I'm Seeing Angels | Minchan

3

"In your voicemail, you mentioned that you think you're hearing things. Can you go into more detail about that for me, please?" The psychologist, Dr. Baek, asked. 

"Sure," Chan nodded, agreeing to the request. "So, um, about three days ago, well, nights, I guess. Three nights ago, I was praying as I normally do every night. I didn't do anything different. I was knelt by my bed, praying and asking for guidance, and I heard this really loud voice say, 'Stay on your path. Don't stray away from where I am leading you,' and then two days ago, Monday, I did a confession with an employee at the church and then did my own confession after. And then the voice went wild and wouldn't stop talking. It was talking about how it was an angel sent by God to watch over and protect me. I poured some holy water on me, which I know might be ridiculous, but I did it anyway, and it started screaming, so I thought it was gone, but then it came back, basically mocking me for even trying."

"Right," Dr. Baek nodded as Chan spoke, writing things down as quickly as she could. "And you said this has never happened before, is that correct?"

"That's right."

"Okay. So, it started Sunday night. Have you heard anything yesterday or today? Right now, even?" She asked, trying to get as much detail about the situation she could. 

"It's silent right now and has been all day today. Yesterday, it was there for a little bit but quickly stopped."

"And what did it say yesterday?" 

"Nothing major. It basically just called me an idiot."

"Interesting. Now, does this voice have a name?" Dr. Baek asked. This information might have seemed tedious to Chan, but for her, it was important. She needed to get every detail that she could about what was going on. She leaned forward, leaning her elbows on her crossed legs, showing that she was intently listening to what it was Chan had to say. 

"Not that I know of. He never told me a name. Just that he was an angel," Chan explained, thinking back to the past three days. 

"Okay, so it's a male voice then?"

"Oh, um, yeah. I guess so," Chan agreed, nodding his head slightly. 

"Alright. How has work been? Easy? Stressful?" She asked, hoping for a certain answer but not sure what he was going to say. 

"Um, it's been a little stressful, I guess. I mean, with it being summer and all. I've noticed lately that I've kind of... withdrawn... myself? I mean, I tend to my duties and everything, but I just found myself not really wanting to talk to people that much anymore."

"Is that so? How long have you noticed this behavior?" Hearing about his lack of interpersonal communication intrigued her.

"I've only noticed it for the past three days. It started the first day I heard the voice, but it was before I heard him."

She looked at the clipboard in front of her with her notes written down, analyzing everything Chan had told her so far. The silence that resided made Chan shift in his seat, slightly uncomfortable that she wasn't saying anything. 

Dr. Baek finally looked up at Chan with a small reassuring smile, which helped him feel a little more at ease. "So, I'm hearing that at work, you feel more reserved and introverted than normal, and you said that you've been stressed as well. If you could, for me, rate your stress on a scale from one to ten, one being none at all and ten being 'I'm going absolutely insane'."

Chan sat and thought about it for a little bit before responding. He wanted it to be accurate and not exaggerated. "I would say maybe a five, possibly a six."