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"Valeria?"
Her eyes jolted up to snap out of whatever she was thinking of. Valeria rubbed her nose and looked at her therapist. "Sorry, can you repeat that?"
"You said you had a panic attack last night," he clarified. "While you were dreaming."
She nodded, "Yeah."
"You saw your sister."
"Yup."
He paused, "And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember you once saying that you only have panic attacks when — "
"Yeah," she interrupted. "I know."
"What did she say?"
"She didn't. Everything froze like — like a glitch. And I went somewhere else, um," she skimmed through her journal entry from that morning. It was written in Pig Latin. "I was in that new game she plays — "
"Is it Sweven?"
"Yeah."
"I've heard mixed reviews," he confessed.
She shrugged, "Yeah, I was in the game and I met a man who lived there — he looked human but he was from another planet. He put me in a headlock or something because I asked about the child labor happening on some place called the Whein. I read it on the map."
"Is this a part of the game? Or just from your dream?"
"I really don't know. I've never played it, so I don't know if she's trying to tell me something by showing me the game but I had an attack so I — "Valeria covered her mouth while a tightness in her throat grew.
Her therapist placed a box of tissues closer to her, crossing one leg over the other, "Have you been taking the meds?"
She nodded, "Well yeah, but I don't wanna be on them if I keep having attacks, especially when I'm supposed to be asleep."
"Well you only have attacks when you interact with spirits," he reminded her.
Valeria caught her breath, "Yeah."
"And your sister, her ability is ... " he searched his notes on his laptop. "... dream infiltration? She can enter ones dreams or combine those of other people?"
"What are you trying to say?" Valeria snapped, able to feel her heartbeat through her fingertips. "Are you saying she's dead? Because if she was, how would she be in my dream?"
"Valeria, I'm only trying to help figure out what you're telling me," he said calmly.
Valeria had her hands covering her face, trying to steady her breathing. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, um, do you mind if we cut this short? 'Cause I have to meet someone."
He nodded, "Okay, same time next week?"
She gave him a slight smile and stood up, "Same time next week."
