Rayne

She was sitting down with her legs crossed on the therapist's office chair, enjoying an everything-bagel with smoked salmon and garlic cream cheese. Her heavy boot tapped against the desk.

“So, do you want to tell me about your family?” Doctor Skylar looked at her from above their glasses.

Rayne sipped a cup of black coffee in silence.

“You voluntarily signed up for these sessions. You might as well make use of them.” Longer sentences brought out the doctor’s Scottish accent.

“I want to. But it is odd and difficult.” She looked through the window, frowning. It was on the 27th floor. All she saw were the tall buildings and an aeroplane ripping through the impeccably blue sky.

“Where did you grow up?” Dr Skylar asked.

“…Kyoto. I have told you before.”

“I know. I’m just trying to build it up, ease you in… Again”

Rayne glanced at the therapist, then back to the window. She bit the rim of the cup and stayed quiet.

“Why did you move to the US?”

“Why did you?"

Dr Skylar raised an eyebrow. She wanted to challenge them, but they clearly weren't intimidated.

"...To be me more freely.” Rayne quickly answered and looked away.

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The Doctor sat up straighter against the chair and leaned forward, resting an elbow on the desk between them. Rayne avoided their gaze and looked around the room.

She had been in that place three times, and her eyes always wandered to the dark red stain on the wall to her right. What happened that caused that stain? She wondered. It is far too high up for someone to accidentally spill a drink there.

Her eyes then went to the bookshelf behind the doctor. There were numerous books, from The Art Of Counseling to The Girl On The Train. She didn't believe Dr Skylar could have possibly read all of them.

“Did you read The Picture of Dorian Gray?” She asked, spotting said book on the shelf.

“Yes. Did you?”

“I did. Although, I will never understand what makes a book a ‘classic’. I hate those long paragraphs full of nothing.” She rolled her eyes.

The doctor smiled.

“Why do you think you enjoyed reading?”

Rayne sighed:

“Well... The books were always there. My family was not.”

“Tell me about Kyoto.”

Rayne furrowed her brow, wondering why the Doctor didn’t ask about her family after she caved in.

“Kyoto is a wonderful city. It is clean and modern, has great food, a lot of shopping spots…”

As she spoke, she stroked the scar on her pale white hand, observing her own body part as if it wasn’t hers, as though it belonged to some other human being, not her. Not her.

“How was your childhood?” Dr Skylar inquired.

She snapped out of her thoughts, looking surprised, but then processed the question and shrugged:

“Normal… My brother and I were adopted by an English couple living in Kyoto.”

“Interesting.” The doctor wrote something in their notebook.

“Why?”

There was no answer. Dr Skylar’s voice was raspy and emotionless.

Rayne’s eyes narrowed, and then… She couldn’t help but let out a chuckle:

The therapist raised a brow.

"You and I are so similar sometimes, you notice?" Rayne beamed, something the Doctor hadn't witnessed.

Her smile soon faded, and she shook her head.

“We never had a proper, normal relationship. My parents own a furniture company and have a lot of money but little time to spend with my brother and me. I still do not get why they adopted us.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.