coughed in a weak attempt to justify his gaze, “Damian Lang.”
He stretched out his hand.
Pauline didn’t even notice his unnaturally-sustained greeting; mostly because she was also caught off-guard by his appearance. She had been expecting a grey-haired, wise-looking old man wearing thick glasses; but instead she had been welcomed by a young, tall and well-shaped man. His longer hair, the sharp, square lines of his masculine chin, and wide shoulders followed by an accentuated torso didn’t leave the impression of somebody who had spent half of his life behind colossal medical text books in order to become a doctor. She would expect to see that kind of a man on a billboard, showing off his mysterious brown-eyed appearance as a model for some expensive fashion brand.
“Hello Doctor Lang, I’m Pauline,” she said, loosely shaking his hand as if she was afraid to feel the strength of his handshake.
She sat on a long, bronze leather couch, across from the psychiatrist who sat in his black chair. After he explained the formalities regarding confidentiality and cost, he was curious to find out more about her.
“Julia told me about you. She just told me that you are in a clinic right now, and that you are going through a very hard time in your life. Would you tell me more about what happened?”
“I…I,” she hesitated to open up to him, yet there was no way out. “I found out that my fiancée was cheating on me with his secretary. Typical male scumbag, that’s what he is!”
A flood of tears nearly followed the angry crescendo of her voice, but she decided to restrain them; after all, she had been crying for three full days previously.
“And we work in the same place, on the same floor. I can’t…I don’t want to go back.”
Dr. Lang listened carefully. He nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“And after that, I started to have some sort of hallucinations. I see an animal, a bear or something like that, from my dream in everyday life. Like a flashback, I see that creature just staring at me. I was terrified at first, and I still am, even though I know he won’t attack me. He’s some sort of intelligent animal, I had a feeling like we are communicating. But all in all, it’s driving me nuts, I know it’s not real, and I can’t live like that.”
Dr. Lang pretended he was writing something in a notebook in order to cover the rush of delight he felt when he heard her speak about the unnatural events. To him, that was confirmation that he didn’t feel attraction towards her only because of her curvy physical attributions. As a professional, he did his best to keep his sexuality aside.
“I understand. Firstly, I have to tell you that it’s just a way for your psyche to cope with the stress that was caused by the break up. Moreover, I believe that the animal is just a symbol of your, let’s call it ‘essence’, that is calling you to come back to yourself. Yet, it will take time and effort till we work through all of the accumulated emotions.”
“I understand, but you know, I feel like I’m drowning, like there is a stone in my chest that is pulling me down, all the way down to the bottom.”
“With everything you went through, you can be happy with yourself. You found the effort and the courage to find help. Many people never do that, and end up living with the stone till the end of their lives, never finding out who placed the stone there.”
Pauline was impressed not only by his words, but with the confidence that could be heard behind his words. He seemed like somebody who deserved to be trusted.
On top of that, there was another reaction she felt deep inside, and as he spoke, she felt a rush of warmth between her thighs. A smart, insightful man blessed with the musculature of a body-builder champion… she couldn’t feel much for him since her heart was covered with dark heavy emotions, but her body was unquestionably aroused.
“Now, I would ask you to fill out a few tests. I