"Do you still see your uncle?" This question was asked by the beautiful woman, sitting behind her desk in her office.
Doctor Emily Grayson is a licensed therapist.
Loose curls of her blond hair lay perfectly on her shoulders, thin glasses hung on her nose, hand scribbling something on the notebook that she was holding while asking questions and looking at the other woman in the same room as her.
" No." Dr. Grayson hummed and noted that before averting her gaze back to the long-haired woman sitting on the couch in front of her.
Skin as pale as the moon in the dark sky at night.
Lips that are as red as the apple that was given to Snow White by the witch.
Blue eyes as deep as the Pacific Ocean.
Beauty that could start wars.
Face that's worth writing poetry for.
Sitting on the couch, a tall slim woman, dressed in wide light brown pants that hung on her tiny waist with an elegant simple belt, a dark turtle neck with a creme silky blouse that wrapped around her figure perfectly, Styled with pointy high heels, and very simple yet expensive jewelry.
Her jacket lay on the side of the couch, her back resting on the cushion behind her, closing her eyes and only talking when the doctor asked her something.
"Lucia, is there anything you want to tell me?" The forty-year-old doctor asked the question…
The same exact question that she has asked Lucia in every session for the last seven years of working with her.
Lucia remained silent for a long period of time, the doctor waited patiently for her and did not try to rush her or ask anything more before hearing Lucia's answer.
" I have been seeing something new." Finally, after two whole minutes of pure silence in the room, Lucia decided to open her mouth and talk in her raspy voice.
The doctor's face immediately paled because it had been two whole years since she gave Lucia some medication which she thought completely cured Lucia's hallucination.
She was kind of right because Lucia did not see her uncle around anymore.
Hearing that Lucia is seeing things again, sent a painful pang to her heart.
Lucia isn't just a regular patient to her, she is more like a daughter to her.
Knowing how hard her past is, she wants nothing but to see her healthy and happy.
" What have you been seeing, Lucia?" Emily asked in a soft tone.
Silence fogged the room for a little while before Lucia decided to raise her head and look at the doctor right into her eyes, sending a shiver down Emily's back.
Nonetheless, Emily acted infected.
Dealing with people like Lucia, specifically dangerous people used to make Emily shake in her boots but now she is used to it…
But Lucia is different.
Her eyes are dark, there is a dark aura around her wherever she goes.
Lucia doesn't even hold eye contact with the doctor usually which is why the little few times she does, kinda freaks Emily out.
" I have been seeing three masked men follow me…" When those words left Lucia's mouth, the doctor's brows furrowed in both curiosity and confusion.
Looking at Lucia's past, there was no clear reason why she would hallucinate seeing masked men.
The doctor did not say that, she only noted it and asked " Masked men? How many?"
Lucia seemed unsure, hesitant as she tried to remember " I'm not sure… Three maybe."
Noted
" Can you describe what their masks look like?" The doctor pushed her glasses up closer to her eyes, her pupils squeezed in focus.
" Ghost faces… Eyes that looked like the letter X, a mouth that seemed like shark teeth, and nose like you would see on a human skull. The masks glow. One in red, the other in yellow, and the last one in green."
Lucia slowly described while blankly looking at the wall behind the doctor, her tone steady, voice raspy.
Emily felt so confused after hearing this because not once in those seven years that she worked on Lucia's case, Lucia has mentioned anything about masked men in her past.
She noted this important information for later and carried on.
The time was up for this session but Lucia was an exception.
Lucia's sessions have never been timed, they only stop when Lucia says it's enough for today and if she doesn't, Emily does it for her.
" When did you start seeing them?" The question left the doctor's mouth, curiously watching Lucia who moved her tongue on her soft lips wetting them " A year or more maybe. I'm not sure but it's been over a year."
Emily widened her eyes, as much as she wanted to scold Lucia for not telling her this earlier, she needed to remind herself that Lucia was only her patient, not someone close to her personally, which meant she was not allowed to scold her " May I know why you have never mentioned this before?"
" I didn't care about it back then. I was just happy because I stopped seeing him."
Him as in her uncle.
The doctor hummed understandably " Where do you see them?"
That question was left without an answer for a whole ten minutes.
Ten minutes of hearing only the sound of the clock.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
" Everywhere." Lucia paused to stare into the doctor's eyes " I see them everywhere I go. Around my house. In the law office where I work, in the mall when I go shopping, in the supermarket when I go buy the groceries, in the parking lots where I park my car. I saw them just outside before I came in here today."
Emily nodded and noted this, before she could ask another question, she noticed Lucia staring in another direction, then she decided to ask a whole different question than the one she had in mind " Can you see them now?"
" No." An honest answer left Lucia's mouth.
Emily was about to note this but her hands suddenly froze in place when Lucia spoke " I'm not even sure anymore if they are real or if I'm just seeing things again."
Emily said nothing, she could feel Lucia wanting to talk more which is why she remained quiet and allowed her to say what she needed to say.
" Each time I see them. I close my eyes and when I open them they are gone. Even when I take my medicines I keep seeing them far away from me, either from behind a wall, or on the roof of some building. Watching me. They have never got close to me, the only thing they do is watch me from afar."
Emily nodded and noted this as well " What do you feel when you see them?"
" Confusion. Curiosity." Lucia replied in a very calm tone.
" Do you ever feel scared when you see them watching you?" Emily asked this question with very high hopes, because for once she wanted to hear that Lucia felt something a very normal person would feel in this situation.
And it's fear.
" No."