THE PATIENT IN ROOM 13
THE NEW BEGINNING
Monday, November 6th – 9:00 AM
The office was small but bright, with windows that faced the street and walls painted a soft, calming blue. It was on the second floor of an old building in downtown Ravenwood, above a bookstore and next to a coffee shop. The rent was affordable. The location was convenient. And most importantly, it was not in a hospital.
Sloane stood at the window, looking down at the pedestrians walking below. The city was waking up. People hurried to work, coffee cups in hand, briefcases swinging. Children walked to school, their backpacks bouncing. The world was moving.
The voices in her head were quiet.
“It is peaceful here,” Marian said.
“It is.”
“You deserve peace.”
“I don’t know about deserve. But I need it.”
Sloane turned from the window.
The office was still mostly empty. A desk. A chair. A bookshelf. A few boxes of files she had brought from the hospital. She had not yet hung her diploma on the wall or placed her father’s photograph on the desk. She was not ready.
“When will you be ready?”
“I don’t know.”
“The patients will come. They will need you.”
“I know.”
“Are you prepared to help them?”
“I have to be.”
The first patient arrived at 10:00 AM.
Her name was Tess Morrow. She was twenty-eight years old, a graphic designer who had been experiencing nightmares for months. She had been referred by her primary care physician, who suspected the nightmares were related to unresolved trauma.
“Dr. Vance?”
“Please, call me Sloane.”
Tess sat down in the chair across from the desk.
“This is a nice office.”
“Thank you. I just moved in.”
“It’s much nicer than the hospital. I visited someone there once. It was… depressing.”
“The hospital is closed now.”
“I heard. The news said there was some kind of scandal.”
“There was. But that’s in the past. Today, we’re here to talk about you.”
Tess nodded.
“I’ve been having nightmares. Every night. The same one.”
“Can you describe it?”
“I’m in a dark place. A tunnel, maybe. Or a basement. There’s a door. An iron door. And behind the door, something is waiting.”
Sloane’s heart rate did not change.
“What is waiting?”
“I don’t know. I always wake up before I open the door.”
“How long have you been having these dreams?”
“Months. Ever since my grandmother died.”
“Tell me about your grandmother.”
Tess looked down at her hands.
“She was the only one who believed me. When I was a child, I used to see things. Hear things. Things that weren’t there. My parents thought I was crazy. They wanted to send me to a doctor. But my grandmother said I was special. She said I had a gift.”
“What kind of gift?”
“The gift of remembering. She said I could remember things that other people forgot. Things that happened a long time ago.”
“Did you believe her?”
“I didn’t know what to believe. I was just a child. I wanted to be normal.”
“And now?”
“Now I don’t know what I want. I just want the nightmares to stop.”
Sloane leaned forward.
“Tess, I think I can help you. But you need to be open to something. Something that might sound strange.”
“I’m open.”
“The door in your dreams is real. Not in the physical world. In the world of memories. Behind that door are people who have been forgotten. Children, mostly. Children who were buried alive. Children who were erased.”
Tess’s eyes widened.
“How do you know about them?”
“Because I am the Keeper. I hold their memories. I give them voice. I help them find peace.”
“Are you like me?”
“I am like you. I have the gift. I was trained to use it. And I want to teach you how to use yours.”
Tess was silent for a long time.
Then she said, “Will the nightmares stop?”
“The nightmares will stop when the children are at peace. And the children will be at peace when they are remembered.”
“Can you help me remember them?”
“I can help you remember. But you have to be willing to face what you find.”
Tess took a breath.
“I’m ready.”
Sloane spent the next hour with Tess, guiding her through the memories, helping her confront the forgotten children. It was painful. There were tears. There was fear. But there was also release.
When the session ended, Tess looked different. Lighter. Freer.
“The nightmares,” Tess said. “I don’t think I’ll have them tonight.”
“You might. Change takes time. But you have taken the first step.”
“Thank you, Dr. Vance.”
“You’re welcome, Tess.”
Tess left.
Sloane sat in her office, alone.
“You helped her,” Marian said.
“She helped herself. I just showed her the way.”
“That is what Keepers do.”
Sloane looked at the empty chair.
She had a lot of work to do.