"I'm not angry anymore." I stared at her dumbfounded. I didn't believe it. "Hailey are you sure?" Her knuckles were white and her fists were clenched tightly. She was looking down at her knees. Even with my impaired eyesight I could see the beads of sweat collecting on her forehead. It dampened the pink roots of her hair. "I'm not I swear." Her knuckles grew paler.
"Hello there. My name is Dr. Milly. What's yours?" A small girl with pink hair sat before me. She had pink hair and purple blotches on her arms and face. Her legs were covered by black leggings. Bruises. She slowly opened her mouth. "Hailey. My name is Hailey." I nodded and smiled. "That's a pretty name. Now, tell me about yourself." Her eyes darted all over the room before exploring me. "I like your hair." I blinked. My hair? I patted my brown bob-cut. "Thank you! If your more comfortable, I'll start with the getting-to-know-each-other." She stared at the carpeted floor embarrassed. After a few moments she nodded shyly. "Say your name and something unique about yourself." She nodded once again and I started talking. "I'm Dr. Milly as I said earlier. I used to be a band director. My favorite instruments to play are the french horn, trumpet, kalimba, and guitar." Lucy perked up and slightly smiled. "I only play the ukulele. I wish I could play the guitar." I nodded and wrote it down. "If you'd like, I can bring my guitar next time and I can teach you a little." She nodded vigorously. I could see happiness through her eyes. "Now, on a related note, what's your favorite song?"
"Hi Dr. Milly." I looked up from my notes and smiled. "Hello Hailey. How are you today?" "I'm good. How are you?" "I'm good too. How about you take a seat?" Her feet shifted and she remained in the doorway. "I brought my guitar as promised." She quickly looked up and she eyed the room before focusing on something behind me. Most likely my guitar case. She took a seat and laid a small black case with the silhouette of a ukulele. "Is that your uke?" She nodded. "After I do my examination, we can make music. How does that sound?" She nodded once again. I could see the corners of her mouth twitch upwards, hinting at a smile.
"Hey Sharon." The plump blond woman turned to look at me and smiled. Sharon was our receptionist. The corners of her eyes crinkled in happiness. "Morning Mil! How's it going?" I smiled and sat down next to her in a cushiony black chair. Sharon had a habit of always saying 'Morning Mil' even when it was the afternoon. She says it sounds much better. "It's going good. Jeremy has made a lot of progress." She slowly nodded. She shuffled through the numerous papers at her desk and pulled out a sandwich wrapped in crinkled subway paper. "Ooh nice! A sub. What kind did you get?" She unwrapped it and held up a crisp BLT. "The queen of subway." She shuffled a bit more and opened a bright yellow lays bag. After a crunch she offered me the bag. I took one and thanked her. I pulled out a brown paper bag and took out a warm container of soup. We started to eat in silence. She pulled out her phone and we resumed our daily routine: eating lunch together with youtube. Both of us shared the guilty pleasure of theorizing. In the middle of an episode she tapped the screen, silencing the host. "I almost forgot!" She opened a drawer and rummaged through before taking out a manila folder. "You got a new client. We asked her mom about some background info and this is what she said." I set down my spoon and opened the folder. "You can play the episode without me, I'm good at multitasking." She smiled. "Course you are hun." The episode played in the background as I scanned the file. Patient has experienced trauma. Doesn't take well to yelling. Experienced emotional and physical abuse from father. The rest of the briefing included the hobbies and basic information. Two older siblings. Loves the arts and caramel. Eleven years old. Shows signs of depression. I sighed and closed the file. "What has happened to the world..." I murmured to myself. "Grandma!" The host was silenced once again. "Jeremy!" Sharon swiveled her chair around and a small boy with tussled black hair launched himself at her. A teen with a muted brown ponytail smiled from the doorway. "Hey Ms. Johnson. Hey Dr. Mil." "Hello Skye! How've you been?" "Amazing. You're an amazing therapist Dr. M. Still miss you by the way." I laughed and stood up to hug her.
She stayed silent, tears rolling down her pink cheeks. "Oh Hailey..." I walked over and sat next to her clasping a tissue box. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him." "I know you do, it's okay now. He can't hurt you anymore." We sat quietly. Muffled sniffles filled the silence. "Can I have a hug? Please." "Oh sweetie of course you can." I wrapped my arms around her and she cried harder. Her bruises were covered by pieces of white gauze. "It's okay. It's okay. You're safe now." She cried harder.
"I hate him! I hate him! I hate him! I hate him so much I could punch him. I just- Ugh! I just want to scream!" I took a breath. "Then scream. I'll scream with you." "Huh?" I smiled and opened my mouth and let out a high shriek. She stayed silent. "Is it really okay?" I nodded and reassured with the sound proof walls. She looked around the room before letting out a weak scream. "Oh come on, you can do better than that!" She grinned and let out a loud scream. We stared at each other before collapsing into fits of giggles. "I bet I can yell louder than you!" She challenged. "Oh really?" I lifted an eyebrow and smirked. She giggled louder. "You look like the Rock." "Well he's not the only one that can lift up an eyebrow." We giggled together before screaming in unison. The other therapists teased and scolded me for the muffled screaming later.
"Time for out first guitar-ukulele duet!" She fidgeted with her case. "Are you ready?" She looked up for the first time and nodded enthusiastically. "Mhm..." "What was that?" She squirmed uncomfortably. "Yeah I'm ready." I made a mental note to help her with confidence later. We both tuned and readied our instruments.. "Now, remember when you told me your favorite song?" She nodded. "Well, i got sheet music for it!" I had borrowed a music stand from Trina, another therapist who works with me and also plays the guitar. I also brought my own. I pulled out both and set them up. I gave her the music and glanced over my own. I ended up staring at its title. I'm not angry anymore.
"I'm not totally angry, I'm not all that angry anymore." After the last note rang out, I put down my instrument and clapped. "You sing like and angel Hailey!" Her cheeks turned pink. "Why do you say it every time I sing?" I laughed. "Because it's true silly." Her cheeks get more vibrant. "S-Stop..." I giggled and hugged her with an arm. She froze. "Hailey are you okay?" She started to tremble and tears spilled. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry sweetie. I'll ask next time to touch you okay?" She slowly nodded. I handed her a tissue. "I am so so sorry Hailey." Her trembling lessened. "Want me to pack up your uke for you?" She nodded. I carefully picked her ukulele up, careful to not touch her fingertips. "U-Uh..." I opened the case and laid the instrument down, zipping it up. "Yes?" I started to pack up my guitar. I didn't make eye contact just in case she'd get uncomfortable. "My uke's n-..." Her voice slowly faded in a decrescendo. I zipped up the case and began folding the stands. "My uke's name is Komi." "That's a really pretty name." I handed her the music and put my own on the table before putting away the stands. "Did you name your guitar?" "Yep, his name is Bob." She let out a giggle before covering her mouth. "It's okay you can laugh. One of my younger patients wanted to name him." She slowly uncovered her mouth but her laughter was gone. I put away Bob and pulled out a few caramel candies from my pocket. "Your mom's probably outside, wouldn't want to keep her waiting!" She nodded. "Again I am so sorry Hailey. To make it up to you," I paused and opened my fist, revealing the caramel candies. "Candies!" Her eyes brightened and she glanced at me before slowly reaching out. She paused and gave me a skeptical look. "Mommy told me not to take candy from strangers." She said in a high pitched teasing tone. I mocked an offended expression. We both giggled as she took the candies and left, waving bye to me.
"They. Are. So. Cute." I opened the door wider. Hailey peered into the playpen. Most of our younger patients stayed here. "Do you want to meet them?" She started to shake her head, then paused. After looking at the kids for a moment longer she nodded. I smiled and widened the gap. She slipped through. A mob of little girls squealed and dragged her to their tea party. I put Hailey's ukulele next to the door and went on my lunch break.
"Ah! I can't do it!" She paced around the room. "Hailey you got this! Don't doubt yourself. I promise the younger patients will love it." A muffled knock interrupted my pep talk. I shrugged and smiled at her. "No backing out now!" She nodded and chuckled nervously while fidgeting with her thumbs. "Can I hug you?" She nodded and I wrapped my arms around her, bending down and setting my chin on her shoulder. "You are going to do amazing. I promise." I released her and made my way to the door. "Dr. Milly?" I turned around. "Yes?" "Uh...well, thank you. For everything." "Of course sweetie. After all, it's my job." I winked at her and she giggled. "Plus you're an amazing girl. Now, you can do it!" I opened the door and dozens of little kids ran through, shrieking with glee. They launched themselves at Hailey. Trina and another therapist tried to calm the kids down and get them situated. "Morning Mill." "Hey Sharon." I gave her a hug. "You've done a great job with this one." I nodded and closed the door just as the first chord rang out.
