Altered Images

Chapter Twenty Three ~ Sandra Leeds

I was worried. Was it too soon to tell anyone about what's been going on? The counselor's room was just through that door. The waiting room was small and quiet. The only other person there was the receptionist who was sitting at a counter near the front door. The room was very colourful with the walls painted a soothing light blue colour. I was sitting on the couch just next to the counselor's room. Next to me was a small oak table with a healthy looking orchid placed carefully on top of it. On the other side of the couch there was a small but full magazine rack. There were too many magazines shoved in and so many were hanging out. The latest version of the Women's Weekly had been left on the arm of the chair, most likely from the person before.

Sandra Leeds was apparently the best rated counselor in town. Her name was printed on a marble sign which had been stuck onto her closed door. The receptionist had told me that she was currently talking to someone else and so I should take a seat and wait. I grabbed one of her business cards off the counter and found a seat on the couch.

My appointment wasn't until 1 in the afternoon, but I decided to come early. Just in case she could fit me in. But it seemed, being the best counselor in town, she had lots of customers coming in to see her. I checked my watch which read 12:50. I was now regretting not eating lunch and coming here straight from the shop. I was conscious my stomach would start to rumble soon. Just as my mind started to wander, I heard the handle of the door creak and two shadows appeared directly on the other side of the perspex glass door.

The door swung open and revealed two women standing shaking hands. One was a young blonde woman and the other was an older woman with black hair with strips of grey running through it.
"Thank you so much," the younger woman said.
"No problem, hope those exercises work for you and I'll see you at the same time next week," the other woman said. I assumed that was Sandra Leeds.

As the other woman left Sandra Leeds walked back into her office, grabbed a dark green clipboard and returned back out into the waiting area. She looked at me and then around the empty room and looked back down at me again.
"Skye Witherdale?" She asked looking down at a piece of paper clipped onto her board.
"Oh, um, yes that's me," I said awkwardly.
"Ah, lovely. Come on in!" she said in a very nice, soft tone. She had a very soothing and satisfying voice. One you would expect a therapist to have. She guided me into the room and gestured to a chair opposite her desk. I gingerly sat down. This room was unlike the waiting one. It was brightly lit with a lilac carpet covering the floor. The walls were perfectly painted white and there was a big window overlooking the park.

"So Skye tell me, how are you feeling?" she asked in her incredibly soothing voice.
"Um, not great," I said looking at the floor.
"Hmmm. On a scale of 1-10?" she asked.
"Maybe a 2 or a 3?" I replied.
"I see," she said as she started to write down notes in her big blue book.
"Why have you come to see me today?"
"Well my mind feels so full and I feel so overwhelmed and I don't know what to do about it," I said desperately looking at her.
"Have you been to see a counsellor before?" she asked, not looking up from her notes.
"Not since I was young. My parents used to force me to go see her," I said nervously. Could she somehow know about Nelly?
"And was that an enjoyable experience?" she asked, finally looking up.
"No!" I said sharply. "She spent the whole time telling me what was wrong with me and kept trying to shove a diagnosis down my throat. Tried to put a label on me. It obviously wasn't true though." However I realised moments later that I might have said too much.
"I see..." Sandra said like she was going to keep talking. But she didn't.

There was a moment of silence as Sandra kept calmly writing down notes in her book and I kept staring up at the ceiling.

"Now Skye, I have been thinking about what you have told me. And I have an idea of something which might help you ease your mind."
"Ok.." I said hopefully, yet a bit worried.

Sandra opened up the drawer underneath her desk, rummaged about for a bit and then handed me a red journal. She must have seen that I looked puzzled.

"Now every time you feel overwhelmed or like you have to get something off your chest you can write it down. No one ever has to see it, so you can write down anything."
This actually made sense.
"Ok, I'll try that."

Strangely enough the hour had raced by and it was almost 2.
"Well Skye. It was lovely meeting you and I can't wait to see you again next week," Sandra said while standing up.
"It was nice meeting you too," I said standing up. Hesitantly, I said "Should I bring the journal next week?"
"It's completely up to you," Sandra said smoothly.

She led me towards the door, opened it and I walked back out into the waiting room. As I stepped outside into the cool air I felt better. In fact the best I've felt in a long time.