• It was two summers ago, when this all happened.
    I remember like it was yesterday though. Like I took some mental pictures and stored them in my mind. Unlike most memories, they didn't fade away with time. They grew stronger. They grew so strong, they almost took over my mind. I could almost still smell the freshly cut grass and that pungent outdoors smell. I could almost still hear the wind snatch at the leaves in the trees. I found myself tilting my face towards the rain and cold of Feburary, half expecting the summer sun to be there. I was going insane.
    I knew it.
    In two days I have my first appointment with Dr. Drakke Finn. My first time going to another person, and explaining why I'm so crazy. It felt weird and personal, but Sophie laughed when I told her.

    "It's not like that," she said, "It's not like he's going to ask you what you wore yesterday or your blood type"

    I laughed too.
    Partially because I'm an expert in hiding emotions.


    Chapter One

    Office chairs are uncomfortable.
    I wiggled in mine, finding something else in the small waiting room to critic. I had been sitting in there for half an hour and my nervousness had the best of me. I fumbled with my fingers and stared at the wallpaper.
    It was horrible.
    My eyes drifted around the room until they landed on the door that led somewhere behind the front desks. Soon, Dr. Finn would burst through those doors. Soon, my name would be spat out just like the others. I wiggled some more in my chair and tossed the magazine back on the end table. A sick feeling overcame me.
    Then the door opened.
    A guy no older than me strode out. He looked around the empty waiting room with an air of superiority and spying me asked, "Katherenne?"

    I nodded.

    "I'm Dr. Finn," he said, opening the door wider, "You can come back now"

    I stood, forcing my legs to cooperate and take me into the back room. Right. Left. Right. Left. It seemed an eternity before I sat down on the sofa of Dr. Finn's office and watched as he opened the blinds to another rainy day.

    "Awful weather today," he said, touching the glass of the window, "Summer needs to hurry"

    I shuddered at the mention of summer.

    He turned, walking over to where I sat and took a seat across from me. He folded his hands, watching me expectantly for a moment, before breaking the awkward silence that fell.

    "So, how are you today Katherenne?"

    "Good..."

    "Good," he replied, taking out some papers. By now, my palms had become clammy, "So what brings you here today?"

    It seemed a kind of abrupt question, but clearing my throat, I told him that this wasn't my idea in the first place, but my sister's.

    "Sophie?" he asked, laughing, "She's protective and loves you is all. You're the topic of many of her conversations"

    "You know her?"

    "Yeah. We went to school together. It's such a small town..."

    "She never told me. She's always so...so secretive"

    "What do you mean?"

    "It's hard to explain. Like, two summer's ago--"

    I stopped.
    My throat clamped up and my mouth locked. Dr. Finn noticed and leaned forward as if he was watching some intriguing show on television.

    "What happened just there?"

    "I don't know," I said slowly, "I froze..."

    "What happened two summers ago, Katherenne?"

    I took in a deep breath, letting it out as a crack of lightning split the sky. Sophie had said it wasn't what I thought. She was right. It's harder.

    "First, maybe you should know that my name isn't really Katherenne..."

    ♦ ♦ ♦

    I walked quickly down the street. Past the brightly lit shop windows. Past the banners advertising sales, new in-style clothing and the models who seemed so happy to show it off. It all made me sick. I looked down at my feet and hurried along.
    It was a little past twelve when I slipped into the house and raced up to my room. I thought I saw Sophie peeking around the kitchen corner, but I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to do anything but sit, and think. I slammed the door behind me and sat slowly on my bed, replaying what went on that day in my mind.

    "What happened two summers ago, Katherenne?"

    "So much happened," I said out loud, laying on my back, "So much happened but you will never know"

    My response was a small knock on my door.

    "Katherenne?"

    "Not now, Sophie"

    "Please let me in? I want to know what happened"

    I hesitated.

    "Will you be going back tommorow?"

    I folded back the corner of my bedspread and admired the designs in it, as if I hadn't seen it everyday and every night. My mind took over my body, just then, and before I could stop it, I replied: "Yes"...


    Chapter Two

    "We're going to a summer house," Sophie announced over the television.

    I looked up and flipped it off. "Really? Mom said so?"

    Sophie nodded.

    "Grandma's old house?"

    "No," Sophie said, flopping on the chair across from me, "It's a new house. Big and stuff. But Mom and Dad got it for really cheap"

    I frowned, "So what's wrong with it?"

    "Nothing, it's just cheap"

    "Why did you think something was wrong with the house, Katherenne?" Dr. Finn asked.

    "I had a feeling, I guess," I replied, pulling myself onto the sofa of his office as if the floor was a deep blue sea waiting to consume me, "I was right though"

    Dr. Finn nodded, and I continued.

    "Mom said we'd be leaving this weekend," Sophie continued, and suddenly perked up in her chair, "And you know what else?"

    "What?"

    "Well...I probably shouldn't tell you"

    "Tell me what?"

    Sophie laughed and shook her head. "It's a surprise"

    [To Be Continued Upon Request]