Sessions
By: harcyMill
“She was
born with the name Katelyn, she was full of energy. Not at all scared of
heights of bugs or the dark, she pretended to be a pirate, sailing the seven
seas. It was if she lived for adventure. Over the years, shy pretty much stayed
that way, until she was 10 years old. Her mom was killed. Police suspect that
she was robbed and when she fought back, the robber shot her. Poor little girl,
she was devastated,” said a woman, trying to hold back the tears.
“Yes, okay.
Why are you crying, I thought you said you were done with Katelyn, Jessica?”
asked a man, dressed in a brown suit with elbow padding. The man was holding a
note pad and a black pen, taking several notes.
“Well,
Dr.Weber, I feel terribly sorry for Katelyn. Why, for a little kid to go
through such pain, it’s not right,” said Jessica, tapping her finger rapidly on
her knees, “How much time do we have left?”
Dr. Weber looked at his enormous grand father clock and
said, “About 12 minutes. Please continue.”
“That’s it. Katelyn vanished, never
to be seen again. Tragic story, yes.”
“What happened to her? And of her
father?” asked Dr. Weber, trying to appear not too perplexed.
“Her father drank his sorrows away
and became a no good of a parent. Social services took Katelyn away and the
father didn’t do anything,” replied Jessica with a faint hint of anger, too
small for Dr. Weber to notice.
“Go on.”
“Social service put Katelyn in
foster care and within two weeks, Katelyn had a new family. A very wealthy
family.”
“Yes, but then this would mean that Katelyn
never vanished,” concluded Dr. Weber as he flipped a page from his note pad.
“I’m not finished. Katelyn’s new
parents wanted to make little Katelyn the happiest, so they told her that
whatever she wanted, whether a horse or stuffed toy, they’ll get it just for
her. Katelyn asked for her name to be changed, she wanted to change her name.”
“Katelyn was only 10, why would she
want to do something like that?” asked the doctor, with his eyebrows squeezed
together, in confusion.
“With a new name, a new family, a
new house, she could create a new life and throw away the past. Katelyn
vanished.”
“Mmm…yes, I see,” replied Dr.
Weber, swiftly writing on his note pad, “Well, I think we covered enough for
one day, I’ll see you Tuesday, three p.m. is that okay, Jessica?”
“Perfect. Thank you very much Dr.
Weber,” said Jessica, while picking up her gray coat, her black brief case and
quietly left Dr. Weber’s office.
Dr. Weber was all alone in his oak
wood office, with his scarlet carpeting, with his thoughts collecting. He
walked toward his desk and pulled out a small tape recorder and began to speak
into it, “Today, Friday, the 13th, four p.m. the month of August. I
just ended the 2nd session with my newest patient, Jessica K.
Foster. I find her to be very perplexing. She speaks of Katelyn in the third
person constantly. This case fascinates me a great deal. I must take another
look at her profiles. The sooner the better,” Dr. Weber put down the tape
recorder and called his secretary, Miss Castle, “Miss Castle, give me the
profile on my newest patient, Jessica-“
“Jessica K. Foster?” asked Miss
Castle
“How did you know? Have you been
reading my patients’ profiles again? Well?”
“Well…,” said Miss Castle Miss Castle
“Yes, I’m aware, with every
traumatic experience, she creates a new person for herself. The real question
is, why does she talk about her past names in the third person?
Almost as if they were two different people.” said Dr. Weber
pacing back and forth.
“Yea,
there’s a name for those kinds of people, that’s right, psychopath!” replied Miss
Castle
“Enough
already. I know that Jessica’s original self was Katelyn…perhaps this is a case
of split personality,” concluded Dr. Weber.
“Would you
care to hear my opinion?” asked Miss Castle
“I must
leave and conduct research. Jessica might just be a text book case. Anyway, I’m
seeing her Tuesday make sure I have no interruptions,” ordered Dr. Weber
leaving his office, carrying is note pad and pen.
“Text book
case?” murmured Miss Caste to herself.
Session 3
“So,
Katelyn has disappeared. She becomes a new person, of course that is just and
expression, I’m sure,” said Dr. Weber talking to Jessica.
“Far from
it Dr. Weber,” replied Jessica, “Everything was new, so the old could leave.
Katelyn left completely. A new girl joined the family. Her name was Irene.”
“Very well,
tell me what was Irene like? Tell me some things about her,” asked Dr. Weber
writing vigorously on the note pad.
“Irene was
a very quite 11-year old girl, mostly keeping her head down because she would
be constantly reading books. She didn’t enjoy little kid fables, instead she
preferred Edgar Allen Poe, and encyclopedias. A smart girl she was.”
“I’m
impressed. A little girl like that reading at such a high level. Did she have
any friends?” asked Dr. Weber, taking his eyes off of his note pad, for a brief
moment.
“Only one,
but she was Irene’s bestest friend. Her name was Lucy, the daughter of the
family’s butler. Together they would recite lines from Shakespeare. They were
the closet of friends, indeed,” said Jessica, with a small smile. Her eyes
stared at the floor, as if she was in some sort of daze, remembering the past.
However, she quickly shook her head and regained focus.
“Are you
feeling well? You looked like you in a daze just now.”
“I’m
perfectly fine…how much time do we have?”
“Plenty
please continue. Did Irene and Lucy stay close?” When Dr. Weber asked that
question, Jessica’s smile faded and her eyes began to flare.
“No they
did not. One day, the family was having a bonfire in their backyard; they would
do this every 4th of July. Lucy and Irene wanted to help lit it on
fire, but their parents would not let them. Irene wasn’t bothered by it, but
Lucy was enraged. Lucy convinced Irene into believing that they could make a
bonfire bigger than the parents. Irene didn’t see any harm so she agreed with
Lucy. So, together in secrecy, they set up their own bonfire, bigger than their
parents’ bonfire, alone in the library. Lucy was able steal from the parents’
kitchen vegetable oil, since the parents used up most of the matches,” Jessica
was remembering every little detail leaving out no holes whatsoever, “She told
Irene to pour the oil and light it up using the one match they had.”
“Oh my,
what did Irene do?” asked Dr. Weber with his widened eyes.
“Irene
refused, but Lucy said that if she didn’t do it, they wouldn’t be friends
anymore. Lucy was persisted and manipulative and forceful. Finally, Irene lit
the bonfire. For a brief moment nothing happened, and then the fire began to
spread. It was spreading too fast to stop it. Lucy and Irene got separated in
the commotion. All the parents rushed inside to save them, but their efforts
came short. The whole house was destroyed. The Only survivor the firefighters
could find was Irene hiding in the cellar,” Jessica’s voice was shaky, “Just
when Irene was calling the house a home, just when she was ready to call her
parents mom and dad, the house burned to a crisp.” While Jessica’s voice was
shaky, her eyes flared with anger and hate.
“Jessica,
are you alright?”
“Lucy
tricked Irene. Lucy took advantage of Irene and the worst part is, it wasn’t
the first time that Lucy used Irene. Lucy always had the upper hand. It wasn’t
Irene’s fault! Irene just wanted to be accepted!” Jessica began to raise her
voice.
“But it was
Irene, who lit the bonfire. It was Irene who gave into Lucy,” said Dr. Weber
rather coldly.
“No!”
shouted Jessica, “she didn’t mean harm. Irene just wanted to fit in. She didn’t
know what would happen. It wasn’t my fault!” sobbed Jessica loudly. Dr. Weber
eyes grew open and wide in shock.
“Your
fault? Irene?” asked Dr. Weber thinking that Jessica really had split
personality. Jessica quickly realized she used “my” instead of “Irene”. She
nervously changed her sitting position and said, “Irene isn’t responsible.”
Without another word she left, “I’ll see you Friday, same time.”
Dr. Weber
was very confused. This case boggled his mind. What a magnificent text book
case Jessica would make. He was fascinated with Jessica’s complex mind. Then,
his secretary walked in.
“Well, did
it work? Was it split personality? What happened?” asked Miss Castle
“I don’t
think so. If it was, Jessica would have relapses in her memory, forgetting what
she did in certain hours of the day, but Jessica remembers everything in the
fullest of detail. The only problem is Jessica speaks of her own past as if she
was talking about a different person and not of herself.”
“A real
psycho, you mean,” concluded Miss
Castle
“That’s it!
Jessica is in total denial! What a marvelous text book case!” exclaimed Dr.
Weber full of glee, “I must see her Friday no matter what.”
“Why do you
call her a text book case and why are you happy about that?” asked Miss
Castle
Session 4
“Jessica, why do you change your
name so often?” asked Dr. Weber.
Jessica looked surprised, “That’s a
silly question to ask, Doctor.”
“How so?”
“I don’t change. I see it as more
of the others, who have changed.”
“Others, as in Katelyn and Irene?”
“Yes. You see, I become new and
they become old and forgotten. I become a new person, so they must be put
aside,” explained Jessica confident that Dr. Weber would totally understand.
“Very well…Jessica it would appear
according to my theory, you change you name, your style of cloths, your list of
friends, just about everything whenever a traumatic experience happens to you.
You do this in an attempt to forget the past and move forward. However, Jessica
you talk about your past always in the third person, you speak as if it s
another person you-”
“Dr. Weber, please stop,” pleaded Jessica
biting her lip.
“Jessica you are denying everything
about the past. There is one thing to forget, but denial is not at all
forgetting. In fact, you are postponing the all concept of forgetting. By
denying the past, Jessica you are-” again Dr. Weber was interrupted.
“Dr. Weber! You don’t know me! I am
doing no such thing. I am moving on with my life, it’s necessary for the others
to be discarded.”
“Fine” said Dr. Weber fed up, “Tell
me who is the next girl.”
“Thank you” answered Jessica with a
crooked smile, “The firefighters were going to call a foster care facility to
pick up Irene. She didn’t want to go, so when they came to take her, she fled
as fast as she could. She thought she could survive on her own, but she was
unable. The foster care caught up with her. By the time Irene was 13 years of
age, she had been in the foster care for 3 months. Finally, she was adopted by
an old couple, who wanted to raise one more child before they say good bye for
good.”
“Okay, fine, go on.”
“The couple was shocked to hear
that Irene wanted to change her name, but they didn’t see any harm in it. Irene
vanished. The couple had a new 13-year old girl, her name was Stephanie.”
“I have a cousin by that name.”
commented Dr. Weber, for some obscure reason. Jessica ignored Dr. Weber’s
comment by saying her next sentence faster than necessary, “Stephanie was a
strong willed, determine, persistent, very competitive girl. She didn’t care
for fashion or popularity, but in the school she was the most popular girl
around.”
“How interesting Stephanie and
Irene are total opposites, please continue.”
“Like I was saying, Stephanie was
the girl everyone wanted to be friends with, but she was also the girl people
envied the most. Stephanie had it all. She was intelligent, athletic, and very
pretty. At first, she didn’t like the attention, but she grew accustom to it,
she began to enjoy it and feed on it.”
“What do you mean by ‘feed on it’?”
asked Dr. Weber full of curiosity.
“She craved for attention. Her
parents were clueless about her fixation on being liked by other people. She
was convinced that being popular was the best way to live. For 3 years she was
the most popular girl.”
“What’s wrong with being
will-liked?” asked Dr. Weber. Jessica sneered at him, while he wasn’t looking,
for who knows what reason.
“Stephanie though was would never
be alone, but all that change when a new girl came and took all of her friends away.
That’s when she Stephanie came to her senses and realized she never once had
any true friends. When Stephanie tried to make the new girl look like a
spectacle, she failed and became the spectacle instead, a laughing stock.
Stephanie hated the girl with a passion.”
“Oh dear, but wasn’t Stephanie
still at least a little popular?”
Jessica scoffed at Dr. Weber, “No.
She had sunken deep. One day Stephanie saw the girl climbing up the stairs, and
she had the sudden urge to push her all the way down, but just when she only a
few feet away, the girl lost her footing and tripped by herself. The girl fell
of the stairs and broke leg, everyone in the school blamed Stephanie even her
parents. The parents decide to send Stephanie to a boarding school far away.
Stephanie was now seen as a rebellious freak, she was sent away.”
“That’s terrible. How did Stephanie
take it?”
“She felt abandon, forgotten, like
a piece of trash being thrown away,” replied Jessica with glassy stare in her
eyes.
“Oh my word how dreadful let me
guess, Stephanie instead of fighting back, instead of making the best of her
situation, she instead vanishes away and new girl comes into play,” said Dr.
Weber bluntly. Jessica glared at Dr. Weber with anger.
“What do you mean by that?” snarled
Jessica trying to contain herself.
“Stop being in denial, stop running
away. The whole point of living is to overcome trials and move one,” persisted Dr.
Weber.
“I did move one. You don’t know
what was it like for Katelyn, Irene, Stephanie, you never met them!”
“Jessica, they are you! All this
time, you were creating a new person, all this time never once have you ever
made anything better. They were always you!” Jessica did not bother to answer;
she stormed out of the office.
Session 7
Dr. Weber
was sitting alone in his office looking up the files of Jessica K. Forster. He
was still very much puzzled with the mind of Jessica. He was fascinated with
her other names and the way she would create herself a new body. What a great
textbook case she would have been he thought to himself.
“Dr. Weber,
she’s not coming, this is the third session in a row,” said Miss Castle
“Yes, so it
is. Jessica has vanished. She no longer exits. A new girl has been born no
doubt. She goes by a different name, different house, friends job, maybe.”
“Dr. Weber,
don’t be hard on your self.”
“I have
never had a patient like her. Was it multiple split personalities or was she in
denial, or could it have been something else entirely. Could she have stayed
longer, I could have helped greatly. She was one the best text book cases I’ve
seen.”
“A text
book case? Was that all you saw in her?” asked Miss Castle
“What done
is done. Whoever she is now, Jessica K. Forster is probably gone. I will have
to move on,” replied Dr. Weber in a low serious voice.
And it was
just as Dr. Weber said. Jessica while driving home from her last session had a
brush with death and decided that a new life was long over due, but maybe the
words of Dr. Weber will speak to her. Maybe this time she won’t change. She
might stay as Jessica Katelyn Forster. There are many possibilities in life.
“She could
be anywhere, anyone,” concluded Dr. Weber.
“In any
case, I still say she was psychopath,” said Miss Castle
As Miss Castle
The End
