Garrison Academy

Chapter 13

Shiro

"Can you tell me about these dreams you've been having?"

Over the course of the past few weeks, the recurring terrifying nightmares that Shiro had became more persistent, happening almost every time he closed his eyes. They were always the same two people; the woman and the man, doing horrific things to him. This partially made him terrified to sleep, but sleep deprivation was not good considering he was practically living off of caffeine in his classes. This couldn't be a coincidence, there had to be some reason they kept popping up. Shiro just desired to know who they were, and why they kept sneaking into his head. Even though he's good at hiding it, these dreams have been taking a toll on his mental health as well. It was becoming so overwhelming that he caved in to see Romelle for the first time in forever, the trusted therapist on campus.

"I-I don't even know where to begin." Shiro sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, there's a man and a woman and... They're ruthless. Calling me useless, smacking me around, knocking me down... And it's so vivid like... Like...Like it actually happened."

Romelle nodded, as she listened to what Shiro was saying. When he finished talking she seemed to be running through various thoughts in her head. "And these people. Do you recognize them?"

"Not directly no but they are... Familiar somehow. Like I know them but I forgot or something?"

Romelle seemed to be lost in thought, as Shiro bit his lip. If she didn't have an explanation on why these were occurring, then he didn't know who would. There was a possibility she could find someone else to help him out or refer him to someone who was more qualified to analyze his dreams, but Shiro liked Romelle. He's seen her for a while now and he trusts her. Opening up to someone else, he didn't want that. He would rather deal with these dreams himself if that was the case, no matter how harmful that might be. Besides, they could get better on their own... Right?

The woman who looked so much like him. The man who had his eyes. Why were they in his head? Why were they so similar? The one question lingered in the back of his mind; Why? And why him, if this just so happened to be an event that happened in his life. What did he do to deserve it? Was all the yelling and screaming directed at him somehow his fault?

"It sounds like these dreams of yours, they're not just dreams, Shiro. I think they're memories. You sure you can't remember any of this occurring to you?" Shiro shook his head. This truth was his worst nightmare, besides the nightmares that were actually occurring. "I think... I think you just buried your trauma in the back of your mind and somehow it's being brought up again. I don't think it's a coincidence that these people you're dreaming about happen to be familiar to you. Besides, you couldn't remember anything when you went to the orphanage, correct?"

"Right." Shiro responded, giving a nod. "I would think that I would if this happened to me but if it really was trauma... I guess that it would make sense I wouldn't want to remember." He let out another sigh. "I wish this wasn't so complicated, but I guess that there's no completely straightforward answer for all of this."

"I wish I could give you a simple answer, Shiro, but I can't. At least we possibly know why these are occurring. If you have anything else you need to talk to me about, please do not hesitate to give me a call."

"Thank you Romelle." Shiro gave her a small smile before standing up. "If I think of anything I'll give you a call."

As he exited the therapist's office, many thoughts were running through Shiro's head. Trauma. Nightmares. Memories. People that look like him. Possible abuse. He wished he wouldn't remember any of this at all. But it was just all rushing back in these dreams of his, and there's no stopping them from coming. All there is for him to do is to just deal with it, and try to live while not being terrified of seeing those images in his dreams. Moving past all this was possibly going to be really difficult, but at least Romelle is available for him to talk to. She reminded him of why he wanted to become a therapist in the first place, to help people be comfortable and better in their lives.