“What do you see?”
“It’s dim. I can only distinguish the shadows of huge trees forming a path.”
“So you are in a forest?”
“Yes exactly. I am in a forest. A walk in the woods always helps me relax and release tension. The fact that I am dragging a body behind me is irrelevant.”
Giuseppe's hypnotherapist tensed, almost ripping a piece of her chair off. “Can you recognise the body?”
“It’s a blonde female, rather tall with a slim figure but I can’t exactly see her face. It’s hidden in the shadows of the forest.”
Giuseppe was known for his chronic delusional syndrome, but he was harmless, or so she thought.
“Why are you dragging a body? Does this scene look familiar?” Nancy feared of what was to follow.
“A little bit. I think her guts are spilt on the forest floor creating a path behind us. I don’t seem to be holding any weapon, but my clothes are full of blood. Oh, wait I hear water. Maybe I am closing in on a lake or the ocean. Most probably it’s a lake. I don’t really like the sea that much and the water is salty.
“I can see her now. The full moon is so bright and vivid. I feel I am in the city again. She is gorgeous Nancy. She is bloody and pale, but she is gorgeous. Her horrified green eyes are staring at me without blinking. I feel that even though she is dead she can still hear me.” Giuseppe was twitching sporadically while nervously shaking his legs.
“Who is she, Giuseppe? Do you know her?” Nancy was sweating. She had the feeling that something was wrong with her patient’s dream. She stood up and started circling Giuseppe’s sofa thinking what if that wasn’t a dream and he committed a murder.
“She looks familiar, but I can't pinpoint exactly who she is. I know her. I am crying on top of her body calling her names and cursing the Gods for the unfairness in the world. I am out of my body now. I can see me, hitting the floor hard, screaming to the point where I lost my voice.” Streams of tears came down Giuseppe's cheeks and wetted his blue and white velvet suit. He always wore suits when he came to meet Nancy.
“What do you feel?” Nancy relaxed her face and realised it might be the loss of his favourite cousin that caused this distress and nightmares over the past few weeks. She sat back down.
“I am sad Nancy,” he said silently sobbing, “Why don’t you love me,” he mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
“Why don’t you love me, Nancy?” Giuseppe jumped to his feet, grabbing Nancy’s left wrist and repeated, “Why don’t you love me, Nancy? Why did you have to go and get pregnant by that stupid painter? You were supposed to be mine.”
“Giuseppe relax, the nightmare was over. I know it hurts because your cousin died. You can let go of me now.” Nancy was calmly trying to release Giuseppe's grip on her wrist.
“My cousin has nothing to do with this.” He screamed, “You were supposed to love me. We spend so many hours together. You said I had a bright future ahead of me; you said I was smart and handsome, and all the girls will want to go out with me. But why not you? I don’t care about the other girls. All I want is you, nothing else, I will even move in with you so we can see each other all day, every day.”
“I can’t be with you Giuseppe, the doctor-patient protocol doesn’t allow for such relationships to happen.” Nancy was trying to relax him and for a moment he relaxed his grip. “Can you let go of my wrist please.”
“I am so sorry Nancy I didn’t mean to hurt you. The nightmare was real. I almost thought I killed someone.” His breathing calmed down, and Giuseppe sat down on the sofa, so did Nancy.
“Now remember what we said about situations like this. Take ten deep breaths, relax, open your eyes wide and see what is really in front of you. Ok?”
Nancy’s hand was holding both of Giuseppe's to calm him down and bring him back to reality. He looked at her in the eyes and whispered, “Now I remember whose body I was dragging through the woods.”
“Good. Now I want you to stand up and move slowly to the door.”
“Why? You don’t want me to tell you who it was? You are the only one I can tell!” They both stood up.
“Our session is over for today. You can tell me tomorrow. Ok?”
Before Giuseppe realised he jumped out of bed and darkness surrounded him. The beautifully decorated office of Dr. Nancy was gone. A squeaky bed penetrated the silence, “Thank God it was just a dream.” He thought as he walked outside his cabin in the forest, strolling casually down a narrow path towards the lake. A figure was sitting on the shore waiting for him. Giuseppe smiled, “I hope you are not cold. I forgot to bring blankets, but I have chestnuts to cook in the fire.”
The figure didn’t reply. It starred at the lake and the bewitching beauty of the moon reflecting in the smooth water. Giuseppe approached her carefully, hugging her and asked, “Isn’t this just like a dream Nancy?”