hence he didn't ask for his name, even whilst hallucinating at the oldfangled park, he didn't once ask for his name, which brings me to my next observation." He elucidated, eyes glancing between Gwen and his notes, every now and then.
"What is that, Doctor?"
"Emmett is completely immersed into the world of his fallacies, and if this continues for a prolonged period, we would, unfortunately, lose him to his mind. Delusions would slowly inhibit the reality, and everything else wouldn't actually matter to him, since he can also suffer from periodic memory loss, in this process. Needless to say, it can get severe, to the point where he wouldn't be able to function properly and inadvertently, it would lead to a critical stage and I'd give it a few years until, well, he would finally succumb to it." Arthur intellectualised with a heavy heart.
"Succumb? Are you saying that he has a limited life expectancy due to this disorder, Doctor?" Gwen asked in disbelief.
"Precisely, we need to act now." He nodded as he shuffled through his desk drawer, apparently looking for something.
"But, how?" She couldn't help but ask expectantly.
"The most significant task is to make him realise that he is struggling with this disorder, but it is the most troublesome one, given that the patients diagnosed with this illness cannot come to terms with their condition, due their delusional state of mind but we need to make him realise this and I think it would take a lot of endeavours on all our parts but we have to do it if we want him to essentially live and prosper. The second stage would be grief, if we are successful in making Emmett believe that he is indeed, suffering from a disorder, we need to remind him of the boy, and if he is successful in remembering him, the grief will quickly settle in then, and Emmett, as we all are thoroughly aware of, is not so good at dealing with grief let alone with the guilt concerning the boy's untimely demise, but we need to make him realise that it was not his mistake. I am not entirely sure how we can manage it but we have no other choice. Antipsychotics will only do so much and given Emmett's condition, we are running short on time, mostly for the same reason, since this situation is quite unpredictable and that makes him, extremely susceptible to everything." He further explained.
"What will be the third stage then?" She was afraid to ask.
"The third and final stage would be therapy, it might not sound to be very complicated to common ears but I believe Emmett is struggling with pent up emotions. If he can open up to us and gets past the two aforementioned stages, then we can help him in every way possible. We need to make sure that this disorder is cured of his brain and for that, he needs therapeutic guidance alongside some other treatments." He elucidated.
"We have to try out best, then. I will leave no stone unturned on my behalf, Doctor. If you need to ask me anything, I am ready to help in any way possible. Just, cure him of this dastardly disease, please!" She pleaded.
"We are in this together, Gwen. This is a group assignment so to speak but I need you to hold onto that sliver of hope, that determines your capability to help and surely, he will get better. Meanwhile, I need to talk to Emmett, it is time to finally tell him the truth." Arthur stated, gearing up for this difficult ordeal.
"I do not doubt your judgement, Doctor but shouldn't we wait for some time since he has only recently gained consciousness?" She asked in concern.
"It is suitable for what I have to show him. In the meantime, may I ask you of a favour Gwen?" He requested politely.
"Yes?"
"Can you provide me with some pictures of the boy? Also, I need to know if Emmett has something of him, maybe a memoir or a shirt, anything will be useful. Can you help me with arranging all of this? You can take Thomas along with you if you need to."
"Sure, there are certain things that I think I can arrange for, Doctor. And should I tell Emmett's parents about him?"
"I think they know, Thomas did tell me that he had informed them about him so you shouldn't worry about it. Besides, I will explain to them the situation, but I need to talk to Emmett, first. I need to see if he is fit enough for this."
"That is a good approach, I will take my leave then, Doctor." Gwen gave him an appreciative smile, as she stood up to shake his extended hand.
"See you soon, Gwen," Arthur called out as he saw her retreating figure with a hopeful smile.
Like a cornet clashing and clamouring amongst the crowds, Arthur found himself to be cornered in this fire-feud, especially surrounding Emmett. Contending against his mind would surely result in a drawn-out crusade, a campaign for cause and he, mostly, had adapted himself to his willfulness, his mind was placid and impassive to the sense of achieving composure and dealing with concentration; something that did not bode well underneath the pressure, but for Arthur Campbell, that was popularly prevalent, given his job credentials and requirements.
Nevertheless, he had the skill of an unwavering artisan, unmatched in his immunity to survival, and demented to work towards his zealous devotion, but he knew the consequential elements that would help his patient, and together, as a team, Emmett could be restored to his health, he could still be saved, he thought to himself, as he glanced at his notepad, relentlessly gathering his impulsive thoughts into a suburb of his sentient composure, whilst gently making his way towards his door.
"I can do this." He urged firmly.
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