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  “I’d like to try a few sessions with Amanda without her being on any medication.” Jasmine looked down into her lap hoping Dr. Gascon would not see the disapproval she had for the doctor’s methods of keeping his patients heavily medicated. She knew she would be able to treat the patients much quicker if they had a clear mind during their sessions. This was a longstanding argument between the two professionals and not one which was likely to be resolved on this case. She could see the interested gleam in Dr. Gascon’s eyes and knew he had other ideas for Amanda, none of which actually included helping her to get better.

  “As long as I’m in charge of Cannon Memorial Asylum, you will abide by my decisions regarding the patients, Jasmine.”

  “I always have, Dr. Gascon,” she looked up and stared him directly in the eyes. “When would you like me to have my next session with Amanda?”

  “I’d like you to fit her into your schedule this afternoon. Also, I’d like to be present.”

  “I’ll clear my caseload,” she said as she stood up and turned to leave the room.

  “Furthermore, I want to make sure you still include the post-hypnotic suggestion so she won’t remember what is discussed during the treatment.”

  Jasmine felt her spine stiffen as she turned her head to look back at the old man sitting behind the desk, “I hope you’re not implying I don’t know what is expected of my job, Dr. Gascon. I have always complied with your wishes on that matter.”

  “No, my dear Dr. Medin, I know you will do your job. I just like to remind my staff on occasion just so there are no discrepancies on my expectations.”

  Jasmine shut her mouth on her reply and nodded curtly before turning and leaving the room swiftly. These were the times she wondered why she stayed at the facility. There were so many rules and regulations which she believed were unhealthy, if not downright unethical. If it were not for the patients themselves, she would have left long before. She knew her sessions actually helped her patients to recover quicker than those on medication alone. Amanda needed her continued support, and she would do whatever she could to get her through this time in her life.

  Once back in her own office, Jasmine looked over her calendar for the rest of the day and decided she should see Amanda immediately after lunch. Since medication was dispensed immediately after each meal, she thought she would have at least a half an hour before the full effect of the medication kicked in. Maybe Amanda would have a few minutes of lucidity at the beginning of their session where a breakthrough could be made.

  Jasmine sent a message to Dr. Gascon letting him know when she planned to meet again with Amanda and hoped he would have a conflict and either not come to the session or at least be late. She felt it was unprofessional and disruptive to have a second doctor in the room during the session, but she could hardly refuse to allow the Program Director from participating.

  She opened a drawer and took her lunch out and set it on her desk. She recognized she should eat before the session began because it would be a long one. Jasmine opened the paper bag and took out the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and slowly unwrapped it. She held the bread in her hands and looked down at it and realized her appetite was effectively ruined by her anger toward Dr. Gascon. After re-wrapping the sandwich, she shoved it angrily back into the bag and grabbed it up and tossed it back into the still-open drawer which she shoved closed with a satisfying bang.

  With an hour to go and nothing else to do, Jasmine pulled up on her computer the written notes of her last session with Amanda. There was something different about this case. Normally the patients would have discrepancies in their accounting of their memories. Amanda was quite clear on her facts. Too clear, actually. Jasmine finally realized what had been bothering her about this case. Amanda’s story was told as though it were being read from a book. Amanda had described what happened to other people even when she was not present. Jasmine thought this might be a point which should be brought up to Dr. Gascon or at least noted in her own file on Amanda, but somehow she was reluctant to share what could possibly be an important detail for a breakthrough.

  With sudden inspiration, she typed the word ‘Tuala’ in the search engine of her computer. She found many entries for random bits of information on the word. Just as she was about to abandon the line of thinking, she saw a website called www.TioliShop.com. She clicked on it and discovered several interesting items for sale. The online store seemed to have a fascination with the tree of life symbol which Amanda had mentioned several times. She clicked on the About Us page and simply stared in disbelief as she saw the store owner’s name was none other than Riccan Stel. Was it too much of a coincidence?

  Before she knew it, her computer alarm chirped a five-minute warning for her next appointment. She hastily shut down the web page and gathered her notepad and pencil before getting up from her desk. She moved across the room to where she could sit across from the patient couch on the other side of her office. Jasmine liked to have as little commotion as possible in her office for when a patient arrived. She thought it helped the patient to be more relaxed if she were already seated and prepared to begin the session when they were escorted into the room.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Alright, Amanda, are you going to cooperate today or will you need to be restrained?” The orderly crossed his arms and looked down at the young woman sitting on the edge of her bed.

  “I don’t know why I have to keep taking these pills. They make me feel terrible, and I can’t remember anything until after they wear off.”

  “The doctor ordered for you to take them every six hours so we are going to make sure it happens. Are you going to be difficult?” He unfolded his arms and held out a small paper cup containing three large blue pills.

  Amanda reached up and took the dose in resignation. She really did not stand a chance against this brute of an attendant. She had learned the hard way that if she refused to take the medication, then they just injected her with something which made her unable to resist and ultimately made her feel even worse.

  “Good girl, here’s your water.” He poured water into a cup from the nightstand and held it out to Amanda.

  She took the offered cup and rapidly swallowed the pills. Amanda imagined she could feel each tablet as they scraped their way down her esophagus and plopped down into her stomach to begin dissolving into her bloodstream. There had to be some way to get out of this place and back home to her parents. The longer she stayed here, the crazier she felt.

  “It’s time for another session with Dr. Medin.” He started to help her up from the bed to make sure she came willingly but realized Amanda planned on remaining cooperative.

  At the mention of Dr. Medin, Amanda was unaccountably eager to get going to the appointment. She felt safer when she was with the good doctor. With the large attendant glued to her side, they walked out of Room 426 and down the hall to the treatment rooms.

  The attendant rapped sharply on the door and opened it without waiting for a reply. He remained in the hallway and gestured for Amanda to enter. Once she passed by him, he closed the door quietly behind her.

  Amanda imagined the big man standing just to the side of the door like a sentinel waiting to spring into action should she decide to go crazy on the doctor. The idea was so ludicrous she smiled at her own imagination. She walked toward the waiting doctor and sat down across from her on the long, brown, leather couch.

  “You seem to be in a good mood today, Amanda. Do you have anything you want to talk about before we begin our session?”

  “I’d just like to get through all of this so I can go home. I miss my family terribly. Do you know when I might be able to leave?”

  “I’m sorry, Amanda, but it’s up to Dr. Gascon.”

  “Why exactly am I here, Dr. Medin?”

  “You were missing for fourteen months, Amanda. You’ve had some memory loss, and we need to find out where you were. There could have been some people involved in your disappearance so we need to go over everything y
ou can remember if we are going to find those people who may have taken you. Are you okay with this?”

  “I don’t have much choice, do I? Besides, I don’t think this hypnosis thing works very well because I don’t remember anything from our previous sessions. I do like how relaxed I feel when we’re done, though.” She smiled at Dr. Medin and hoped she did not offend the doctor with her previous remark. Her eye was drawn to the door as Dr. Gascon entered the room. She felt her body stiffen and wondered why he was there.

  As if reading her mind, Dr. Medin said, “Dr. Gascon has asked to sit in on this session to evaluate your progress. Shall we begin?” She was irritated anew since Dr. Gascon had insisted on being in attendance. He obviously made her patient nervous which was not conducive to relaxation. If he had just arrived a few minutes later, then Amanda would have been under hypnosis and would not have known the doctor had come. She hoped the session would still be as productive with her patient ill at ease.

  Amanda swung her legs up onto the couch and positioned her body as comfortably as she could. She only hoped Dr. Gascon would finally be satisfied enough to let her go home so she reluctantly closed her eyes and said, “I’m ready whenever you are.”

  Dr. Medin began speaking soothingly to Amanda instructing her to imagine a safe place where she could reside in her mind so she could recall all of her memories without fear of being hurt by any revelations. Amanda felt herself relax and grow warm as the doctor’s voice seemed to fade into the distance…

  Amanda felt the covers being readjusted around her body. She wondered how long she had been sleeping. She tried to open her eyes, but they would not open. Her right hand felt bulky and odd. She raised her other hand to her eyes and discovered a cool cloth covering her face.

  “Do you want me to take it off of your face?” a woman’s voice asked.

  “Yes, please,” Amanda replied and felt the cloth being removed. The cool air touched her damp brow and Amanda used the back of her left hand to wipe it off. She opened her eyes, but could only see blurry images in a too bright room.

  The woman’s face came into Amanda view; it was not the same woman whom she had met the night before. This woman was small with shoulder-length brown hair. Her dark brown eyes were framed by black eyelashes and accented by narrow eyebrows which were very expressive. She had a small nose above well-shaped, full lips. Amanda could not place her identity in her fuzzy thoughts and asked, “Who are you?”

  “My name’s Alena.”

  Amanda was confused; Alena was Bryon’s wife’s name. Was it such a common name then? “Where’s the woman I met this morning?”

  “I imagine she’s still at her house. Bryon teleported you home just after first light this morning. I’ve wrapped your wrist as a precaution to keep down any swelling,” she replied offhandedly.

  “He teleported me!” She started to sit up in her excitement.

  Alena looked confused as she asked, “Was he not supposed to?”

  “No, that’s not it,” Amanda said and had to think fast about how to cover her surprise. She lay back down and sighed as she said, “It’s just I thought we weren’t supposed to travel until after dark. Bryon told me his plan.”

  Looking relieved, Alena said, “It was the plan until Bryon thought you broke your wrist. Bryon understands for breaks to heal properly they needed to be treated immediately. He didn’t really take any chances since it was still so early when you arrived here.”

  “Are you sure it was okay? I didn’t mess up anything, did I?”

  “No, not at all,” Alena reassured her as she sat on the edge of the bed. “The only reason he had planned on waiting until dark was because he didn’t think you two would make such good time to Jern’s house. I should be the one thanking you for injuring yourself so he would come home sooner!” She smiled at Amanda and asked, “How does your wrist feel? Any discomfort?”

  Amanda turned her attention to her wrist for a moment and realized she no longer felt any pain. She wiggled what she could of her fingers outside of the wrapping and looked up at Alena with surprise. “It feels perfect! Bryon wasn’t kidding when he said you had a gift with your healing!”

  “I do enjoy it,” she smiled shyly back at Amanda. “But I think Bryon was mistaken in the extent of your injury. I couldn’t find anything wrong with it. The bandage is just a precaution to appease Bryon. He was terribly upset when he brought you home. He even said you appeared to fade away on the wise-woman’s bed. Do you feel like getting up and walking around?”

  Amanda nodded and moved her legs over to the side of the bed even as she thought Alena’s last statement had been quite strange. Alena reached behind to steady her as she leaned forward and pushed herself off of the mattress. Together they walked around the bed and over to the door to leave the room.

  “This’ll be your room for as long as you want to stay with us,” Alena said to Amanda. They continued down the hallway, and Alena kept up a running commentary, “And this is the washroom you can use; unfortunately, you’ll have to share it with the kids. I hope it’s okay?” She appraised Amanda’s reaction to having to share with the children.

  “I’m grateful for any accommodation. Don’t worry about it,” Amanda replied hastily with a smile on her face. “Where are the kids?”

  “I sent them next door so you could sleep in peace. They’ll be back before dinner so we still have a couple of hours of quiet until they return. It’ll give us an opportunity to get to know one another. Are you hungry? We could go to the kitchen and get something to tide you over until dinner.”

  “Sure, I am a bit hungry, but I don’t want to put you to any trouble,” she answered briskly.

  “It’s no bother,” she assured her as she continued to steer her guest through the house. “These are the kids’ rooms,” as she pointed out two doors on either side of the hall as they walked past them. “This is the living room where we spend most of our time. The far room over there is where I take my clients for simple healing. And here is the kitchen,” she said as they walked through the living room and straight into a brightly lit kitchen.

  There was a small table to one side of the room and Alena stopped in front of one of the chairs and pulled it out for Amanda. “Do you feel like eating some fruit salad and some iced tea? I’d offer you some iced java, but I wouldn’t recommend it in your condition,” she said solicitously.

  “The iced tea and fruit salad would be wonderful as long as it isn’t too much trouble,” Amanda replied. She wondered why Alena would think the iced java would be bad for her newly-healed wrist.

  “No trouble at all,” she said as she opened the cooler and pulled out a pitcher and a bowl. She retrieved a bowl and two glasses from an overhead cabinet and served the two items. She removed a fork from out of one of the drawers and placed it into the bowl before she brought them to the table. She placed the bowl and one of the glasses in front of Amanda and pulled one of the glasses over to her side of the table where she sat down to keep her company. “It’s nice to have a peaceful moment to relax,” she said as she poured the cold steena tea into both glasses.

  Amanda said a quick prayer before she picked up the fork. She stabbed one of the pink melon pieces, expecting it to be watermelon, and was surprised when it had a tangy taste and firm texture. She tried to remember whether or not she had seen this fruit in any of her reading materials but soon abandoned the thought as her hunger took over her curiosity. Between bites, she sipped the iced tea and was surprised again at how refreshing and cool the beverage tasted.

  “This is all so wonderful,” Amanda praised in between bites. “Does it take long to prepare?”

  “No time at all,” Alena replied as she looked curiously at Amanda.

  “Why did you say iced java would be bad for me right now? I thought my wrist was fine,” Amanda asked inquisitively as she picked up her iced tea for another drink.

  “I wasn’t referring to your wrist,” she replied, “I was thinking about your pregnancy.”

 
Amanda sputtered and coughed as the iced tea went down the wrong pipe. “What are you talking about?”

  “Are you saying you didn’t know?” Alena asked, now thoroughly confused.

  “Didn’t know would be an understatement. It isn’t possible since I’ve never even had sex!” she replied indignantly. “At least I don’t think I have,” she added quietly. She wondered what else she might not remember from her past if she did not remember something as important as having sex for the first time.

  “Well I can assure you, you are most definitely pregnant,” Alena said calmly.

  “How do you know?”

  “Your baby spoke to me while I was examining you. She wanted to make sure you would be okay.”

  “What!” Amanda shook her head and wondered if the food were tainted and she was having a delusion. “Babies in the womb don’t speak!”

  “She was very vocal.”

  “Are you sure?” Amanda asked and thought back to all of the mornings where she was nauseous. She had believed it was nerves or bad food; it had never occurred to her she might be pregnant.

  Alena nodded with a smile on her face. She had seen this same reaction many times in her career as a healer. She waited patiently for the last reaction to set in; and smiled as she saw it happening in Amanda’s expression.

  “You said it was a girl. Are you sure?” Amanda smiled, and her hand drifted down to cover her flat stomach.

  Alena smiled and nodded with satisfaction, “Quite sure. You’d better start thinking of a name for her. I’d say you’re due in about six mesans.”

  More shock registered on Amanda’s face, and she said, “Six mesans?”

  Alena nodded and said, “Approximately. Without knowing when your last cycle was, I can’t be absolutely certain. Do you recall when you had your last cycle?”

  Amanda thought about it but failed to remember. She shook her head and said, “I never really kept track of it; I didn’t need to since I wasn’t sexually active.”