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The rain seemed to go on forever. The sound of it would’ve been enough to put Liandra to sleep if she hadn’t been busy with this new task Roocean set her to. She had been completely wrong about the man. Over the last three days he had gotten more out of her than any of her previous specialists. His methods seemed simple yet magical. For the last three days he’d had her practice recalling more of her dreams, and more than before it actually worked. All she had done was write what she could remember in a dream journal after she’d awakened. It was never much, but Roocean had a strange way of coaxing little details out of her that she was sure she didn’t remember. She had remembered one extra detail about each of her dreams whenever he’d asked, “Is that all?” To her, this small progress they were making felt major. This was actually going somewhere.
They were seated at the dining room table, Roocean right next to her in a very similar outfit to the one he wore on the first night, except now his sleeves were rolled up and his shawl and vest were absent. He was staring down at her journal, thinking heavily on the two words she’d written in today’s entry of her dream journal. She’d initially written the word “table,” and then scribbled “long” as a later addition next to it. Even with the additional descriptor, Roocean still seemed to be having the toughest time trying to figure out what it meant. It made little sense to Liandra, yet Roocean was still concentrating on it.
“Still haven’t given up?” she asked him.
“No. You’re definitely painting some sort of picture.”
“I only told you about a table.”
“And you just remembered it was long.”
Liandra huffed.
“Big deal.”
He flipped the page and said, “It is. And this here, it looks like more scenery.”
He pointed to the word “stone,” with “white” scribbled after it.
“So, this stone and the detail you gave me after—white, its color—and this long table. Then we have the silver chains from the first night. Sounds like some sort of room. Recap to me how you felt during these dreams.”
“It’s strange, but I felt the exact same emotions in each of these dreams. The strongest was outrage, then betrayal, then fear. I’ve never waken up feeling the same way three nights in a row. It’s usually always a different feeling.”
“Very interesting,” Roocean said, twisting the ends of his mustache. “Did you feel any déjà vu during these dreams?”
“Déjà vu?”
“You know, did you feel a familiar feeling about the dream, like you had been there and experienced it before?”
Liandra couldn’t explain this feeling, but it was close to what she felt.
“Yes, now that you say it, I did. This was the first time I think.”
“Like your dreams were connected this time?”
“Precisely. Do you think they were?”
“There’s a strong indication that they were, but no certainty.”
There was never any certainty in this dream reading business. She smiled anyway, glad to have some clue where any of this was going.
“But I am recalling things better. That feels good.”
“It’s the first step to gaining proper control over yourself in these dreams. Even if they still frighten you, knowing what’s coming and mentally preparing yourself will make these dreams naturally more docile to you, to the point where they shouldn’t affect your sleep. It’s uncoupling the terror by exposing the unknown and classifying it. Knowing what it means to you and why the imagery is engrained so deep.”
“I can’t wait to get there! You’ll have a fan for life if you can get me sleeping regularly again. Whatever that is.”
He smiled and knocked his rings on the table.
“I plan on doing just that, but that’s only part of it.”
“Well, what’s next?” she asked, her thirst for more knowledge nearly insatiable at the moment.
“With the images you’ve given me there’s still countless ways to interpret your dreams. I’ve come up with a few, but I’d rather not tell you. I don’t want to influence your own interpretation of what you’ve seen. I’ll just wait until you have filled more pages of your journal before I form a more substantial observation of your dreams.”
“That sounds like it’ll take forever.”
“Yes, but this isn’t a quick fix. It’ll take time to unravel all of these images and feelings into something that you can understand. You’ll just have to keep practicing, and that starts with these journals and those little details that you’ve been giving me. Try to observe more of them in your dreams and focus on recalling them when you awaken. Spend as much time on this as you can every day. Write down whatever you can recall, no matter how miniscule. Every little detail matters. I have faith that you can do this alone, for now, until you are ready for the next step.”
She gave a sudden gasp and looked at him with concern in her eyes.
“You’re going somewhere?”
“Yes, your parents didn’t tell you?”
Her stomach dropped.
“No, they didn’t.”
“Well ... yes. I was only able to come out this way because a client of mine had postponed our meeting by a few days. He’s ready now and set to start his sessions as early as tomorrow.”
“You can stay a little longer, can’t you? We’ve made such wonderful progress.”
“I’m afraid not. This client has priority right now.”
“Is it about the money? We’ll pay you.”
“No, no, Liandra. Calm yourself. Again, your parents were generous enough to pay for my flight here and back and have allowed me to use their guest room. That’s all I could ask for, for a few measly sessions. It’s not about money. My current client simply asked for my services before you and his suffering is just as severe as your own, maybe even worse. I’m obligated to assist him first is all.”
Liandra stared at him indignantly, suddenly bristling with anger.
“Are me and your patient suffering from the same thing?”
“As I understand it so far, yes. These are very similar circumstances.”
“Well that solves it! I’ll just go with you and you can help us both.”
He sighed loudly, closed his eyes, and shook his head dramatically. She couldn’t help but notice his soft smile as he looked at her rather piteously. She suddenly felt like such a child.
“That’s not really how it works, and besides, I doubt your parents would like that idea very much.”
“Well, then he can come here.”
“That’s very impractical, Liandra. Listen, as long as you continue on like I told you, you’ll make great progress. I’ll even call to check on you.”
“Okay...”
“Once I finish with my other client I’ll be back to finish what I started with you.”
That didn’t comfort her any. This man was better than any of the professionals she’d seen over the years. She knew that her results on her own wouldn’t rival anything they’d accomplished together. She needed to know when he’d be back.
“How long will it take with that other client?”
“There’s really no way to properly know, but to be quite honest ... I’d guess longer than a year. Maybe longer still.”
That killed all her hopes right there. The feelings of despair seemed to have crept up on her right out of her dreamscape. It was beginning to feel too familiar. She hated it.
“It’s okay, Liandra. Don’t let this shut you down. We still have progress to make. Let’s make the most of this session.”
******
Liandra came down the stairs after she heard her parents and Roocean talking. She saw that his bags were by the front door already, which caused a heaviness to settle in the pit of her stomach. Roocean regarded her with a nod when he saw her. Her parents gave her worried stares.
“Sorry, don’t mind me.”
She slipped past them and into the kitchen. She hoped they’d continue their conversation. She’d made out earlier that her parents were trying to convince him to stay. She finally heard the conversation pick up again as she poured a cup of coffee for herself.
“Well, how about another week at the very least?” her father asked. “Our guest room is always open.”
“That is a generous offer, Mr. Keyrouz, but I can’t just abandon another client. Remember, we’d only agreed that I would take a look at her and make an assessment. I’ve done more in giving her some tools to begin her exploration of her dreams. She just has to follow the instructions I’ve given her and she’ll be okay. I’ll check in every so often as well.”
Liandra peeked and saw her father hugging her mother tightly in one arm.
“We’ll pay you whatever you want, just name it,” her father pleaded.
“Your daughter’s already tried, Mr. Keyrouz. I can see that you love her dearly, but this is simply a matter of principle. I have to stick with fair practices, and so I must go, despite my own feelings. I’m still a professional you know.”
She saw her father nod his head in understanding. The telephone rang and Liandra picked up the phone in the kitchen and answered it. She could hardly contain her mischievous smile as the polite woman on the other end talked to her. She composed herself and called out to Roocean.
“Telephone, Richard!”
He came to the phone eying her suspiciously. When he was done with the call, he cursed under his breath. He eyeballed Liandra and tapped the top of her head with his index and middle fingers. She blinked and flinched from the surprising gesture.
“You wished for this, didn’t you?”
She smiled and nodded her head. He shook his head again and slowly walked to her parents by the door.
“I was wondering if I could use your guest room for one more night. It looks like this nasty storm has caused my flight to be delayed.”
