Chapter Five

Professional Help

Dani

The next morning Dad battled the heavy traffic into Orlando. At Dr. DeMarco’s, the receptionist led us into a larger room than the day before with a puffy, beige couch, a brown leather recliner, a small, metal desk, and a couple of waiting room type chairs. The soft blue dress worn by Dr. DeMarco dazzled her eyes. I introduced her to Dad, and she explained the hypnosis procedure.

“If you become too stressed while under hypnosis, I’ll immediately bring you out of your trance. Danielle, sit in the recliner. Don’t cross your legs or arms. You may be in this position for a while, and having them crossed could become uncomfortable. Gently clasp the arms of the chair. Mr. Reynolds, why don’t you sit on the sofa? Danielle, I’ll sit next to you.

“Please relax and close your eyes. Imagine the tension in your body slowly vanishing. It is freeing each body part one at a time, starting with your toes and working up. Visualize your body becoming lighter as the tension fades. Relax your toes, your feet, your calves, thighs, hips, stomach, and so on until you’re completely relaxed. Imagine soothing, flowing water rushing over your feet and ankles, cleansing them of tension. Take slow, deep breaths, ridding your mind of any stress or anxiety. You’re beginning to have a pleasant feeling of drowsiness. You’re getting a sense of deep relaxation in a safe and serene environment. Nothing is interfering with your restful state. We are now going to venture back to your youth.”

My body was relaxing completely. In the background, I heard Dr. DeMarco’s calm voice as my mind seemed to turn inward. A floating sensation took over me, like I was not even sitting in the chair anymore, but soaring in the air. Dr. DeMarco’s voice became distant. I forgot it was even there, yet the soothing sound somehow continued. As I relaxed even further, I was no longer aware of where I was, why I was there, or who was speaking. I was simply content in a state of profound relaxation and deep tranquility.

Then somewhere far away I heard someone calling my name. I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted to stay in that peaceful state of serenity, but the voice kept calling me until I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I felt my body falling back to reality. The leather of the recliner wrapped around me. The voice seemed to be screaming, and I opened my eyes. Dad and Dr. DeMarco were staring at me.

“What happened? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Dr. DeMarco put her hand over mine. “Danielle, you were hypnotized for about twenty-five minutes, but I saw no trauma in your body expressions. While in your hypnotic state, I asked you many questions about where you were and what you were doing. You said you were in the best place in the world, having the happiest time of your life. You saw your mother. Tears of joy were in your eyes when you spoke of her, but no fear or trauma.”

“I don’t remember any of it. What does it mean? I only remember floating in air and being suspended in time.”

“By your reactions under hypnosis, it’s my professional opinion that nothing in your personal life, past or present, is causing your nightmares. You didn’t appear to harbor any devastating experiences from your past. We can now rule out one of the most typical causes of nightmares.”

So nothing happened to me when I was a child: no dirty, old man ever accosted me; I never got lost in the woods; I never got jumped by a monster when I went to those haunted houses on Halloween. “So what do I do now?”

“I’d like you to stop in the lab next door. I’ll give you a script for a blood test to rule out any physical condition. In the meantime, I’ll also give you a script for some sleep medication. You may feel lethargic tomorrow, but you should be able to function. Until we’re able to determine the reason for your nightmares, it’ll enable you to get some rest. If I find no medical reason for your nightmares, we’ll go into phase two of the analysis.”

I stiffened and sat upright. “What’s phase two?”

She looked first at me, then at Dad. “I want to get the blood work results before recommending any further treatment. However, if the tests come back negative for any physical issues, we should proceed with this next step.”

I was getting apprehensive, not knowing what she would recommend.

Dad asked, “What is this next step?”

She cleared her throat. “I plan to suggest an unconventional treatment, but I want to consult with my colleague beforehand. In most cases, we don’t consider it an option. However, finding no basis of any trauma in your background, nor any event triggering your nightmares in your recent history, we need to look at an alternative treatment.”

Both Dad and I were getting impatient. Why doesn’t she simply tell us what it is?

Dr. DeMarco leaned forward in her chair and looked directly into my eyes. “I want you to see a medium.”

I opened my mouth wide enough to insert a football. Dad had the same shocked look on his face. Was I hearing her correctly?

We waited for Dr. DeMarco to explain. “Yes, it’s unusual, but if it works, your nightmares will stop. I’ll work closely with the medium to monitor you during the procedure.”

Perhaps I closed my mouth. Maybe not. This was insane! Voodoo. Exorcism. Witchcraft. All of these things ran through my mind.

Dad seemed as skeptical as I was. “I don’t know. I never expected you to say that. We aren’t into the occult. We’re a good Catholic family.”

Dr. DeMarco immediately responded, “I know it sounds irregular, but believe me, I have great confidence this will work.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what treatment a medium would give. “Uh, what happens? What do they do? Do you see ghosts? Do you talk to ghosts?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. Unlike hypnosis, during a séance you are completely aware of your physical surroundings. It’s not specifically about you. It’s about someone else and you.

I was still confused. “What do you mean?”

“When you are hypnotized, we try to discover what in your psyche causes the problem. What a medium does is to determine why someone else is invading your space, so to speak. Some people try to contact a deceased loved one through a medium. Oftentimes, how successful the connection is depends on both the deceased and the one trying to contact him or her. And of course, the capabilities of the medium.”

I was still skeptical. “A deceased? But I’m not trying to communicate with any dead person. I’d like to see my mom again, but I never thought about contacting her through a medium.”

Dad had been sitting with a puzzled look on his face, taking in our conversation. “Besides contacting someone who died, what other purpose could it have you haven’t told us about?”

Dr. DeMarco continued her explanation. “Sometimes it works in reverse. Sometimes a deceased person tries to contact you.”

Startled, I jerked upright in the chair. “What? You think my mom is trying to contact me?”

“Perhaps not her but someone else.”

“But who? Why?”

“That’s what a medium can determine. This is not in my area of expertise, but it has worked in other cases.”

Dad took my hand. “What do you think, Dani? It sounds bizarre, but if it can help you, maybe you should try it.”

I lifted my hands and covered my face. “I don’t know! I don’t know!”

“You want to get rid of the nightmares. I’ll go with you to the session. Dr. DeMarco will also be there.”

“What if I’m too frightened whenever this dead person comes around? I’m not sure I can handle it.”

“I think you can. Remember that break-in at Emily’s house? The two of you were only thirteen and alone in the house. You took control of the situation, called 911, and stayed on the line until the police arrived. You were afraid, but you did what you had to do. I know you can handle this.”

I finally acquiesced. “Okay, I’ll do it,” convincing myself more than Dad or Dr. DeMarco.

Dr. DeMarco made an appointment with Nafia Celik, the medium, for Friday evening. Before going home, we stopped at the lab for the blood work and picked up the script for the sleeping medication. I was to take a pill an hour before bedtime. Since I was so exhausted after dinner, I took the pill and went directly to bed.

I’m not sure how long I had been asleep before the dream started, not a nightmare but also not pleasant. My body was floating in air. Not peaceful. Not relaxed. I was shivering, but I was sweating. Then I felt like I was falling through space, plunging swiftly toward the earth. Before I crashed, I popped my eyes open. Still shaking, I went to the bathroom, got a drink of water, and then crawled back into bed. I took deep, relaxing breaths while my mind wandered for a while. Then I fell back to sleep. I was at the large, white house again. However, it was very peaceful. The birds chirped melodiously, the air smelled fresh and clean, and a gentle breeze fluttered my hair against my cheeks. I ambled through a garden full of radiant flowers. Their fragrance enveloped me as I stepped on the narrow, cobblestone path, the flowing sound of nearby water rippling through my ears. As I walked, I was humming, enjoying the sights and sounds around me. Then I heard another faint, far away sound, which gradually grew louder.

Unexpectedly, the garden opened to a meadow where large, flat rocks lay in a semi-circle. Seated on each rock was a child. In the middle of the circle was a petite woman with long, blonde hair. When I looked more closely, I saw her face was extremely red, as if she had a terrible sunburn. When I entered the semi-circle, all the children and the lady looked up at me. They each had red faces, and they were crying. “Why are you so sad?” I asked the lady.

I tried to go closer to comfort her, but when I reached out, she disappeared. The children began to wail. “No, no. It’s okay. Please don’t cry.”

When I approached them, they too disappeared, and I was left all alone in the meadow.

The next thing I knew, Dad was awakening me for breakfast.