(Tape record, By Dr. Lussie Anderson)
I've practiced therapy for 10 years.
In that time, i have seen all kinds of trauma- grief, assault, psychosis, guilt- but none of them ever made me question reality.
Until her.
Her name was Maddie Murne, she booked her appointment under a fake name, but i recognized the case.
She was one of the missing people from the Kerry house incident- that's what the news called it.
They were five friends, two of boys vanished, the other, a girl was institutionalised, the other left town with a new name and last- the girl who came to my office after she disappeared from the public eye entirely.
She showed up on the day of June, her eyes were hollow, her voice was flat.
She came knocking at my door, asking for help.
The appointment was on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, nothing unusual about it, except for the way she walked into my office.
She didn't look around or even blink at the calming earth tones which i pride myself on.
She had no interest in the soft music playing faintly from the corner speaker, not even at my lovely dog who was sitting on my desk chair.
She just sat on the couch with her hands folded and she asked.
" do you believe in haunted thoughts, Dr Lenn?"
It was an odd opening line, but not worrying, delusional thinking often comes out in metaphor.
I leaned in with my pen ready,
" haunted thoughts?" I repeated.
" yeah, thoughts that don't belong to you. Thoughts that just visit, thoughts that...whisper things while your are asleep"
She sat quietly, her eyes weren't blinking, her skin was pale, almost waxy, her fingernails were chewed to the bottom.
I had seen trauma victims who dissociate, but Maddie was something else.
I asked her to elaborate.
She told me she was part of a prank that had gone wrong.
A fake seance with her friends.
She named names: Jack, Alex, Jenny and Gray.
I remembered the details of the story.
Jenny, the girl was sent to a mental hospital after nearly killing a teacher and she stabbed her ears during a fire drill, claiming the alarm sounded like a " woman".
Alex and Jack are still missing, presumably dead.
And Gray, who's location is now unknown to the public, but he is still alive.
I asked her what she remembered, that's when things got strange.
She didn't answer with words instead,she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small,old brown note book.
She handed it to me and said, " its hers but she lets me borrow it sometimes "
"....i see "
I opened it, the pages were covered in dense looping handwriting.
It was not in English or any other languages, but there were symbols, glyphs, jagged lines that remind me by someone in a trance.
The notes weren't decorative, they were frantic. Angry.
It felt....alive.
As i turned the page, something sharp pricked my finger and blood welled up.
Then, i saw Maddie smiling for the first time,
A thin smile, that was joyless and contained a hint of pity.
" she likes your blood, that's how she says her words"
I dropped the note book, i always pride myself for not overreacting especially in front of my patient.
But something shifted in the room the moment my blood hit the page.
The temperature in the office dropped, as if the HVAC had died.
My breath became heavy, and Maddie was still sitting there, smiling.
" who is she?", i asked, my voice was shaking.
She looked past me, not at me but past me, like someone was standing behind my chair.
" i don't know, she just said she wants to play"
The overhead lights suddenly popped just like that, snapped like a bulb blowing, though it was an LED.
Then my phone buzzed, a voicemail.
My phone shouldn't have buzzed, i remember keeping it on Do Not Disturb during sessions.
I saw the number was just a string of zeroes.
Then i played it on speaker.
" i want to play"
The voice didn't sound like a human....i have never heard of this voice.
I felt chills running down my spine, my stomach began to twist.
Then i saw Maddie giggling, as if she recognised the voice- to who it belonged to.
I ended the session, politely but firmly.
I told her we would follow up next week Tuesday.
She nodded then stood up,and suddenly reached across the desk and touched my hand, her fingers were cold.
I flinched.
" you invited her, Dr Lenn, now, she is very curious about you"
Then she left the office, she walked out into the rain without an umbrella.
I burnt the notebook that night, couldn't sleep with it in my room.
But that night, i had a nightmare.
Dark corridors, i could hear strange whispers behind the walls.
Then, from the dimly lit hallway, i saw something tall and faceless, teeth growing from its chest, it was dragging its long fingers across the ceiling as it spoke,
" i want to play "
This time, the voice sounded like a broken child.
Days has passed now since that nightmare, now my dog refused to enter my office, he always stands outside of my door and growls.
I used to think that animals can't see spirits, but maybe they can see too much.
Then, three days later, i got a new client inquiry through my website.
Name: Gray William.
Reason for visit: " i want to play again"
I clicked "accept " before i even realised what i was doing.
And when i looked out the window just a moment ago, i swear i saw Maddie standing, smiling.
She didn't blink for over 15 minutes, then suddenly she titled her head sharply- like something cracked inside her neck, then she stepped off the curb.
I opened the window to shout, to ask her what she wants, but my voice caught in my throat.
A truck passed, and when it moved on, she was gone, i couldn't see her in the area, it was like she vanish into thin air.
Two hours later, the police pulled her body from a lake.
They found no water in her lungs, just her face locked in a grin, and both of her eardrums were ruptured.
Its been 3 months since that incident.
And me?
Am dead.
* Dr Lussie Anderson's case*
"An unexplained disappearance "
Dr Lenn has not been seen since August 15.
Her office voicemail now plays a garbled laugh followed by a static.
Her final session log ends with a single phrase, typed at the bottom of her website screen.
" i want to play"
[ Kai returns]
"So this is what happened to Maddie-
ohh well well well, chat you won't believe this,
Look who finally crawled in, give a warm hissing welcome to the channel's day one followers.
@ Oviesix
@Enchomay
@642
@Jaija
*smiles * now then, let's opened the floor,
"What do you guys think about Maddie, was she cracked or chosen?"
[@Enchomay: nahh, she was just an experiment, it was her fault, she took that notebook from the house]
"Mm, you're right"
[@Oviesix: she smiled before the lake, that means she finally knew "her" name]
" what about the doctor, is she really dead?"
[@Jaija: heh dead? Define that word for me, a body? Missing? A phone number that still calls people, sending them notes with the line " i want to play"? You tell me]
[@Enchomay: Gray...what about him, i saw his name on the doctor's website, is he now possessed?]
"Possessed? Nahh, possession implies control, this little lady just borrows his skin just like the way you borrow Wi-Fi, the leech-style "
[@Enchomay: oohh. I see]
[ @Oviesix: well that's sounds fun~]
*chuckled * indeed.
Well, that's all of it chat, today's streaming was fun, the four of you always bring the best insights and sometimes the worst omens.
[@642: no need to thank us]
"That being said, are you guys back for good or..."
[@Oviesix: yes]
" yayy~ you hear that chat? My buddies are staying"
Hehe, see you all tomorrow.