The Babysitters

Chapter 16 : The Diner

I stood there, frozen. My eyes wandered at the board and I gulped down my saliva. The air around me suddenly became tensed. Despite my unwillingness, I took a step and walked into the office.

"May I come in?" I asked.

The man swung his seat towards me. A smile appeared on his face.

"Samantha!" he grinned, "I never thought you will return to my clinic."

I took his words as a permission to enter, and sat on the seat opposite to him.

"I need these therapies," I said, keeping my replies as short as possible.

"Well, you realized that very soon," he said, every word filled with sarcasm.

I rolled my eyes and, for the first time, looked at the placard of my therapist.

"Dominick," I frowned at his name, "Why are all the doctors in my life named after a Barbie character?"

First, Dr Ken, and now this Dominick!

He sighed, ignoring my comment. "We really need to get started with these therapies," he said.

I nodded my head in agreement. He shuffled through his drawer, looking for something. When he found it, he took an empty glass and poured water in it.

"Look at it," he commanded, placing the glass of water opposite to me.

I raised my eyebrows in confusion.

He took a breathe, before speaking, "There are two types of therapies - Vevo Therapy and Virtual Reality Therapy. To cure you, I would be using the latter one. Now, just do what I am saying."

I took a minute to grasp everything he said. Once the concepts were clear, I concentrated on the glass filled with water.

Initially, I felt uncomfortable. There were moments when panic struck me and I wanted to look away. But a part of me was filled with determination. Thus, I kept looking.

"Are you feeling okay, Samantha?" Dr Dominick asked me. I nodded, still looking at the glass of water.

Then, slowly, I felt something drowning in it - a small dummy. It started with her legs, and then her whole body began to drown. The more her body went under the water, the more sweat I felt on my body.

I felt a sense of déjà vu. My breathing became uneven. Flight or fight outhit me. And, in the spur of the moment, I threw the glass away from the table. It fell on the floor with a bang, and broke into pieces.

"W-what did you put in it?" I asked, breathing heavily.

"It was just a doll," he told me, picking up the toy from the ground.

I looked at him, and then at the doll. I could feel tears at the brim of my eyes. Sinking into the chair, I held my head in my hands.

"I felt I lost her again," I whispered, without looking up.

"It will happen a lot of times, Samantha. But you have to face it.." he said, before pausing, "if you want to be cured."

Do I want to be cured?

The answer was clear and so, I looked up and nodded my head.

"I want to do that again," I said, determined.

"Of course, you will," he smiled, "but not today. I think you need rest."

"But-" my protest was interfered in the middle,

"I am the therapist here, not you," he said, "We will continue this in our next session. Just don't skip it."

"Fine," I muttered, "Nice meeting you."