The Flower and the Serpent by Madeleine D'Este

Author:Madeleine D'Este [D'Este, Madeleine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780994604286
Published: 2019-12-04T05:00:00+00:00

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HOLLY

‘I'm here to see Dr Hawthorne?’ Holly said, her voice more confident than she expected.

The office was a far cry from the local medical centre where the plastic benches were bolted to the floor. This room, situated in the front rooms of a grand old house with an eight-foot hedge, was renovated in period style. A ribbon of floral wallpaper wrapped the walls and a chandelier hung from the intricate ceiling rose above. The two chocolate-brown Chesterfield armchairs even had cushions.

‘We're closed, dear.’ The woman with sensible grey hair behind the desk barely looked at her as she packed a plastic lunch box into her canvas bag.

‘Is she still here? I only wanted to ask her a couple of questions.? Five minutes tops?’

‘Dr Hawthorne is a very busy woman,’ the receptionist said as she slipped on her coat and changed into her white sneakers.

Holly widened her eyes and blinked. ‘It's for a school assignment.’

The woman shook her head. ‘I can make you an appointment for July but I have to close up now. Take a card and give me a ring tomorrow.’

‘It's okay, Deirdre.’ A willowy woman in an ankle-length skirt appeared at the door. ‘I have a few moments before the Stangersons arrive.’

‘Thank you.’ Holly stepped forward, her hand pressed against her chest. ‘I'm very interested in psychology.’

‘Psychiatry,’ Deirdre tutted.

‘You go, Deirdre,’ the doctor said. ‘You don't want to miss your qigong class.’

‘Oh yes, Mr So hates it when we’re late.’ Deirdre hurried out with three bags racked along her arm. ‘Bye.’

Dr Hawthorne ushered Holly through a doorway and into an office with three framed degrees on the wall and a porcelain bust on the desk. ‘I didn't catch your name.’

‘Holly. Holly Trevelyan,’ she said as she lowered herself into an armchair, which enveloped her like a soft hug. Her nervousness drained away.

‘How can I help you, Holly?’ Dr Hawthorne steepled her fingers on the desk. Holly wished she could rifle through all the secrets in the three-drawer filing cabinet in the corner but the sight of tissue boxes carefully positioned around the room made her jumpy. This was a place where people confessed their darkest secrets, a place where sanity and insanity lived side-by-side. What happened to all the unburdened problems? Did all the confessions soak into the walls?

Holly swallowed, the strange sour taste still lingered at the back of her throat.

‘Are you studying the mind at school?’ the doctor asked. ‘I'm thrilled the school curriculums are progressing.’

‘Not entirely.’ Holly cleared her throat. ‘I'm on the school paper. I have an idea for a story about teen mental health: tips to help identify issues in teenagers. ‘How to recognise if a friend needs your help.’ So I thought I should talk to a real psychiatrist.’ Holly was careful to pronounce the word correctly this time.

‘Excellent idea,’ Dr Hawthorne said as she swept up her ash-blonde hair and fastened it behind her head with a clip. ‘Teenage years are especially tough. This is often when the first signs of mental illness appear.

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