Daddy's Little Girl, Too

Chapter 9: Down in the Dumps

The overly concerned parents silently look at each other, more worried about their daughter than ever. Nancy's eyes begin to water. Michael can feel her pain.

Michael looks to the doctor, "So you're telling us, the only way to stop the nightmares is for Emma or her sister to die? That's absurd."

Dr. Nazari raises his hand at Michael's words. "No, no, no. That isn't what I said. What I said was, the bond between twins can only be broken by death...the nightmares, I believe, will only stop with time. Think of the dreams as a phase she is going through. Eventually, Emma will outgrow them."

Michael is annoyed from the way the doctor has spoken to him. He looks to Nancy, "That's what I've been trying to tell you all along...it's just a phase." He questions the doctor. "So what do we do now? Wait until she grows out of this phase?"

"Mr. Young, I'm not sure what it is you want me to say. Emma is a healthy young girl, these dreams will pass. They aren't going to ruin her life..."

Nancy sees Michael becoming more upset with each word the doctor speaks. She decides to intervene. "What about the hypnosis?" She looks to Michael to see how reacts to the suggestion.

Dr. Nazari looks to Michael as well, waiting to see if he objects. Michael keeps quiet, so the doctor answers Nancy. "We can try another session if you'd like."

"I think it helped. She didn't have any bad dreams last night. It's worth a try...isn't it?" Again she looks to her husband for approval. Michael still doesn't talk.

Out of respect for Michael's strong feelings toward hypnosis, and in hopes of avoiding another of his blow ups, Dr. Nazari asks permission, "Mr. Young? With your approval, we can proceed."

"Yeah. Okay, fine."

Dr. Nazari alerts his receptionist and requests Emma to be brought to his office.

***

Just as before, the doctor goes through the process of slowly easing Emma into a deep state of relaxation. Once Emma is under the doctors spell, he begins the session.

"Okay Emma, today we are going to revisit your second dream."

"Okay." Emma seems less reluctant this time.

"What do you see?"

"I'm in a house...I'm alone."

"Is it the same house as before?"

"Yes. It's always the same house."

"Okay, what's next?"

"The man...the same man from before...he comes in. He says, 'We have another visitor.'

The doctor jots down a few notes, "That's good Emma. Continue when you're ready."

"I grab the teddy bear and I go meet the new visitor, a woman."

"Is it the same woman as your other dream?"

"No. She's younger. She's pretty."

"Good Emma. What happens now?"

"The man tells me, 'Show her your bear.'" Emma's breathing is becoming faster. "I don't want to, but I can't stop...she takes the bear..." Emma's voice is shaky.

"Try to calm down Emma. Just remember, you are safe and the dream cannot hurt you."

Emma continues to describe what see sees. "She's looking at the bear, smiling. Then she looks at me, but she isn't smiling any more. Her eyes look scared. She starts to scream... I stab her... it cuts her hand. I stab her again. She tries to stop me, but she can't... the knife cuts her arms badly. There's a lot of blood. I stab again, in her chest. She screams again. I stab again...again...again...again...I just keep stabbing. She stops screaming...but I don't stop stabbing. I stab her, over and over and over."