"So Ms...?"
"Marcelina Steinburg..." She answered, laying back on the chair.
"Ahh..Marcy B? i've listened to a few of your talk shows..So, Ms. Bo-" She cut him off, laughing, "Please, just call me by my real name." The man looked slightly offended but sighed, "So, Ms Steinburg, why are you here today?" "Well" she started, "I've been having these recurring..dreams- well, they're more like nightmares"
The man looked intrigued at this, "Nightmares you say? Tell me more about that." Marcelina tensed up..even remembering them made her feel uneasy, like her stomach was eating itself in. "Well, they start with me just coming home from work.. I go to the bathroom and when i'm about to wash my face, I see 𝐢𝐭.." The man raised a brow, writing down something on his clipboard.
"It's just staring at me.. It looks like me- but it isn't! It has a strange hat- and a black suit- don't even get me started on its face!! It's horrifying..." "And was this horrifying thing doing anything other than staring at you, Ms. Steinburg?" She shrugged.. "Well- it's smiling at me..then when I turn around to face it, it suddenly lunges at me..laughing, and-" Marcelina was shaking..this dream really shook her up.
The man had sighed..he couldn't help her if she didn't tell him what was wrong..
"It..It would kill me- i'd lie there, breathless..I could feel the cold embrace of death- then I wake up. It keeps happening- I feel like I can't even get a good nights rest without it happening.." Marcelina, clearly uncomfortable, grabbed and cup of water and took a sip.
"Well, Ms. Steinburg, that is a rather..interesting dream. How long has this been going on?" She put the glass down, "About a month and some.." The man sighed, setting his clipboard down, "Ms. Steinburg, I believe this is just a fear over the supposed alterne outbreak."
"What?! I did hear about that but-" The man cut her off, "This is just a fear over the alternate scare, I assume you there's nothing wrong." Marcelina slammed her hand on the table, clearly annoyed, "Don't tell me that i'm being paranoid!! They are way too life-like to just be paranoia. I seriously think there may be something-" The man had raised his hand, as if to stop her from going on, "That's enough Ms. Steinburg. In your records, you have no prior history of these nightmares. It's clear that this is just a phobia of the alternates."
Marcelina was yelling while being pushed out the building, "I KNOW THAT THIS ISNT PARANOIA- YOU'VE GOT TO LISTEN TO ME" And, they shut the door in her face..
Frustrated, she stormed back to her car. She unlocked the door, sat down and shut the door, and just screamed. She was upset. No-one believed her, no matter what she said. People would just play it off like paranoia. She hated this..
Eventually, she started the car and drove to her apartment. Being a radio host, she lived in a pretty secure place. Opening the gate, she drove up to her building and parked. She got out and locked the doors, taking the elevator up to her floor. She put the keys in, unlocking the door and walking in. She set her jacket on the coat rack and sighed, locking the door and setting the keys up.
No one believed her. She was frustrated and beyond exhausted, these nightmares often led to her waking up in a sweat and not being able to fall back asleep. She turned on the kitchen lights, heading into the pantry to grab something to eat.
She angrily munched on an apple. If no one would believe, then she'd have to make them. And so, she took out a pen and paper and began writing the script for her next show.
The audience would believe her, one way or another.
