Reflections of the Past | Ghost and Pals fanfic

23# Flashback 1

The pale man walked to the check-in desk, quiet as every time. Fayrouz looked up from her list, already having expected his arrival. "Christopher Pierre, you may enter," she stated monotonously as her eyes wandered back to her sheet of paper, ticking Christopher off the list.

He nodded without any words and walked down the hallway. Fayrouz only sighed. Why would he, a man admired for his work, loved for his big heart, and oh so special for his traveler abilities, even need therapy? There was no reason to, at least she believed. She shrugged it off. None of her business, as long as he was paying.

He entered the bland room, finding Tamari painting his own nails. Noticing the entrance of the familiar client, he instantly put the nail polish away and sat straight, placing his hands on his own lap and smiling, hoping not to smudge the black color. "Salutations, returning guest!"

Christopher took a seat opposite Tamari as always, his face blank as he eyed the therapist's freshly painted nails that emitted a smell of the chemicals. He didn't even bother greeting him, since something about talking to an android was always awkward in some way. He'd usually need a bit of time in a session to eventually forget that he was talking to a robot. "I do that too," he spoke calmly as he showed his chapped nail polish.

"Therapeutic experience to drain the clock, isn't it?" Tamari took the notepad in his hands and a pen, although it wasn't necessary for him to take notes. All therapy sessions were being recorded and saved in his software anyway. Fayrouz had tried gaining access to those recordings before, but they all were replaced by meme compilations the moment she had downloaded them on her computer.

Tamari asked the default question of every session, sounding normal for once. "How are you feeling?"

Christopher remained silent for a bit as his gaze never met the android's, despite him being a fan of eye contact. "Depressed, lost, tired and sort of... worried."

"Why is that so?"

He laid his hands on his own lap and looked down at it. "I don't know." He did know. But if he did dare speak of it, all of his emotions would flood out again.

"You don't know... what you're doing with your life, correct?" Tamari guessed, as if finishing Christopher's sentence.

And he was just correct. He emitted a sigh and rubbed his tear ducts. "I'm being used by this community, I just— Don't get me wrong, but I absolutely hate my role here. It's constantly such a hassle having to help people by going in and out of universes. I do not enjoy it anymore, but I struggle declining them, otherwise I wouldn't fulfill my purpose here."

Tamari nodded as he listened, pretending to take notes, but he was just doodling on his notepad. "I see... how long have you been feeling this way?"

"Hah, how long... funny question."

"Right... I apologize. Is this an issue you've been struggling with for longer, or did it only occur recently?"

"It's been like this for a while. It's not like I'm allowed to complain about it anyway, because apparently, as a traveler, I owe them my service," he spoke with a sarcastic hint in his tone. "I'm not even here for them, but rather... you know why."

Tamari knew his client well, he'd always carry a burden until it was so unbearable and heavy that it could break one's shoulder only picking it up. And only then, he'd speak up. "And it all became too much for you to handle, or did something else trigger your need to speak about this?"

Christopher remained silent, the ticking of the clock filling the silence. "Frances, she gave birth recently and asked me to somehow bring the father of the child into this dimension as a reflection. I told her that the task was impossible, and she proceeded to guilt trip me, saying, 'oh, but the baby, but the baby, he needs a daddy!'" he mocked her. "I couldn't care less about her ugly baby, neither about whoever she spread her legs open for! It's not my fault her one night stand left. On top of that, she named him 'Henry' out of all things..."