The Sebana Heir

Chapter 18

Saturday morning, Mrs. Harber and Sophie dropped Ria off at Dr. Bates' clinic.
"I'm gonna be back from the hospital in an hour, in time to pick you up again. Okay?" she assured.

"See ya later Ria!" Sophie called out. Ria nodded and gave Sophie a wave before she turned to enter the building. She went up to the clinic and met with Dr. Bates in the same white room.

"Good morning Ria. Come in, take seat," the doctor said when he looked up from his notepad. "So, let's continue where we left off, from yesterday..."
Ria went on to answering his questions and shedding some light on her past in Masylon. ".....and how often were you beaten?"

"At least three times a week," Ria answered.

"Okay, you have told some things you've faced Ria, but I feel like you're not being completely open about expressing your true feelings about it. Having that malefic woman for a matron was a horrific experience, especially when she turns to physically assaulting you children from as young as five years old, to satisfy her rage," he replied, "Ria, you went through something unbearable, but you haven't told me if it ever caused you any............ disturbance."

"Because it didn't," Ria answered. But then, she realized, her answer was a partial lie and the therapist could see right through it. Then there was a long pause between them. "The....... lockdown in the small attic did.........leave me quite disturbed. Permanently." Ria began to say, as she twiddled with her thumbs on her lap. "It gave me claustrophobia. Since then, I've always been afraid of closed dark spaces and rooms. That punishment was worse than the whip." The doctor nodded as he scribbled again on his notepad, feeling quite assured about Ria's sharing.

"Did you share your problems with others?"

"I did. With the other girls at the orphanage. With Mr. Carter,"

"Whose Mr. Carter?"

"He was an old man who lived next door while I was at Mrs. Orson's foster home. He was my tutor. He taught me a lot," Ria answered sadly, "He was a true friend."

"I see," Dr. Bates nodded, "So you've had your own moments of sharing your past with others. It's good to know that you've at least given outlet for your emotions and experiences. That's a good way to handle it. Not keeping things bottled up inside for too long." The doctor put down some more notes, his pen scribbled across the pages before he turned a leaf. "Is there anything else you'd like to add or..........discuss?"

"Uh......there is, one thing," Ria began to say. The doctor went on scribbling across the page, "It's...........about, these dreams I've been having."

"Dreams?" he mumbled while he kept his eyes on his notepad.

"Actually, it's the same dream I've been having, over and over again," she replied.

"HHhm.....for how long, a few weeks?"

"No. I've been having it since I was ten," she corrected. The doctor suddenly looked up, giving a curious look at Ria.

"Since you were ten? You've been having the same dream?"

"Well not most nights, it comes at least, once a week," Ria answered.

"Are you sure it's the same dream?" the doctor slightly pulled down his glasses to see Ria without the lenses.

"I'm sure. It's the only dream that wakes me up in the middle of the night to leave me gasping for air," she began to describe. The doctor decided to put aside his notepad and pen while he sat crossing his legs to listen with intent.

"Tell me more about this dream," he said.

"Well, when I was still little, I usually forget details of it by the morning, but now; I can remember. I remember dreaming about fire......... darkness..........sometimes, voices calling out my name," Ria explained. "Although, I know I've dreamed a lot more than that. Mr. Harber says that it's somehow connected to, my early childhood."