Dreams Upon A Silver Pine Branch

Chapter 9: Therapy and Other Businesses

Kenta stood in front of a building that looked like it could come from a 21st century movie about a posh family in Scotland or other European countries. It wasn't the tall gate or the spacious balcony that took his breath away, but the architecture itself. Carvings of different lichen specieses adorned the walls and the windows were beautified with stained glass arts depicting what to Kenta appeared to be some fairy tale scenes involving fantastic beasts--a horse with three horns, a mermaid with demonic tails, a centaur with a deer antler, and a flying tiger.

"Uncle Lee, are you sure this is the psychologist's office? It doesn't look anything like a place for counseling. Maybe you got the address wrong?" The boy peeked at his uncle's map App.

"No, this is it. Amanda deals mostly with toddlers and some of them have imaginary friends, so she commissioned an artist to re-design her clinic to honor the toddlers' imaginations." Lee explained, his eyes twinkling with amusement at his nephew's confusion. "I wish Amanda would reveal who the artist is. You know that Chiharu would love to see the mythologies she researched come to life, right? Yet Amanda told me the artist is a recluse who doesn't take commission often and only did it for her because of the "making kids happy" factor."

"It's great that you're always thinking of what Auntie would enjoy." Kenta sighed, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "How is she doing, really? She always says she's fine, but I don't know if she's telling me the truth. Didn't the doctor say she might have an increased risk of renal function failure the last time she had a check up? I'm worried she's been skirting around my question. Akira has her suspicions too, which is why she's spending more and more time at the library midtown to study all she can about the correlation between thalassemia and kidney diseases."

"Chiharu has always been that way, not wanting to be pitied," Lee said quietly. "The truth is, her body is weakening and there's been some discussion between the two of us and her doctor about signing her up for a kidney transplantation. Chiharu is on the fence about it because she thinks she can manage her symptoms through weekly blood transfusion, but I--"

"You don't have to go into details." Kenta said while Lee held back from crying. "But if you ever need someone to convince Auntie into reconsidering her stance on the transplantation, let me know. I'll try my best to listen to her concerns before telling her of our worries."

"Arigatou." Lee nodded in gratitude. "Alright, Kenta, your appointment with Amanda is in six minutes. Text me when you're done, okay? And tell Aiden I said good luck."

"I will. I guess he's as nervous as I am about counseling." Kenta waved bye as Lee walked away from the building and onto the parking lot. "Drive safely, uncle! Don't forget your seatbelt."

The receptionist said a polite greeting as Kenta entered the waiting room and gave her his information. He glanced at the pink flowers on the receptionist's table.

Carnations, Kenta smiled to himself. The symbol of pure love and devotion. I wonder if the receptionist has a partner. That's a sweet gesture. Wait, there's a name attached to the ribbon that holds the flowers together. "From Isamu Hamada to Amanda Torres." Huh, what a small world. The Poison Control guy is dating my counselor? I hope they're happy together.

"Dr. Torres and Aiden are in that room over there," the receptionist pointed to a room labelled Counseling Room A1. "Bring this intake form with you so she would know your medical history."

The room was white with a strip of rainbow wallpaper lining a corner devoted to what must be a playing area for children. Kenta almost squealed when he noticed a bunch of stuffed toys on the carpet, one of which was shaped like a rose. Next to the stuffed rose was a stuffed elephant.