Dr. Chase Allart
1019 Words
"Are you sure he's okay?" Jessica asked nervously.
She was becoming unsure as seconds passed. She knew she had already decided to go through with the hypnotism thing, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy. Not that she was afraid to go through all the horrors that the past “her” might have experienced, but since she had a lover which she knew she cared about, she feared she might say something embarrassing in her slumber.
She glanced at Hannah who had been quiet ever since this morning. Looking at her expression, she couldn't say whether her sister was nervous either. Hannah had a determined look as if she was ready to face anything.
Until now Hannah didn't believe the articles pointing the murders to her past life's lover. Her sister insisted and believed until now that Jehan was not to blame— and if ever he did kill someone, there should be a deep reason why he did.
Jessica had to admire Hannah’s faith. It really must be different to have a lover who loved you back. On the other hand, in all the dreams that she had so far, Jessica’s lover Johann, was a passionate man…in bed. But never had she heard once that Johann loved her.
Jessica’s lover had been protective of her, and yet, in the dreams, she could also remember trembling in fear of him— remember being bullied by him.
Sometimes Jessica had to ask herself if the past “her” really did care about Johann as a person, not as a lover, since Johann could be quite a cold man. There was a memory that she had of Johann getting angry because she had placed a cup of tea on top of his favorite book and he got mad. Jessica got scared of him, and yet, the lovemaking which followed was enough to heal her heart.
Jessica wondered now if the present “her” would miss Johann when she did remember the past. She cared about him in the dream, but she couldn't say how deep since she only ever saw flashes of memories. Unlike Hannah, she was still able to build a wall between now and then, the present and the past.
"He was recommended by the person I respect, so it meant he's more than okay," Caroline answered which somehow appeased Jessica.
"How long are we going to stay here?" Hannah spoke for the first time. Among the four of them, she was the only one who had really looked forward to coming here.
"Let's go in," Sam suggested as he knocked on the door and turned the knob.
Unlike the typical sterile white room most clinics looked like, the office inside with its mahogany and deep burgundy motif was out of the usual— and so was the furniture which looked like antiques. Most of all, the man sitting in a wingback armchair behind the table was the most unusual doctor they'd ever seen.
They had imagined Dr. Chase Allart to be an old, balding professional with a grandfatherly aura. The young man sitting in front of them, however, looked like he just stepped out of a fashion magazine, exactly the opposite of what they thought he'd look like.
"Ehrm…Dr. Allart?" they asked hesitantly as they stepped in further into the room.
"Yes?" The young man blinked at them several times as if trying to place them in his mind— and then he smiled as he stood up. "You must be the Taine Sisters. I have been waiting for you forever," he said as he ushered them into comfortable seats.
Forever?
"Ehrm…" Jessica wondered if they were very late to the appointment since they dawdled outside the office, but the time on her watch said otherwise. She decided to ignore it. There were more pressing things to do, after all, but she was clueless on how to begin. She wanted to speak but she hesitated since she didn't know how to open up her case.
The doctor might have noticed this and so he gave them all a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, there's no need to force yourselves. You can come back whenever you feel like doing this."
"But we don't have time," Jessica said and the young doctor studied her face.
"I know," Dr. Chase Allart answered softly. "The m******e in Le Paradis will celebrate its anniversary in a few days. If you want to save the life of the young person who was destined to die this year, you have to remember what you could," he continued simply as if he was just talking about food.
"Le Paradis?" Sam frowned. "There must be some mistake. The place we are talking about is Le Désespoir," he said but the doctor shook his head.
"Le Désespoir is not the real name of the place. It's Le Paradis," he said confidently and Hannah gasped.
"H-how did you know?"
Dr. Chase smiled at the sisters tenderly. "You might not recognize me now, but I do recognize you. You haven't changed in appearance in almost two hundred years since we last saw each other."
"Who are you?" Jessica asked but again, but the doctor shook his head.
"I will tell you when you remember— and I will help you remember everything."
Jessica and Hannah couldn't understand but somehow they felt relaxed. There was something about the doctor that felt really familiar. They let him lead them to the two beds prepared for them in the adjacent room and let him help them settle there.
"Are you ready?" they heard him ask as soon as they lay down, and the sisters nodded.
"We are," they answered.
"Good," Dr. Chase said as he leaned over them. "Close your eyes and relax," he ordered softly which the sisters followed.
The doctor then touched and murmured something barely audible, and for a moment, all they could see was black and then they heard Chase’s soft voice again, whispering to their ears.
"Bon voyage," they heard him say, and they found themselves falling and falling and falling until they reached the light.
- Writer
