Second Sphere

And in the beginning there was...

*present day*

"Magdalene." A brief pause and then again "Magdalene." This time more insistent than before.

I snap out of my dazed state to look at the doctor. Christina Raynor, the consistent and fairly recent thorn in my side.

She sighs, "Magdalene this would be a lot easier if you actually talked to me. These sessions are court mandated, you have to talk to me." She sighs again. "You have been pardoned, even given citizenship here in the US. But that's conditional, we need to know how you are doing." She makes direct eye contact, "and that means doing more than staring at the clock."

I clear my throat, "And what was wrong with my last therapist?" I pick at the hem on my jeans. One leg over the other, arms crossed and leaned back in my chair. The same defensive position every week just waiting for the clock to count down so I can leave.

"Your last therapist wasn't me, we want everyone on the same program. It makes it easier for the government to...make sure you are alright." Her pen clicks in her hand as she opens her journal to write.

I scoff rolling my eyes, 'make sure I am alright' more like make sure I don't kill anyone they don't want me to kill. The government doesn't care any further than that. I shoot a glare her way. "My last therapist actually lived where I lived, I didn't have to fly to see him once a week. Do you know how long it is to get here from Atlanta? It's a two and a half hour flight by itself. That doesn't even include the time I spend getting through the airport."

She doesn't even look up as she continues to write, "And you have so much you would like to be doing? You barely leave your home-"

I cut her off, "I go places. Plenty of places." She raises an eyebrow at me. "It's the same places but I go, I don't just sit in my home all day." Places that include the grocery store and...no it's just the grocery store.

She pinches the bridge of her nose, "You know this is just a temporary arrangement we can switch to Skype calls. But first I need you to talk to me."

I lean back further into my chair. "Okay about what?"

"Let's start at the beginning, tell me how we got here." Dr. Raynor settles in with her notebook waiting for me to begin.

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There isn't a lot I can recall from my childhood or even into my early adulthood. I can't remember my parents faces, I don't know if I had siblings. The first thing I remember is the icy water of the river, pulling the heavy American soldier out of the river and onto the bank.

"Oh god , oh god, oh god." I say over and over to myself. This man I just pulled from the river. He has one arm that has been ripped to shreds. How does this happen?! The war was present here in Austria but this, this was something else entirely.

Putting my ear to his chest I don't hear any breathing. I begin pressing on his chest. Maybe I can get some water out? Or try and breathe air into his mouth? I rack my mind for anything that could help. I take a shaky breath. "Okay we can do this, you aren't dying on me soldier we still need you." I pinch his nose close and put my lips to his own forcing as much air as I can into his mouth. And then again. After a few attempts he begins coughing up water.

I rub his back in circles as he coughs up water, laying on his side. "There we go, you're safe now. It's all alright."

I'm startled by a voice above me "Are you sure about that little one?" I look up just in time to see the soldier raise his gun and hit me with it and the world goes dark.

When I wake up I realize I'm tied to a chair in a dim room. My head throbs and I can see dried blood on my clothes. Groaning I pull at the rope tied around my wrists and ankles, but they are too tight to weasel my way out of.

A short man steps out of the shadows, "Good morning fräulein. I am Dr. Zola, and from now on we will be seeing a lot of each other."