Lune Love

Progress

The next day, Luna was shifted back to her room by 7 am with instructions that she might feel fatigued, dizzy, and nauseous for the rest of the day. At 9 am, as promised, Dr. Lincoln showed up with a cheery face. He knocked at Luna's door before entering. "Come in," said Luna from her bed. Following the command, Lincoln entered the room. "Seems like you're feeling sick from the medication. Anything that you want me to get you?" "No, thanks for the offer." Luna declined the offer politely. "May I...?" Lincoln gestured towards the chair in front of the desk in the room for a seat. Luna nodded to show she was comfortable with it. So, Lincoln settled in the seat and faced Luna, who was lying down on the bed. "I do not want you to exert yourself at all, Luna. So if you feel we shouldn't do a session today, we will reschedule this for another day." "Oh no. Not at all. Every session means me getting closer to leaving this place. I would like to continue with the session please." Lincoln knew this wasn't a good idea at all, but he decided he'd keep the session short and light, to not cause much emotional strain on Luna. "If that's how you feel. Let's get started then." Lincoln picked up his board pinned with papers and his pen to take notes, seriously like a doctor. As Luna saw Lincoln assuming his traditional therapist stance, her hopes were gone. Lincoln noticed the disappointment on Luna's face. "Just kidding. These won't be necessary today. Because first of all, I need to get to know my patient well. No serious stuff today." those words comforted Luna a little.

"OK. What do you want to know?" "Interests. Let's talk about your interests first." Lincoln put away his things and sat down like a gossip queen ready for tea. "I... like watching movies and series I guess." Luna took a brief pause before speaking further. "Also, I love watching fish swim in the water. As a child, I used to get super excited whenever I was told I was going to an aquarium." "Do you have a pet fish then?" asked Lincoln. "I used to. A cat jumped in my window one day and ate my pet goldfish." "I am sorry to hear that." "Haha, don't. Because I did something to the cat that ate my pet fish." Lincoln was expecting the next sentence to be the most gore-filled, evil thing ever known to mankind. "Ohh... W-what did you do?"

Lincoln gulped dramatically. " I put a new goldfish in the bowl to lure the cat back again. And on the table on which the bowl was kept, I spilled water, added some salt, and dipped a n***d electric wire with electricity running through it." Lincoln had his eyes widened in reaction. "Did the cat come back?" "It did. I had a good laugh that day." Lincoln laughed nervously too. 'This lady is crazy,' he thought to himself. " So do you still have a pet fish?" "No, goldfishes are really weak organisms. They die at the slightest changes. So I stopped keeping fish." "But you could have gotten a different fish to have as a pet maybe. " " I could have, but honestly, I would rather see a fish swimming in a giant water body freely than in a small cramped bowl." "Valid and logical. You are very intelligent, Luna. I must make that remark. " "Thanks." For the first time in a while, Luna felt like she had received a genuine compliment. She felt good but she decided not to show that on her face.

Lincoln kept Luna engaged with his tricks. Although Luna was talking, she kept taking short breaks every 3- 4 sentences before speaking and Lincoln had noticed it initially. He knew why she was doing that little routine since he was the one who always did his homework. The night before, he had read the history of Luna thoroughly. 'Luna is taking these breaks so that she doesn't lose track and forget how to stop. Clara was giving her the right treatment. Just in the wrong way, about Luna. Clara did her best, as she always does.' Thought Lincoln, to himself, feeling a little bad for yelling at Clara yesterday.

Lincoln was winding up the session for the day when Luna took the initiative to speak up. "As much as I hate to admit it, I feel better today after this session. Thanks for that, doc." Those words kindled a smile on Lincoln's face. "I am so glad to hear that."

A few sessions went by. Luna was making significant progress with Lincoln. And it was finally time when Lincoln introduced conventional therapy in Luna's session instead of beating around the bush. It was a pleasant morning and Luna was ready wholeheartedly to attend the session. It was after a long time that Luna felt so spritely and ready to take the day head-on. Lincoln entered the room and sat down in front of the desk, at his designated spot. He poured a glass of water from the jug kept on the table and put the coaster on the glass. He made the preparations knowing the water would be required later on during the session eventually. And thus he began his work professionally- "I had been taking a different approach to your case Luna. I think you are well aware of that." said Lincoln with a mild smile on his face. "Yes, I am well aware indeed. And to be honest I am glad you did because I find it difficult to communicate with total strangers." "It's nothing rare. Rather it is a good sign that you don't overshare with strangers. We usually get to handle patients who tend to overshare on the chance they get because of the lack of attention that they have faced throughout their course of life." Luna smirked at the statement Lincoln made.

Lincoln noticed the expression on Luna's face. "Anything amusing on your mind Luna?" "No, just remembering some people from my school who had similar tendencies." "I did read in your previous files that you dropped out in your sophomore year. Was it the time when things got worse for you?" "Aha, now it makes sense for you to pour a glass of water before starting today's session." Lincoln maintained eye contact with Luna without speaking a word. Since her reaction could range from a murder attempt to a mental breakdown, unsure of what to expect.

"It was the worst year of my life." Luna had chosen to talk.