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Chapter Eight: Bruxism:

Anna made the appointment after Tsuzuki left. She would see a therapist tomorrow morning. The call only took about a minute. Tsuzuki still didn’t think it was a good idea. But, he didn’t try to discourage her from it. He promised after all.

The next morning, Anna headed out. Rihoko waited at the front door.

“Sure about this?” she asked.

“Yes!” Anna replied without a thought. Rihoko was quiet for a moment. Then, she nodded.

“Be careful,” she murmured.

“I will,” her roommate replied. Then, she headed out the door. Tokyo Counseling Services was in downtown Tokyo. Anna had to take the subway to get there. She kept her face low the whole time. Japan thought her to be dead. (She was supposed to be dead anyway.) She made sure not to talk to anybody. The woman only looked out the window.

Anna got off with the flood of people. She paid with cash and walked the rest of the way there. The walk to the clinic was short. She breezed through the front doors. She filled out the paperwork. (Mostly fake information, of course.) The receptionist looked over the paperwork. She glanced at Anna.

“Take a seat, Niwa-san,” she said.

“Thank you, san,” Anna said with a bow. She sat down in one of the chairs. Anna looked all around her. Nice enough-looking room she was in. Not many people here today. Just an elderly couple and a mom with a zoned-out child. Anna looked up at the ceiling. “/Looks the same as his office in the US,/” she thought, aimlessly. So white… Only, this ceiling was creepy clean.

The door opened wide. Anna looked over at the direction of the sound. A young man in a new business suit came out with a chart in his hand. He looked about a year younger than she was. Maybe a new guy?

“Niwa Midori,” he called off the chart. Anna sat up in her seat.

“Right here,” she said. The man looked at her for a moment.

“Please follow me,” he told her. He went back towards his office. Anna got up and followed him. They went down the hall to get to his office. He opened the door and they went inside. Anna examined the room. She became lost at the setting. The woman turned to the doctor.

“Is this… someone’s living room?” she asked. The young man gave her a little smile.

“We’re trying out a new approach with the atmosphere,” he explained. “Helps people open up more without the distractions. Take a seat.” Anna nodded once.

“Ah,” she said. Then, the woman sat down. The doctor sat down on the other side of the coffee table. He pulled out a tape recorder and his notebook. Anna watched him from the couch. The young doctor looked up at her.

“You mind if I tape this session?” he asked.

“No, go ahead,” Anna replied. The doc put in a fresh tape and hit record.

“August 7th, 2009. Dr. Fujimiya with patient. Please state your name.”

“Niwa Midori.”

“Age?”

“Twenty-six.”

“Tell me about these dreams you’ve been having.”

“Well, they started nine years ago. I was in college when they started.”

“How old were you at the time?”

“Seventeen.”

“Seventeen and in college?”

“Yeah. My grades were high enough for me to graduate with the senior class in San Diego.”

“Go on. What else about these dreams?”

“They are hard to explain, almost.”

“Try.”

“Okay. They switch all around. Sometimes, I dreamt of this woman with white wings naked and tangled up in many red ribbons.”

“Who is she to you?” Silent pause.

“I can’t say. I don’t know and I’ve never seen her before. But, I’m lucky.”

“Why is that?”

“She’s a benign dream.”

“Benign? What would you consider malignant?” A long pause.

“Five summers ago, I saw a murder. This man savagely raped and killed this woman. Then, he turned and saw me. I panicked, but he let me go that night. Since then, I’ve had nightmare about him.”

“Okay. So what exactly do you want?”

“They have come back. I want to know why and how to stop them.” Pen scribbling.

“Hm. Any other traumatic events other than what you wrote on the form?”

“No, not really. Just my father’s death and nearly being raped. I already went over those years ago.” More pen scribbling.

“I see.”

“So? What does this mean?”

“By the looks of it, I will need a little assistance. Listen closely now. I’m going to refer you to a colleague of mine in Kyoto. He is a dream specialist and can help you better with this than I can.”

“Why is that?”

“He was my mentor. My field is more general. Here, this is the address of his practice.”

“Thank you.” Another pause.

“Are we done, doctor?”

“Yes, Niwa-san. You may go. Our session is over.” He hit stop on the tape recorder.

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