Imposter Syndrome

Chennai

Glittering serpentine foliage affixed to the wall before her; glowing tea lights and petaled faux floral arrangements hung from the upper ceilinged greenery up ahead. Double. Seeing double—

She paused, realizing it was a large body of water; her surroundings were dark as midnight, save for the lit décor—zebra-striped pillars, to give an otherworldly appearance, four in total. Following the water's perimeter, she arrived at this...this mise en scène...this...

Whatever it was.

The air crackled with a certain ineffable tension. Something was supposed to happen. Something bad. She could feel it in her bones, that steady ache and unrelenting tension, her muscles silently preparing themselves for a phantom battle—

A shriek—then another, nearby, echoed into the surrounding foliage as her head sprang up, instantly alert. Where? Hearing labored breathing to her left, she spotted two figures near a silhouetted tree.

"Leela, I'm warning you—"

"NO!" A raised fist, ready to strike—

She raced forward—

THWACK! The assailant found himself pummeled to the ground, momentarily knocked out. "A-are you alright?" she found herself asking the woman, whose bangles sparkled in the shimmering twilight, as she shakily nodded in response.

"I-I never thought he'd be capable—he—he came up behind me—"

"What do you want? A memory erasure? His motivations?" The list could go on and on.

The woman, she now realized, a glamorous figure wearing an emerald sari, hesitated. "Just—have him forget why he came here in the first place. Please..."

"As you wish—"

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

Sofie's eyes sprang open, her hands aimlessly flying about as she realized she was back, returned once more to her neon-lit surroundings. Quebec. The ice cave retreat. The lilac purple lighting emanated above her shelved headboard, a sea of aqua emanating from the floor below, along with a tangerine brightness jutting from just above the desk to her right. And who on earth was Leela?

Out of sheer curiosity, she turned on her computer, proceeding to do a cursory internet search. Green décor. Resort. Retreat. Leela. Sari.

Sari—her brow furrowed. India?

And mere minutes later, she had her answer. The Leela Palace. Chennai. India.

Was this a side effect of mental ward practice? Was this supposed to happen? Checking the time, she realized it was almost time for breakfast.

"Uh, Natalia...did you have any weird...um...dreams...late last night?"

She posed the question to her partner from the day before, as they chewed on protein pancakes with a side of fresh maple syrup. Coffee, too, their mugs filled to the brim.

The curly-haired brunette stared down at her breakfast before replying. "Define...weird."

Sofie sighed, using her fork as a makeshift knife to cut pieces of pancake into tinier morsels. "Out of the ordinary? Involving random acts of heroism? Supernatural strength?"

"Well...now that you mention it..." Natalia paused. "I did have this weird dream I was rescuing someone from their tiny log cabin at dawn in the Quebec forest. Weirdly plum-pink sky. Fading into orange."

Having had a sudden moment of realization, the pair stared at each other.

"Did that...did that actually happen?" whispered Sofie, as Natalia shrugged in response.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Having finished their breakfast, they disposed of their plates, entering the ice-carved interior.

Mental wards, once more.