The Dreamworld of Sylvia Stone

Reminiscence

'I'm in a closed room; perfectly lit, pristine white walls, floor and ceiling; Smooth, not a blemish on it; it is perfect! Everything about the room is... perfect. Perhaps too perfect. I hear a knock on the door, but there is no door. While I gingerly look around, a part of the wall just slides open. I walk through the door and see a long corridor. The door behind me shuts. The corridor is as perfect as the room, except, it is bright red! And some hazy patterns all over the walls that seem to be... moving! And however hard I try, I'm unable to see the end of the corridor. I decide to walk. I walk and walk, to no end. Just red, all around me! Suddenly, I hear a voice from behind me. I turn back and find, the door, right behind me! I'd hardly moved! Puzzled and petrified, I turn back again. This time though I see an end to the corridor. And at the end of the corridor is a flawlessly round sphere, pitch black, like one of those vantablack paintings. It is alluring, almost tempting me to touch it. I walk towards it and pick it up! It feels cold, ice cold! I drop it on the red floor and instantly the sphere starts expanding. In moments, it becomes... huge! It almost blocks my entire vision.

Then I hear it again, that scream. I turn back and find the door, again, right behind me! Just then, I feel something slither around my feet, like... snakes! I turn to find the things attached to the sphere! They're not snakes but... tentacles! Eight of them! An octopus! I hate octopus! They give me the creeps! As I stand there, terrified, two of the tentacles slide beneath my feet and lift me up. Higher and higher I go until I can see the top of the sphere, the uh... octopus. That's when I see it! Two gleaming blood red eyes glaring at me! A wide mouth with sharp teeth, perfectly white, grinning at me! An evil grin! I turn pale! Suddenly, something starts spurting out between the teeth, something... red! Blood! The grin grows wider and wider as I stare in horror at the monstrous ogre before me. I look up to avoid the evil gaze! A blurry black figure starts descending from above. A... man! I extend my arm towards him. The tentacles beneath me gradually lift me higher. As I get closer, his face gets clearer. It is Matt! From school! I wonder why he's there. Maybe he wants to talk to me. But why go through so much trouble and scare the bejesus out of me. And how is he... floating in the air! I realise something isn't right.

I call out to him. He has a blank expression on his face, quite unlike him. He always smiles. I demand an explanation. He comes closer. Facing me, he looks up and widens his eyes. I see his blue eyes! I stare at them, transfixed, almost in a trance! He waits for a moment, then smiles. The smile gradually turns into a grin, not unlike that of the octopus. He gets closer still, his body touching mine, his arms resting on my shoulder. He looks at me, smiling, and then... then, he pushes me! I start falling towards the ground, plunging towards my death!' Sylvia took a moment to calm down and have a sip of water.

'And then you woke up?' said Robert, as unperturbed as ever.

Robert Reeves had met hundreds of teenagers over his long and somewhat ill-reputed career as a psychiatrist. He had seen all kinds, the disturbed ones, the abused ones and quite often, the addicted ones. A decade ago, he had his license revoked briefly when he was convicted of running a drug racket for teenagers. He was eventually acquitted of the charge after an appeal to a higher court. But his reputation took a permanent hit. He now served the poor ones. His burden increased further when his wife, Emily, was diagnosed with leukaemia, with only a few months left to live. He had to earn enough to buy her medicines.  As his patients changed and his lifestyle changed, he changed too, growing increasingly ill-tempered, cranky and suspicious of people, especially teenagers. This time, was no different.