Wondering Minds

Chapter 1

Strange darkness fell all around me. The air felt warm and moist on my face as I stood in complete darkness. "Luna!" I heard someone yell in the distance. I tried to scream out but nothing came out. I walked further into the darkness to find a stream of light coming from an open door that appeared in front of me. "Luna!" The voice was so loud, I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Luna!"

I jerked awake in a cold sweat, lying in a hospital bed with my Mom by my side. "How are you feeling?" I raise breathing heavily, "I'm doing okay..." I see a lunch tray with a cup of Jell-O and a glass of water. "You should eat something, Luna." I shook my head and then laid my head down on the pillow.

We hear a soft knock on the door, a tall man with slick black hair, and about 5'9 walks in. "Hello Mrs. Jenkins, I'm Doctor Ford and I will be taking care of your daughter today." He grabs a chair from the other side of the room and places the chair right beside me. He begins to look into my eyes with a mini light.

"Why are you here today?" He says.

Before I could even speak my Mom interrupted. "My daughter... She suffers from anxiety and she's always complaining about having weird dreams." I rolled my eyes and then looked right into his green eyes. I quickly looked away and felt my cheeks grow warm.

"Well, great news... I'm a therapist too." He smiles widely and then grabs a clipboard.

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions, Luna. Is that okay?"

I nodded my head and then he began the questions.

"How often have you been having these strange dreams?"

I slowly and quietly let out a sigh. "About 4 times a week..." I look down embarrassed. He writes something down on his clipboard and then prepares to ask the next question. "Do you have anxiety?"

I look into his handsome eyes and then answer, "Yes, I have anxiety...mainly social anxiety." A moment of silence fills the room as he writes. "Okay, I'm going to write you a prescription for antidepressants."

"Does this mean my daughter is just depressed?" My Mom says concerned.

"Not always... antidepressants help you feel calmer and deal with other problems, such as anxiety. Luna's bad dreams may be caused by severe anxiety."

My Mom looks straight at me and then gently squeezes my right hand. I look down thinking about all the bad dreams I've dreamed.

He finishes writing the prescription and then hands the papers to my Mom. Dr. Ford turns to face me and says, "Okay, Luna I'll see you next Tuesday to see how the medicine is helping you." I nod and watch as he gets up and leaves the room.

As me and my Mom walk to the car she rubs my back gently. "Mom you don't have to rub me, I'm fine..." I open the car door, get in the car, then shut the door.

"Make sure you put your seatbelt on."

I put my seatbelt on without a word then leaned my head against the passenger window. "Luna... we need to talk about something."

"About what?" I mumbled.

"We might lose the house..."

I jerk up with wide eyes. "What do you mean 'lose the house'?!"

She doesn't say anything for a few minutes. "If I don't have the rent money by next week, we'll get evicted."

"I thought you had a stable job? You told me I didn't have to work?!"

"Luna...I-"

"Now we're going to live under a bridge with only a dirty mattress. We'll have to bathe out of a sink at a gas station while people give us looks. I'm going to lose all my friends because they all of a sudden don't like poor people"

"Luna! Just listen to me for one second..." I stare at her waiting for her explanation.

"I'll...I'll figure something out, I will get a second job..."

I breathe out loudly as I turn my head to look out the window. "So, that means I have to get a job."

"No Luna, I don't want your anxiety getting worse."

I slump down in the seat. "So, what am I supposed to do?"

"I want you to take your medicine and focus on getting better, that's what I want you to do."

I turn back to look out the window, taking in everything my Mother said. The car ride home was in silence as we both were in deep thought. I gently lay my head against the glass and slowly gently drifted off to sleep.