Sweet Dreams

Chapter 9

I hesitat before I knock on the door with a little plaque that read Dr.Rayner. It took a while but soon a blurry figure cane into veiw from the tinted window. The lock clicked and the door opened.

A fairly tall, lanky man stood in the doorway. His hair was cut short and he wore round glasses. I remember seeing him talking to mom and dad when we forst arrived in the morning. He put on a warm smile.

"You must be Jade?" he asks. With slight humour in his voice. He already knoes who I am. "Mhmm." I nod. "C'mon in." he opens the door wider and gestures me into his office. It was a plain office. It has a big mahogany desk with a computer and a mess of papers. Behind the desk, a big comfy chair. There is a big bookshelf holding multiple books and pictures of his family on one side of the room. The walls are plastered in those chessey posters. He pulls up a chair infront of his desk for me. Dr.Rayner quickly closes the door and sits in his chair.

"I know you are probably confused and angry." he starts. He waits for me to correct him and tell him he's wrong. But I don't. "But I assure you, I am here to help you." he says. I look at him straight in the eye. "I don't need your help." I say. "Yes, you do, Jade. Now, tell me about these dreams you've been having." he says getting his notebook ready. He asks questions like how long I've had them and how many times. He asks me about my life at home and at school.

As much as I just want to behead him and curl up in a hole and die, I awnser all his questions and tell him everything. I told him that they were all about. I even ended up telling him about what happened at the party and the nightmare following it. He nodded his head and continued to scribble in his notebook. Once in a while he'll pop his head up and look at me. He even continued to nod his head even after I was finished.

"Well, Jade. It seems that you are going through a very difficult time. All this stress you put on yourself is affecting your unconscious mind. Making it unstable. It's taking these events in your life, which at the moment is Kayla Martinez's disapperance and creates real life experiences in your dreams. It also explains the dream of the sexual assult. Your mind simply took the event with Mr.Hutton and twisted it into your dreams. These dreams are delusions that make it seem like your dreams are actually happening in reality." he said. I avert my gaze to a poster. Although I was still listening.

"Jade, these dreams are Memory Errors. Memory Errors is when your mind remembers events that never happened. And in your case, is due to Severe Depression and Schizophrenia." My heart skips a beat when those words flew from his lips. I fought to keep the tears from flowing.

"I am sorry this has happened to you." he replys trying to be as sympathetic as he possibly could. But he really doesn't give a damn. I didn't reply. I am deeply depressed and a schizophrenic. Now everything seemed to connect. Kayla was never raped or tortured. It was all in my head. I was just crazy. After 2 years, she's probably dead now. Whoever kidnapped her has probably killed her by now.

Dr.Rayner continued to talk and perscribe me medications. But I didn't really listen. I was too numb from shock.

I don't think I'm getting out of here anytime soon...

**

"Schizophrenic eh?" Regan says while throwing in some fish food into the pond. We are in the hospital's backyard, sitying on a bench infront of a little pond with fish swimming around aimlessly around in the water.

"Yep. And a 'Sever case of Depression'." I say requoting Dr.Rayner's diagnosis. So you see like, things that aren't there?" she asks curiously. I chuckle. "Not exactly. I do but in my dreams. Something to do with Memory Errors and shit." I say throwing in some fish food and watch them fight for the pellets. She nods.

"They are about my friend. My dreams are mean." I sigh.

"So?"

"She's been missing for two years."

"I'm sorry."

"Her name is Kayla Martinez."

"The Senator's daughter? "

"Mhmm. And every night they come to haunt me. They always seem to be happening somewhere in the world as I am dreaming. Like a live TV show. Yhey seem so real and so vivid. For the logest time I thought they were true. I thought there was a chance that she was still alive. But now, I'm pretty sure that's highly unlikely. And I'm just crazy I suppose." I say.

Regan doesn't reply. There was a long silence. The birds were chirping in the trees around us.

"I'm here because my house burned down." Regan piped up. I look over at her. Her head hangs low.

"I've liked fire ever since I was little. But I only starting burning stuff a few years ago. I burned insects and my sister's toys. When I got angry, I burned something, and it cheered me up. And a year and a half ago, my parents and I got into a huge fight. I waited until they were asleep and burned the house down. My parents and little sister still inside. And they never came out." she says wiping a stray tear away from her cheek.

"But after the exhilaration ended, It was then that I realized that I destroyed my home. And murdered my whole family. She said another tear rolling down. I feel so bad for Regan. Here I am saying how insane I was and how terrible my life is when Regan murdered her whole family without even meaning to. "I am so sorry, Regan." I say spilling a few tears from my own eyes for her. She just shrugs and rests her head on my shoulder. I hold her tight and listen to the beautiful sounds of the garden.

**