"What do you mean? Aren't you happy? From what I've understood you like video games," Addison replied, tilting her head slightly towards one shoulder, "this is the model I bought for my son fifteen years ago, think that when I bought it it costed me $1200 and now it's worth something just for some collectors or for nostalgics!” Realizing that with those words it was as if she were telling to Xia that she didn't know how to get rid of the rubbish, she hastened to add "but it seems like a waste to throw it away when it still works, that's it," she muttered in slight embarrassment.
“Mh…” Xia turned the NexNetVR in her hands. She had never had to deal with systems of this kind given that economic reasons had kept her at a distance from the simulated reality sector, but she could still establish something from a simple visual analysis: the device had the rough appearance of something that had come out of fashion to the point that with that shape they no longer made anything but toasters or vintage items, it had scratches everywhere, some dents here and there and some cables had been fixed with insulating tape and there were stickers on it of musical groups that had been created when Xia still had to be led by the hand into the bathroom and most of which had dissolved or separated in the meantime. It looked exactly like something that had been entrusted to a young adult to care for. “I've never played in virtual reality,” Xia pursed her lips, “thanks for the thought.”
“So you're taking it?”
Xia nodded a few times putting the device back in its box, She had never had the opportunity to play in virtual reality since her family has never been very rich and even if the NexNet that had been given to her was old and could offer a barely superficial experience compared to modern models, she decided to seize the opportunity and try something that until then had always seemed beyond her reach.
The problem was that Xia's computer was obsolete if you consider the speed with which technology progresses and she didn't have the money to buy a game even though she now had the necessary equipment for virtual reality, Xia was however counting on being able to meet the minimum requirements for at least one of the highly succesfull F2P games produced in the last decade… so, nothing that a bit of web search couldn't solve.
"I'm glad to hear it! Knowing that you recently moved here and that you are a world away from most of your loved ones, I am sure that this will help distract you and give you a way to vent your thoughts!” Considering that there were people in the world who developed a sort of addiction to virtual reality, wasn't it unprofessional for a psychologist to encourage one of her patients to immerse themselves in a fictional world? “Now, our first session is over, so I have to say goodbye and leave you the date for the next visit…”
Addison walked away to her desk again, took out a piece of paper she kept specifically for appointments and quickly scribbled on it, “shall we do Tuesday in two weeks at 4.30pm? Hmm?”
“fine to me,” Xia stated, retrieving her crutches. She propped them up on the ground and used them as leverage to push her arms up and stand on wobbly legs that seemed only half capable of obeying her commands, not to mention the constant tingling sensation as if they were continually numb. Xia looked at the box that contained the psychologist's gift and gritted her teeth, still unable to accept that, when standing, her hands were continually occupied by crutches. Of course she could have solved the issue with a wheelchair, but that would have meant she accepted she lost part of her independence forever.
Xia couldn't help but think that perhaps her partial paralysis was her punishment for surviving, perhaps if she hadn't been playing with the phone that fateful day she would have seen the danger in advance and could have warned her aunt and cousin... perhaps if her aunt had had an extra pair of eyes on the road, all three of them would be alive, Xia would be fine and she wouldn't be walking along the Canadian Atlantic coast.
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“Good morning, you must be Xia’s mother.”
She came back to reality when she heard that Addison had opened the door and called her mother back in; despite now being halfway to sixty - she had her at thirty-eight - Xia’s mother was objectively still a good-looking woman, thanks to all the anti-aging creams and treatments she did to keep herself young and beautiful. She had dyed her hair blonde that perfectly hid her many white hairs and resting on her nose she had little glasses that made her look like a middle-aged professor rather than the beautician she actually was.
“That's right, I'm Maylin Huang. How did the first visit go?” Xia's mother asked moving her eyes over Addison's shoulder to look at Xia.
Xia couldn't see Addison's face, but her tone didn't seem enthusiastic or dejected, more than anything it sounded professional, if not even with a hint of optimism. “It's too early to say, it takes time and multiple sessions to establish a solid relationship with the patient, but your daughter is willing to work with me.”
Really? Xia would have dared to say otherwise, but she didn't interfere in the matter and she didn't try to demolish the psychologist's hopes, "Mom, there's a package to get here."
“Yes, just a sec,” Maylin replied, accompanying the words with a nod of the head, “do we already have a date for the next appointment?”
Every now and then Xia wondered if her mother cared so much about dragging her to a psychologist so at least she wouldn't have her around for an hour of her free time or because she was really trying to be of any help.
Addison nodded, "of course," Xia saw her pass the piece of paper on which she had written shortly before to Maylin, "I took the liberty of giving her a gift, having learned of the events that brought her here. This is a virtual reality set.”
“You shouldn't have, thank you. But is it normal for a psychologist to buy gifts for her patients?” Xia's mother asked, while Xia felt more and more like she was invisible.
“Well, technically I didn't buy it for her and it's not even a fresh set from the store…” Addison ran a hand over her neck and moved aside to allow Maylin to enter the office and retrieve the package for her daughter, “It's something that I think could help her.”
Personally? Xia thought the only thing that could help her was an open window and no one close enough to stop her from using that escape route to correct the mistakes of fate. However, her mother smiled kindly at her daughter and walked past her, reached the sofa and retrieved the package, chuckling to herself, “how light it is! I expected it to be heavier!”
“So… I'll see you again in ten days!” Addison exclaimed smiling at her patient.
Xia's mother said goodbye and thanked again for the gift in her name, Xia limited herself to giving to Addison a nod and taking off one step at a time, supported partly by her legs and partly by crutches. They left Addison's office behind them and after using the elevator to go down the three floors of the apartment building where the psychologist carried out her work, they found themselves on the street; the temperature was around twenty degrees celsius and many people were walking around in t-shirts and shorts enjoying the last twenty-four days before the arrival of the autumn, even though Xia certainly couldn't do the diva she had decided to dress very elegantly, with a skirt that went down to her knees and a wide-necked t-shirt that left her arms on display. Maylin walked past her, holding the package in both hands, and she followed her to the old Ford Ka that was her grandma's car.
“Do you like the new psychologist?” Maylin asked her as she placed the box with Xia's gift in the small trunk.
“Yeah,” it wasn't really a lie, it was more of a half-truth: Xia didn't feel anything towards Addison, if Maylin had told her that Addison hadn't made a good impression on her and that she wanted to make another try with someone else, Xia wouldn't have batted an eyelid.
Her mother didn't say anything else, Xia sat down in the passenger seat, shortened the crutches and placed them on the back seats of the car. Shortly thereafter they entered the traffic of a busy Halifax, headed towards the house where they lived: Xia's grandmother's house.