She never could tell if she was crazy or not. She had gone to therapy when she was young, but she never did tell them about her dreams and the horrible thoughts that would randomly flash in her mind. the creature that she would see. She sat up in bed wondering what in the world would make her dogs go off at three in the morning. Assuming the worst she grabbed her phone and a knife she kept on her nightstand. She slowly made her way through the house leaving all the lights on as she walked by the switches.
She made her way to the front door it was so dark she couldn't even make out the pillars of her front porch. In her mind she saw it, the tall lanky beast. No it was in her head only. "You're an adult now. Why do you think there's monsters out there?" she said to herself "The damn dogs are always barking at the cat, that must have been what..." she couldn't help but imagine the creature standing right on the other side of the door waiting for her to turn her back. "Ahh... I'm so ridiculous." she locked the door again imagining the creature with far limbs that were far too long with too many joints. Skin and bone. She could see it all too clearly in her head but nobody else has seen it so its just something from a nightmare.
She quickly ran back through the house shutting off all the lights and dived back into bed. "Echo, Rain, Buster! Come to bed you stupid pups" she sighed "Stop barking at nothing its really starting to annoy me." The dogs hopped in the bed and settled down to sleep. Rain was small. A black dog with tan feet and he had little tan eyebrows. He was a mutt, but he was definitely part weiner dog because he had short legs and a long body. Echo was a mutt as well but you could really see the chihuahua in her. She was a bit bigger than Rain and tan. Buster was a German Shephard and hound dog mix. He was tall but had a droopy face with sad puppy eyes. He never slept on the bed at night but he would lay up there until his owner fell asleep.
The Buster was scared of her cat. He was a large cat with no ears, not to say he couldn't hear but he was a stray that she had taken in, his ears were missing chunks and were more like nubs than ears. He had several bald spots and although his exact age was unknown the vet estimated he was about 12 years old. Whenever there was food in the cats bowl he would eat, he became quite large quite quickly, thats why she chose to name him Nugget.
Every night before dark she was sure to leave a can of cat food out for the stray that lived under her house. he was orange and white and she was always worried for him, she called him Jamie. Well she wasn't sure if it was a male or female cat so she chose to call it Jamie because it was unisex. However it was a cat and it seemed quite masculine so as far as pronouns went she called it he.
After she fell asleep Buster got off the bed and went and laid on his dog bed. Nugget came and laid where Buster had left at the foot of the bed.
She was sweating and woke up in a panic rushing out to the backyard to see if there was food in Jamie's bowl. There was none, he had eaten. She was relieved she had the dream again that the creature had gotten him and eaten him in the night. She had had enough. She pulled out her phone and called a therapist to schedule an appointment.
A week later after barely any sleep she finally sat in a chair across from a woman holding a clipboard. The woman had shoulder length brown hair with hazel eyes she was skinny and wore a black button down shirt, a black pencil skirt, and a tan pair of heels.
The woman waited for a few minutes in silence then spoke, "I was giving you the opportunity to start but I suppose you'd be more comfortable if I spoke first. Please call me Angela, Ms. Avens, or would you prefer I call you Zinnia".
"Oh uh I go by Nia" she awkwardly rubbed her arm waiting for something, more. It had been a long time since she had seen a mental health specialist and she began to realize why she never brought up what was in her head before. She felt and intense pressure in her chest and her mind was scrambled. 'What if I am crazy' she thought 'What will they do then, I'm sane enough to keep a job and take care of myself, my animals and my house.'
"Well according to your medical records you have a history of anxiety, depression, and even an attempt at suicide?" she read the board in her hands and rested it on the arm of her chair "Di you still struggle with suicidal thoughts Ms. Avens?".
She was surprised by the question and the demeanor of this therapist "No, I am coping quite well I believe, but please call me Nia".
Angela crossed her legs and sipped from a mug that was set of to the side "Then what brings you in Nia?"
"Well... I-" she didn't know how to start "I keep having these strange nightmares and flashes of horrific images in my head." She sighed "I see this creature" She looked at Angela who had grabbed her board and began taking notes as she spoke.