False Light

False Light - Chapter 4

Kipo felt herself suffocating as she walked towards Jonathan's office. The walls were metaphorically closing in once the double doors of doom came into her vision on her approach. Taking a deep breath, encouraged by the presence of the two orderlies escorting her, she entered the office and took a seat.

She rubbed her fingers against the sides of her head while she waited, thinking of what to say to Dr Jonathan.

'Dr Jonathan, I am so sorry that I...no, too formal. Maybe...Hey! Dr Jay! Look, this is all a big misunder- no. No, that won't work. Okay how about...ugh!' Kipo leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. She drummed her hands against the armrests as the chandelier above her caught her attention.

Her thoughts drifted to Wolf. She'd been told, over and over again, that she wasn't real. That the world she knew was a mere fantasy. There were no mutes. No Dr Amelia or Timber Cats. No Dave and no giant Jaguar form. Benson was real but he was just as crazy as she was. In spite of all the reassurances, Kipo's mind couldn't release just one question.

'Why did it feel so real?'

Kipo always believed she had a big imagination but never one that big. For her to imagine such real people and a vivid world like the one she supposedly deluded into her own microcosm of existence seemed impossible.

Growing bored of the shiny crystals hanging atop her, Kipo stood up and walked over to the wall. It was adorned with a variety of photographs depicting Dr Jonathan standing alongside colleagues and the opening of the asylum while some frames contained certificates and degrees he had earned. Doctorate in psychology, specialist under the study of phobias.

Dr Jonathan's words rung through Kipo's brain. He always told her that her psychosis, like everyone else, is the manifestation of one's hopes, desires, memories and especially fears.

'My hypothesis is that Dr Amelia represents some form of Iatrophobia. This is common in patients like yourself as your psychosis is actively fighting against treatment. By making you afraid of doctors or medical tests, you become less likely to seek treatment. I can only wonder what other terrors haunted your mind to produce such a place.'

Kipo shook her head. It didn't feel right. She wasn't afraid of Amelia, was she? She was angry at her, felt pity for her, but not quite a phobia. Maybe she was but, now that she's back to reality, she isn't anymore. A constant series of questions connected to answers that never linked quite right, like a jigsaw puzzle with all the wrong pieces.

What did Wolf represent? Kipo had no answers. She wasn't afraid of Wolves, contrary to Dr Jonathana's "Lupophobia" theory.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the office door creaking open. Kipo turned her head and saw someone peer their red-haired head into the office.

'Dr Jonathan?' The woman asked. She was older than Kipo, for sure, but she was also a patient. She was dressed in the same patient gown that Kipo was. She quickly noticed Kipo and walked towards her.

'Oh, uh, are you Dr Jonathan?'

'Nope. Name's Kipo.' Kipo introduced, extending a hand. 'I'm a patient here, like you. Haven't seen you around before, though.'

'You could say I'm new, I guess. Apparently I just woke up from my psychosis or whatever that means. One of the doctors brought me over here and told me to find this Jonathan guy. You know him?' She woman responded, accepting the handshake.

'Yeah, Dr Jay's the head of this place.' Kipo answered.

'Like...a literal head or do you mean running the place?'

Kipo let out a giggle at the girl's query. 'heh, what?'

'Well, when you've had to handle imaginary friends for so long you tend to expect anything.' The red-head explained, smiling with a slight blush. 'I'm Frankie, by the way. Frankie Foster.'