“Huh?” Josie grabbed her neck. “Oh, right. I don’t know why I’m wearing this. I must have been in a daze, I don’t remember putting this on,” she said, removing it and placing it back in the music box.
“You said you wanted to see the music box? Is there a reason?” Damien asked.
“No. Wait, yes. When I had the dream again, before I woke up, I could hear someone calling the name Celine. I was thinking of the music box since it came with that note addressed to Celine.”
“Probably been on your mind since it was kind of disturbing,” Damien said.
“Here give me that thing, I’ll put it away,” Michael said, reaching out to take the music box from Josie.
“No!” Josie snapped, snatching it back from him.
“Whoa, okay, sorry,” he said, holding his hands up.
“Sorry, I don’t know why I did that, sorry, I think I’m just drained. I wanted to take this with me. The music relaxes me, maybe it’ll help me sleep.”
“Okay, yeah, whatever helps you relax,” Michael answered. “Hope you sleep.”
“Thanks,” Josie said, calming down and heading up the stairs.
Damien began to follow her when Michael grabbed his elbow and motioned for him to stay behind, holding a finger up.
“Have you ever seen her like that before?” he said, when Josie disappeared down the upstairs hallway to her room.
“No, and I’ve never seen her sleepwalk either.”
“Why was she so worked up about the music box? The music calms her?”
“No idea. Like I said, I’ve never seen her like that before, never saw this music box when we were growing up, never heard that music ‘til the day it showed up on our doorstep. I don’t know why she’d find it calming. I just know this therapist appointment can’t come soon enough.”
“Agreed. Not much longer now. All right, I’m heading back to bed, see you in the morning.”
“Yeah.” Damien yawned. “See you in a few.”
Chapter 6
When Josie awoke the next morning, she was amazed at how well rested she felt despite experiencing the nightmare again and being up for hours in the middle of the night. The little music box was still tinkling away on her nightstand. She shut the lid as the memory of how it got there flooded back to her. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she prepared for the day. Her therapist appointment was this evening. She dreaded going but if it managed to help her, she would do it.
Her run didn’t help to clear her head, and she found herself distracted for most of the day. As much as she dreaded the appointment, she was relieved when they were finally on their way to the doctor’s office. Damien agreed to go with her and Michael insisted on tagging along. Josie was rather nervous so she didn’t argue, but was glad to have the support of both men.
The wait for her appointment seemed like an eternity for an apprehensive Josie. As her impatience reached its peak, Josie was called back. Both she and Damien stood to enter the doctor’s office since Josie had asked him earlier to go in with her.
“Usually only the patient goes back,” the receptionist said.
“I’d be much more comfortable if he came with me.”
“Okay, right this way, Ms. Benson.”
They entered the doctor’s office. It was nicely appointed with dark, muted colors and comfortable looking chairs, probably designed to make a patient relaxed. The doctor sat at his desk. Upon their entering, he stood and motioned for them to take the two leather armchairs to the right of the desk. He took a seat across from them in another armchair. “Ms. Benson, nice to meet you, I’m Dr. Reed. Can I call you Josie?”
“Sure,” Josie answered. The doctor’s tactful manner was irritating her already. She wanted to cut to the chase.
“May I ask who your friend is?”
“This is my cousin, Damien. We’ve lived together since we were five years old. It makes me more comfortable to have him with me.”
“Of course,” the doctor said gently. “So, tell me, Josie, what brings you here?”
Josie recounted the story of how she had received the doctor’s name after fainting in the food court of the mall. She also described the nightmares she had been having, telling him that they had been increasing in frequency. The doctor listened without interrupting. When she was finished he said, “Okay, let’s start by talking about what’s going on in your life, specifically, stressors. How is work?”
“Work is good. I’m self-employed, I run a cybersecurity business. I don’t really have any issues, I have a steady stream of work but I’m not drowning in work, I’ve got a nice balance going on right now.”
“Any issues with a boyfriend or husband?”
“No. No husband or boyfriend, no issues there.”
“How is your relationship with your parents?”
“Fine. I’ve always had a good relationship with them, no issues lurking on that front. I know you probably are wondering if there is an issue between D and I, but there isn’t, we get along great, we always have, no stress there. He’s more like my brother than my cousin. We’ve always been close. I’ve dealt with far more stress before and never experienced anything like this. I wouldn’t even consider myself to be stressed right now. There’s nothing on my mind or worrying me.”
“Stress can manifest itself in several ways. It may be something that you don’t even realize is bothering you.”
“I can’t figure out what it would be.”
“I’d like to try to get to the root of that through your subconscious with your permission. There are a number of methods we can use. I’d like to start with hypnosis. It’s a noninvasive procedure. I’d like to determine tonight if you’re susceptible to being hypnotized and if we can get any information that way about the dream or its source.”
“Oh, um, I guess that’s ok. I mean, I’ve never been hypnotized before but I’m willing to try.”
“Great. Damien, I’m
