Chapter 9: (Melissa)

Everything about the room seemed purposefully designed to put people at ease, from the lavender walls to the plush throw pillows and even the rounded edges on the coffee and side tables. Of course, that would only apply to people with normal problems. In Melissa, this triggered a whole set of memories she had no desire to revisit.

“Thank you for sharing, Kal,” the woman sitting with her legs crossed in an overstuffed chair said. “Reliving traumatic events is never easy, but talking about it can provide an outlet for a lot of negative energy and thoughts we keep swirling around them.”

With her square-framed glasses, the woman gave off a severe, though not uncaring, vibe. Perhaps it was the black hair pulled into a bun in conjunction with the glasses and buttoned shirt and slack combo that gave her an air of professionalism with her soft tones rounding off the edges to make her more approachable. Either way, Kal seemed to be opening up to her more now.

“Well, I think that was a very productive session,” she said, closing the little notebook she had been scribbling in on occasion. “Is there anything else on your mind, Kal? Anything you’d like to dive deeper into next session?”

Another session. He’d already dragged her, literally, into two of these. Though, truthfully, she hadn’t fought him as much this time. It had been more for appearances than anything else. She couldn’t let him think that he’d been right ... which he wasn’t. It was just that hearing Kal talk about the trip, even though he skirted around some of the details, had piqued her interest.

“Well, I’d like to talk about the memory loss,” Kal said, leaning forward, his elbows propped on his knees. “And maybe some of your thoughts on dealing with it?”

“Of course, I’ll prepare some materials and we can talk through it.” The woman turned slightly to face Melissa, though rather than ask her to share, she surprised her with a completely unrelated question. “Melissa, does the room bother you?”

“Um, it’s fine,” Melissa replied, picking at the corner of the couch idly.

“I do have an office we could use,” she suggested. “It’s not quite as cozy, but some folks prefer a more structured location.”

“Okay,” Melissa mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

One of the pitfalls of coming to these sessions was unwittingly revealing too much about herself, even by just sitting in a room. An observant therapist could pick up on discomfort and naturally lead to prying and painful questions, though this one hadn’t asked any yet. She’d been quite respectful, only asking Kal questions, barring this last one, and never prodding Melissa to join in.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow, Kal,” she said, standing up and smoothing her slacks. “And Melissa, it’s always nice to see you.”

“Thank you, Miss Emily,” Kal said, getting up and offering Melissa a hand, which she accepted with a mumbled thanks.

Bundling herself up in her scarf, knit hat and fluffy down jacket, the world thankfully muffled around her. Conversation in the waiting room dulled until they were only vibrations, and her vision narrowed to only what was directly in front of her.

Back into the blistering cold they went, Kal’s hand warming hers even through the mitten. How the temperature didn’t bother him she didn’t know. She’d be shivering to death in what he wore, barely enough to keep her warm on even a mildly cool Fall day. And yet, he wandered through the biting wind like he were strolling in a Spring meadow.

Perhaps drained from his session, Kal didn’t say anything on the short walk home, only squeezing her hand on occasion like he was confirming she was still there. Squeezing back, she remained focused on the path ahead of her, the swishing of winter material and thunder of her own breath drowning out all but the loudest of noises.