The Atlantis Twins by M.S. Kaminsky

Author:M.S. Kaminsky
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: OM Press
Published: 2017-01-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

I posed for the security camera, and Dr. Jergenson buzzed me in. On my first visit, I smiled at the lens. Now, I stared it down like paparazzi. Inside her office, I sat down across from her on her leather sofa. As always, she sat patiently, waiting for me to speak first. The room was simple, comfortable. Paintings with abstract shapes and muted colors. Nothing that might upset a crazy person, I supposed.

“Haven’t I been seeing you long enough?” I asked.

“There’s no set timeframe for these things, Alysa.”

“I’m screwed up, huh?”

“You had a serious accident. Your blood work is normal, but your memory should have recovered more by now.”

“But I am getting better. I remember… things,” I half lied.

It was somewhat true. I remembered stuff, mainly about Alyx, but I had no plans of sharing those memories. They were private.

Memories. That was Dr. Jergenson’s focus. Ever since I admitted I remembered almost nothing from before my rescue, that’s all she talked about. Sometimes I made up stories. Perhaps they were memories. Wasn’t a memory just a story, anyway?

“You’re distracted,” Jergenson commented. I shifted on the sofa, the leather sticking to my thighs.

“No, I’m not.”

Jergenson was a neuropsychiatrist who specialized in people with brain injuries. “Have more memories returned?” I shrugged. I considered mentioning Fish Mouth or hearing Alyx’s voice and wondered how she’d react. “Did it ever occur to you that part of you, that scared little girl inside, doesn’t want to remember?”

I laughed. “I’m not scared. And why wouldn’t I want to remember?”

“You had a traumatic experience.”

If that’s what Jergenson believed, she was deluded. I’d happily eat my left foot if she guaranteed I’d remember the past.

“Mom sang lullabies when we born.”

“An early memory?”

“Alyx told me.”

“Impressive. I can’t remember anything from that age. What else does Alyx tell you?”

My mouth went dry. I’d specifically decided not to tell her that. Had I said my thoughts out loud?

“Pardon?”

“You mentioned Alyx told you about lullabies. Is everything okay?”

“I need water.”

Dr. Jergenson crossed to a pitcher of water and poured a glass. Putting it beside me, she gently patted my arm and sat next to me on the couch. Her expensive floral perfume made me nauseous. It smelled like funerals.

“It’s normal to miss your sister. But your dad told me you visited the police again. I thought we decided that was an unhealthy pattern.”

I panicked. You know you’re losing it when you consider saying something to someone, decide not to, and blurt it out anyway. At least I hadn’t told her Alyx only talked to me when I dived, that she wanted me to follow her deeper. Now that would be bad. I pictured myself wheeled away on a gurney, drooling while a tattooed orderly sedated me.

I thought those things and then I looked up with wide eyes. Had I thought them or said them? But Jergenson still waited for a response. My stomach rolled over again. I needed to leave.

“Even if your mind doesn’t remember, your body does.”

“Pardon?”

“All our experiences get stored in our bodies.

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