am?”
“ Yes, that’s fine. See you
later.”
“ Certainly Akemi.”
After I visited Camilla, I
planned to confront my betrayers. The advice of a professional was
exactly what I needed before I wielded facts and accusations.
She was waiting for me
downstairs and ushered me to her office personally. She tried to
conceal the look of concern on her face, but it was evident to me
that she sensed this was more than just an average visit. Wasting no
time, she sat at her desk and focused on the couch where I sat.
“ Your call sounded urgent, so
tell me what's happening?”
“ Well, this isn’t exactly a
sexual problem but I figured you could help me.”
“ Go on, tell me.”
“ I’ve been getting these
phone calls… someone from my past that I can't quite identify,
knows about the baby I had when I was 16.”
The worried look on her face
deepened and her brow wrinkled in contemplation. She didn’t
interrupt me so I continued speaking.
“ The baby was stillborn and I
never saw it. I never even knew if it was a boy or girl. I was in the
hospital for a long while after the birth because my womb ruptured
and I bled profusely. They said I could never conceive again. I’ve
never told Shaun… as a matter of fact… I’ve never told anyone.”
Camilla leaned back into her
chair and folded her hands prayerfully under her chin. Again, I
continued.
“ But then there is the dream.
It's been haunting me recently. There is another child in my dream of
childbirth. I don’t know if it's a memory or just a nightmare, but
the other baby was alive… I just don’t know…”
She chose to speak and said,
“Akemi, many times when we have traumatic experiences, we bury bad
memories deep below the surface, it’s a kind of selective amnesia.”
“ Well, I have no idea Camilla,
how can I have another child and not know? The stalker sent me a
picture of a little girl… she looks so much like me…I'm so
confused and distraught…what will I tell Shaun?”
“ One thing at a time Akemi.
Will you be willing to try hypnosis to reach back in time? It’s
the only valid thing I can think of to bring out those hidden
memories. Do you want to give it a shot?”
“ There's more Camilla. The
same stalker sent me a video… one of Shaun with a woman. He didn’t
come home and he wouldn’t answer my calls. Then this person
terrorizing my life sent me a video of him at the office…the woman
he was with was so familiar…when she finally looked up it was…my
sister.I almost died.”
Professionalism left the room as
Camilla rose from her chair and hurriedly joined me on the couch for
a human moment.
“ It will be alright Akemi.
You’ve been through worse things. Once we uncover the truth you can
get past it. Trust me, we can get through it together and we don’t
have to say anything to your husband until you are certain you have
all the facts. Now I’m going to start at the beginning. Who is the
father of the baby?”
“ The day after Christmas there
was a party, but I can’t recall the details. It’s all so blurry
and vague. I was only 16 when they started me on the hardcore stuff.”
“ Alright, what I’m going to
ask you to do, is to lay on the couch and we will get started at
piecing together the puzzle. All I want you to do is listen to my
voice and become as relaxed as possible.”
I wasn’t even aware that I was
crying. Only the moisture on the tissue she had provided me with let
me know I had opened the flood gates. Camilla retreated to her desk
and gathered her legal pad, glasses and a recorder of some sort. She
walked around and sat in an upholstered chair next to the couch,
before she started her session.
“ Now I’m going to record
this session so you can listen to exactly what you experience. Maybe
listening to it will bring out more hidden truths. Listen to the
sound of your breathing, in through the nose and out through the
mouth, breathe deeply and slowly.”
I followed her instructions