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S. Brook Counseling & Therapy Clinic

September 22nd X288

A loud thud came from Dr. Ronaldo’s office.

Sergeant Honest and Florian went to investigate.

Dr. Ronaldo opened the door to his office. He had a cast around his right arm along with a shard of glass.

“What happened? You all right?” Florian and Honest rushed to his side.

“You’re here? Very good.”

“What do you mean very good? You told my parents you were going to release me from your care.”

Honest searched Ronaldo’s office.

“Exactly. I’m not qualified enough to help you.” Ronaldo slugged his way to the bathroom, ripping the mirror off the wall.

“So you’re going to destroy the clinic?”

“Florian!” Honest shouted from the office.

Florian rushed over to find the office packed with mirrors, glass, scopes, cameras, and medical equipment.

“What’s all this?” Honest said.

“I said I wasn’t qualified yet. That was four days ago. After brainstorming, I’ve devised several experiments and examinations we can try.” Ronaldo carried in the mirror, measuring its placement.

“Please don’t destroy the clinic, Ronaldo.” Miss Fumblehouse hid her face behind her plush turtle.

“He’s not destroying the clinic. He’s doing all this to help me.” Florian noticed Ronaldo’s dark urchin soul pulsating as it scuttled through the air, weaving threads throughout the office. “What can I do to help?”

“Break off the mirrors from my car,” Ronaldo said.

“Wait, Ron. If you need mirrors, I can go get you some.”

“Thanks, Honest. I’ll need about six more small ones and two large ones.”

“Will this one work?” Fumblehouse handed him a personal mirror from her purse.

“Perfect, five more small mirrors.”

“Great! I-I-I’ll go with you, Honest,” Fumblehouse said.

Honest and Fumblehouse left for the hardware store.

“What’s going on?” Mrs. Cobblestone said.

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out. This is a whole new realm of study. I believe your daughter’s vision is unique.”

“What do you mean?” Mrs. Cobblestone said.

“Don’t worry. This is a test to see if I’m qualified to continue counseling Florian or not. Nothing more.” Ronaldo set up a retina eye scanner.

Florian’s mother joined the others to procure the mirrors.

Dr. Ronaldo sat down in the center of the arrangement and directed how to tilt the mirrors.

“Banquet’s ceremony is in two days. . . I want you to listen to what I have to say. I need you to confirm my theory,” Florian said.

“Of course, but there’s a more important matter that needs attending.”

“What?”

“You can’t face Banquet without the confidence of knowing you have a soul.” Ronaldo tied a mirror to each of their foreheads.

“You mean, these mirrors are—”

“Exactly. To face Banquet’s distracting floating soul, I’ll find your soul right here and now. These mirrors will allow you to observe every corner of the room simultaneously. Sit here.” Ronaldo turned on the retina scanner and examined Florian’s eyes.

Ronaldo found nothing out of the ordinary and moved on to the subsequent optical examination.

“When I studied your journals of my soul, I felt an urge within myself rise. I feel a strange sense of confidence, like knowing who I am. If you find your soul, I know you’ll come to understand yourself as well.”

That explains why his soul’s evolving.

“I searched all my life; I don’t think finding my soul will be this simple,” Florian said.

“I’m sure you have a soul. If those criminals had souls and Banquet had one, then you do too.”

“I can’t tell if mine needs help. Am I happy? Am I in pain? It’s so easy to tell if others are happy or in pain. For me, it feels like I’m lost. I have no soul to show if I’m even alive.”

The others returned with the mirrors and helped position them. Ronaldo placed a mirror between their seats and set portrait mirrors behind them.

“No, this won’t work.” He rearranged another mirror above their heads. “Hahaha, this angle doesn’t suit you.”

“Are you just playing around?”

“I’m one hundred percent serious.” Ronaldo laughed and tilted the mirrors and put a glass pane over one.

Florian could see herself from almost every angle. The office turned into a house of mirrors.

After another twenty minutes of adjusting the mirrors and glass panes, the others left for the waiting area.

Florian sat in the center of the cluster of mirrors, unable to see anything but her reflection. She hadn’t noticed until then how much she’d changed. She adjusted her glasses and fixed her hair, noticing her swollen shoulder clearing up.

Ronaldo sat on the other side of the mirrors in his own space of reflections. He cleaned his glasses and wiped his sweat.

“Can you hear me, okay?” The room was utterly silent except for Ronaldo’s voice.

“Yes.”

“All right. Now, take a deep breath and meditate.”

“How can I? It’s a little warm here.”

“Sorry. How about this? Can you sense your hand?”

“My hand?”

“Yes, start with your index finger. What does it feel like?”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“It’s warm, maybe numb.”

“Numb? What else?”

“I don’t know. Like a pressure of some kind.”

“Good. Slowly concentrate on your whole hand from the inside.”

“I can feel something in there.”

“Can you describe it to me?”

“Warm, pulsating, tingly, tight, is that okay?”

“Yes. Let it go up to your arm.”

“Okay.”

“Sense your whole arm from the inside.”

Florian took a deep breath.

“See if you can sense both of your arms then your legs at the same time.”

She exhaled.

“That’s your presence. What you’re doing is getting yourself out of your mind. You feel it?”

“It’s weird. I feel strange.”

“Whenever you need to find yourself, feel your presence. Take as long as you need.”

A few minutes passed.

“The next thing you can do while you’re sensing yourself is to simultaneously look around.”

“Look at what? My reflection?”

“Just let it come to you. Don’t search for it. Just take in what you see. What do you see?”

“I see mirrors. I see your spirit.”

“Very good. There’s one final part. What do you hear? Sense your arms, legs, surroundings, and listen at the same time.”

“I hear you. Mom, Fumblehouse, and Honest are in the other room. There’s also a strange feeling around me.”

“What is it? Describe it?”

“It’s moving. Flowing like a stream.”

“That’s your soul. That’s you. You’re alive and right here. I have mine within me—”

“Your urchin’s on the ceiling.”

“Mine’s on the ceiling, with me. Yours is with you right now. Do you see your soul?” Ronaldo looked between the mirrors.

Florian shook her head. “Nothing.”

Ronaldo sighed. “There’s one more thing I can try.”

“If there’s a way? Absolutely.”

“Hold on. . .”

He wheeled in a custom-made contraption, a rotating door with mirrors on both sides. Between it was a see-through glass pane door.

“I have researched a method of hypnosis that allows us to trade our vision.”

“Really? Is that a real thing?”

Dr. Ronaldo shifted in his chair. “Yep, it’s real, and it’s very dangerous. Are you sure you want to continue?” Ronaldo smiled. His dark urchin soul wriggled its tiny feelers playfully.

Florian smiled. “Yes . . . I’ll try anything.”

“All right. Let’s start the hypnotherapy session.”

Dr. Ronaldo’s dark urchin spun in the air, whirlpooling its threads into a fine constellation.

“All right. Look toward the door. What do you see?”

“My reflection.”

The lights went a little dim. At the press of a button, the door turned to the glass door pane. Florian could see Ronaldo.

“With this, you’ll see you as I see you. And I’ll see me the way you see me.”

Florian felt a chill. She looked right into his eyes. The dark urchin was still in the corner of her eye, shaking its thorns and squirming.

“Don’t blink. Now. Dream.”

Slowly, the glass pane spun to its mirror side. Florian saw herself. The door turned again, and Florian could see Ronaldo. The wheel kept spinning from the glass pane to the mirror. Ronaldo stared into Florian’s eyes, making her heart skip a beat.

“This is how you see me.” Ronaldo pulled a switch.

The wheel stopped on the glass pane, and all the reflections on Florian’s side turned into Ronaldo’s image. She could see Ronaldo with his dark urchin from every angle.

“This is how I see you.”

The turntable snapped to the mirror, showing Florian herself once again.

“You’re looking at the Florian I see. A strong young hero who has the potential to do anything she sets her mind to.”

Florian burst into laughter. “Is this what you meant by swapping our vision?”

“What? It’s not working?”

“I get it. It’s working.” Florian took a deep breath. “I need to step back a little bit and see things from another perspective. Right?”

“Yeah. Like you, normal people live their lives without seeing their souls. Like you, normal people don’t know if they need help, yet they still live their lives the best they can. Like you, normal people hesitate, but eventually, they move forward. Like you, normal people experience failures, and they learn from them. Like you, normal people work hard and practice to improve themselves. Like you, normal people are living and breathing. Like you, normal people search for something very dear to them. Like your search for your soul.”

He paused. “You’re just like everyone else; you’re normal. Like everyone else.”

Tears spilled as Florian smiled. The words she wanted to hear relieved the weight off her shoulders. Florian curled up in her seat, covering her tear-filled eyes.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for everything.” She cried. “I never had a soul to express my true self. Even with sign language, I made expressions that didn’t feel like the real me. But now, I finally feel happy.”

🙠🙢

“I guess your hypnotism worked.” Florian smiled.

“What’s that!?” Ronaldo jumped out of his seat.

He stared at Florian, and his gray hair turned a hint whiter, eyes wide open.

“What?”

“That thing behind you?” Ronaldo said, terrified.

“What? I don’t see anything? Are you pretending to see my soul? You don’t have to; I feel better now.”

“No. I’m serious. It’s right there behind you!” Ronaldo said, pointing directly at it.

“You can’t be serious. . . I can still see your soul on the ceiling.”

“It’s like her journal. Calm down. They can’t harm us,” Ronaldo mumbled.

“Yeah. Don’t panic. Whatever it looks like, it can’t hurt you. Wait. What you’re seeing is my soul?”

“Well. It’s all around you.”

“What does it look like?”

“Bramble.”

“Bramble? A plant? I’ve never seen a soul that resembles a plant before! What else? Describe it to me!” Florian fidgeted, getting closer to Ronaldo.

“Bare vines beginning to bud, about as long as your arms. They’re wrapped around your body, strangling you. Wait, they’re unraveling. What’s going on? They’re now reaching outward. There’s a brown feather sticking out of one of the petals. They’re reaching toward me—”

Florian hugged Ronaldo. “A feather, the same one from my teacher a few years ago? What else?”

“They’re coiling around me. Let me draw it for you.” Ronaldo grabbed a pen, trembling still.

“Your hypnotism worked. But I can still see your spirit.”

“What’s it doing?”

“It’s hugging me too, with its slack spines.”

“I see. You said it was an urchin? I don’t see it.” Ronaldo hugged Florian back.

“I see yours plain as day. It’s fascinating.” Ronaldo handed the drawing to Florian.

It was a rose bush. The stalks were brambling about in a frenzy. It coiled around her arms, sprouting from her body. Still buds, the roses were growing.

Florian had finally found her soul. “So my power shared itself with you. Now you can describe my soul to me.” Florian embraced the picture close. “I have a soul. All this time, I had one just like everyone else.”

Ronaldo recomposed himself. “This means whoever has apparition vision can see souls except their own. However, if two people have apparition vision, then it can bypass that rule. We can describe our souls to each other. There’s so much to do. How will this affect my counseling?”

“Be careful around crowds. Don’t overreact either. There’s so much I need to teach you. Everything’s happening so fast.”

“You’re not alone anymore. We can work together to improve our understanding of this ability.”

“Yes. I want to know more about my soul too. I want to improve myself along with my soul.”

“We can both improve ourselves.”

Mrs. Cobblestone, Miss Fumblehouse, and Sergeant Honest entered the office; their souls seemed concerned.

“What’s with all the roughhousing? We heard Ron panicking about something.”

“Whoa! That’s what they look like? It’s so tall.” Ronaldo was startled, yet he approached Honest’s slender spike spirit, analyzing its structure and posture.

“Ron? What’s with you all of a sudden?” Honest asked.

“Oh, nothing. I just got carried away again.”

Florian hugged her mom and Miss Fumblehouse. They spun around with joy.

“What’s with the celebrating?” Honest said.

“Florian’s alive!” Fumblehouse said.

“I know she’s alive. She’s right there,” Honest said.

Florian finally had her soul. She couldn’t wait for the next visit to share the apparition vision ability with her most trusted friend.