ASLEEP YET AWAKE

Ame - Anna don't rhyme

As usual I was early but it did not bother me because it gave me time to chat with Anna. She took Ame from my arms and craddled her.

"She is such a cute baby". Ame exclaimed.

"Yeah. She is". I replied. "She really made a show of herself today. You know she is learning to walk".

"Aww! How cute is that!" She again exclaimed.

I laughed at her excitement.

"She is so little!" She exclaimed yet again. Her every sentence seem to be overly exaggerated. She was going giddy with excitement.

"Stop exclaiming. You are scaring the baby". I said.

She looked at me and made a face. In her arms Ame nuzzled closer and she exclaimed yet again,"aww! Look at her. She is so cute!"

Good this girl is seriously crazy. I rolled my eyes at her childishness and then laughed at her expression of awe. Ame was working her magic of innocence on poor Anna.

"I tell you what. We will go shopping and buy her some toys. What say?" She asked with budding excitement.

I liked the idea. Ame could do with some toys. "That would be great". I replied.

She put Ame on the counter and we began talking. "You know there is a pet shop which sells cute little things for pets. I went there with my brother when he bought his parrot. And I tell you that parrot is cranky. He talks nonsense most of the time and all he need is food. Much like my brother you know he is a bit cranky himself and ofcourse he has a dark hole in that organ we call stomach". She ranted.

I laughed. I won't say anything like that about Ame and won't let anyone else speak like this too.

"By the way you never told me what you named her?"she asked me curiously.

"Ame". I replied calmly.

"Ame as in?"she asked me. Her face was contorted in confusion.

I giggled. "Ame means rain idiot. In japanese". I told her.

Before Anna could start again her attention diverted to Ame on the counter. She was trying to get up. After much of an effort she finally stood up. She took some steps and then fell down.

Anna, whom I thought was now demesmerized by Ame was now again all over her. She looked at her with wide eyes that screamed AWWWWW. She picked her up again in her arms and began cuddling with her.

I shook my head at her. This girl in front of me was acting like a retard and here it is me visiting a psychiatrist. Who do you think needs a psychiatrist more?

Soon it was my turn to meet with Jenny. I tapped on her door and peeped inside. She sat there ever so cheerful and motioned me to come inside. I entered with a huge smile on my face proudly carrying Ame in my arms. She as if on cue raised her head and meow-ed. I laughed as I settled on the chair opposite Jenny.

"You look happy". Jenny said. Her eyes looked thoughtful. She looked at me as if scanning my brain.

"Oh! She is such a sweetheart". I said and giggled again.

"It's good to see you smiling Lara". She smiled at be.

"Thankyou Jenny. It is just because of you and the gift you gave me. I owe this to you". I told her.

"I just wish for your happiness". She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "What about your dreams?"

I hesitated. "Well... I had a strange dream yesterday. I don't know why. I mean it was the first time I saw something as strange. The first time my dreams were not a relief but a cause of my anxiety". I said with tremble.

She leaned closer as if we were conspirating something. I told my mind to shut up. I had a rather over active imagination and thanks to Ame I am cheerful again.

"What was it?" She asked.

"You see we were in these corridor which stretched infinitely. I don't know what I was doing there. Maybe I was looking for her. But then Ray came and Mia came too. They said me all kind of things. They accused me of being a cheater. They said I could not be happy and no one would love me back.." . I trailed off. The memory of the dream was enough to scare me and I felt like running away and hiding.

"Lara I think that you get it now that they are just dreams or rather nightmares". She said.

"I know but they are enough to swirl this pool of emotions inside me". I said.

"It's just your fears shaping up against you. You see you feared that no one would love you anf you will be alone but then you found love in your pet. You feared that you will not get a friend but then you found a friend in her". She pointed at Ame in my lap.

As she said it I realized it was true. "When you say it tha way I feel like it is the truth". I said.

"You have to end your dreams. They are just giving you misery". She said.

"I know. But they come to me naturally I don't wish for them". I tried reasoning.

"Listen to me Lara". Sge said rather forcefully which made me look at her with open ears and full attention. "The next time you dream tell them that you don't want to see them. Accuse them of being fake. Tell them that they are not real and you can do better without them". Jenny ordered me.

I gulped. "I will try". I managed.

"You have to..". She said in a softer voice. "For your new pet".

I nodded.

This brought a smile on her face and she looked at Ame in my lap.
"What have you named it?" She asked me.

I was glad for the change in topic. I realized that in all my blabbering I have forgotten to tell her my pet's name.

"Ame". I said beaming.

"Ame..". She repeated. "What does it mean?" She asked me.

"It means rain in japanese". I told her with a smile.

"And why did you chose to name her that?" She asked me with raised eyebrows.

"You see the day you gave it to me it rained for the first time in this season. So I decided to name her accordingly". I told her.

Her smile grew. "So very thoughtful of you Lara. I like the name. I believe you will be a good owner". She said.

My cheeks turned red. "I wish I will". I said to her.

"Then your session is over. Don't forget what I told you". She repeated. Her expression grew serious. "You can get out of this and you are almost out of it". She said.

I stood up and nodded. "I am going to end this". I informed her and walked out. I took a deep breath before opening the door.

I walked back to Anna's table.

As soon as I reached her table she began jumping excitedly.

"Don't you think Ama and Anna sound good together?"she asked me with a big grin.

I rolled my eyes. I had begun doing it a lot and especially in the viccinity of Anna.

"Oh! I know you are jealous!" She teased me.

I again rolled my eyes. Heck I did that again.

"By the way are you free tomorrow? I can get a day off". She said.

"I am always free you know". I replied.

"Great. We will go and shop for Ame tomorrow then". She announced.

I again rolled my eyes. God! Three times in a minute! Now this is a record I must say!.

"Yeah. I think tomorrow would be great". I said.

After chatting for a bit I left the place to go home. I was feeling hungry and Ame must be tired too. She is still a baby and she needs rest to grow up.