SKY BOY ; JOSHLER

therapy 001

when it comes time to go to his first therapy session, tyler wishes he could take his bike. but his mother wants to be there with him, and she hasn't had a bike in years. not to mention, biking would take too long, and they're already running late.
so, tyler once again finds himself staring at the handle to the backseat of his mother's red 2009 volkswagen jetta.
she is patient with him again, as she was in the parking lot of the hospital, but it doesn't take him as long this time.
he resumes the same position as before, both hands on the seats in front of him as he sits in the middle backseat with his eyes trained religiously to josh.
although his choice of view bothers his mother, she doesn't comment for the time being.

as they pull into the parking lot of the psychiatric office, tyler can feel himself become nervous.
'do you think he'll be mean josh?' tyler asks silently, 'no, i suppose you're right.'

tyler flies out of the car as soon as it's parked and he does his best to calm his nerves. his breathing is labored and shaky as he brushes off his pants in an attempt to stop his hands from shaking.

the office building is large, but not huge. it reminds tyler of a dentist office.
the waiting room is fairly small and the chairs are uncomfortable, but he isn't sitting in them for long. it takes only three minutes of tyler fidgeting in his chair for his name to be called.

tyler stands to meet the woman who called his name. she's tall, much taller than him, and she seems to like cats, judging by her sweater.
"hello tyler! dr.greyson is ready to see you now." she smiles brightly at him, and although it's shaky, he manages to smile back.
they walk down a large corridor, leaving his mother in the waiting room.
they continue to walk until they reach the near to last door, the name on it reading 'DR. ERIC J. GREYSON' across the glass in the dark wooden door.
the woman in the cat sweater opens the door for him and gestures him inside.
tyler steps through hesitantly and jumps when the door closes loudly behind him.

"tyler please sit down," the man says, as he moves his hand in the direction of two blocky cushioned chairs. their faded green fabric jumps out in the darkness of the room and they remind tyler of the chair josh had in his bedroom.
tyler sits in the one on the right because it's closer to the window.

"tyler, my name is dr.greyson, and i'll be your therapist until it is determined that therapy is no longer necessary. is there any questions you want to ask me?"
"do you like the sunset or the sunrise better?" tyler asks quietly. dr.greyson makes him anxious. he's a large man with a burly white beard and dark rimmed glasses. he wears professional clothing though tyler doesn't pay much attention to it, he's mainly focused on the wrinkles of his skin and the small remaining wisps of hair on the top of his head, smoothed down to look neat.
"i'd have to say the sunrise."
tyler nods but doesn't say anything more.

"tyler, would you mind telling me about the day of the crash? not the crash yet. just the day before it happened."
tyler's eyes shine with happiness and he can feel his cheeks become warm, their dusted pink returning in his glee. the day had been one of his best.
"josh and i went to the carnival," he started, his smile becoming bigger with every memory that returns to him, "we went on every ride and played almost all the games." tyler launches into detail on all the rides and the prizes they won. he tells of every ride, not leave out a single dip in a rollercoaster track, or a single second they waited in line. "then we walked around with cotton candy and waited in line for the ferris wheel. we saved it for last because we wanted a peaceful end to our night. josh is afraid of heights, but he went on anyway because i wanted to," tyler says, a slightly sad smile gracing his features and dimming the pink in his cheeks.
but his smile quickly returns when he continues his story. "josh and i just sat in the back seat of his car for hours. we didn't even leave the parking lot of the carnival. we just sat and talked about everything and anything." tyler went on to tell of their conversations and the way they laid in his backseat, the sunroof open above them and the radio on low.
"and i teased him with jokes and he tickled me until i couldn't breathe. then we went up to the view point to watch the sunset. and josh told me when he dies he wants to be the sky," tyler says, as he turns to look out the window,
"and i told him i wanted to be the stars."

dr.greyson hums in acknowledgment as he writes on his notepad.
"well tyler, our time for today is up, i say we pick up where you left off on wednesday hmm?"
tyler nods and stands, he hadn't even realized how long he had been talking, but he had taken up the whole hour with his retelling of their date.

this time as tyler walks down the long hallway he is alone, accompanied by nothing but the sounds of his footsteps and his shadow that crawls up the wall.
when he reaches the waiting room again, his mother stands and they exit the building.
"how did it go?" she asks him.
tyler just shrugs. "fine."
and once again, tyler finds himself staring at  the handle to the backseat of his moms car.