Embraced By Darkness ~ Chapter 3

Who is the dark figure haunting Emily's dreams?

                                                              CHAPTER 3


  Emily sat on a soft black leather couch with her arms and legs crossed defensively. After her outburst at the amusement park 3 days earlier, Josh had dropped her off and called back later on that evening to let Cathy know what had happened. The next morning, John and Cathy sat her down and shared with her their concerns about her recent behavior. They felt that her outburst in class, followed by the one at the amusement park the following day, were signs of a deeper psychological issue and that if she refused to discuss the problem with them, she would need to see a therapist.

  Emily couldn’t bring herself to tell them about the disturbing dreams. Dreams that were becoming more and more vivid and terrifying as she got older. Her biggest fear was that she was progressively going insane, maybe some delayed effect of her biological mother’s drug use while pregnant with her. It terrified her to think of the possibility of sinking into the  horrific madness of the dark world in her dreams. Why couldn’t her delusions be pleasant ones like her grandmother who suffered from dementia up until her death a few years earlier. She had walked around the halls of the  nursing home with a doll in a baby carriage reliving her days as a young mother or dancing around her room gracefully in the arms of her loving husband who in reality had passed on 10 years before. At least Emily’s grandmother had lived out the last years of her life reliving her happiest moments, not in some hellish realm with a demonic entity who had some twisted fascination with her. What if  the terrifying visions in her dreams began appearing in her waking life? What would happen to her then? The very thought of it sent a cold chill right through to her core.

  Emily looked around the small office. Two out of the four walls were lined with bookshelves, packed full of hundreds if not thousands of books.To her right was a large window overlooking the Pacific Ocean and in front of it was a huge Mahogany desk.

  The door opened and in walked a tall middle aged woman with shoulder length silver hair and large glasses that were far too large for her small face and delicate features. She was wearing a tan knit sweater over a tan and white flower print skirt. “Hello Emily,” She said, smiling warmly and holding her hand out for Emily to shake. “My name is Dr. Lowe. How are you feeling today?”

  Emily uncrossed her arms long enough to shake her hand and then quickly recrossed them again.

  “I’m feeling great” she answered sarcastically, “Never better.”

  Feeling the tension, Dr Lowe clapped her hands together. “You know what? It’s far too beautiful of a day to be cooped up inside. Why don’t we go sit out on the patio and enjoy the nice weather?”

  Emily shrugged and stood up, following the therapist out onto the patio overlooking the beach. The patio was large with two comfortable looking egg shaped chairs and a small table. Emily sat down in one of the large chairs, removing her shoes and curling her legs up underneath her.

  “Give me a moment and I’ll get us some lemonade,” Dr. Lowe said with a smile. She disappeared for a few minutes and returned with 2 glasses of lemonade with lemon slices.  “Now“, she continued, sitting in the other chair. “Why don’t we start by discussing why you are here. I understand you had a couple of bad days recently. One of which was at school? Would you like to tell me about that?”

  “I told my parents already and they won’t believe me,” Emily said, rolling her eyes . “I wasn’t feeling well and had to run to the washroom, that’s it.”

  Dr. Lowe gave her that condescending smile that adults give a child when they threaten to hold their breath until they turn blue. The look that says, “Ok then, when you are done your little tantrum, we’ll talk.”

  “Alright,”  Dr. Lowe continued, “how about Saturday, at the amusement park?”

  “I don’t know what happened there,” Emily replied, irritated. “We were watching a hypnotist and I was tired. I think I went under. Who knows what kind of suggestions he put into my head.”

  Dr. Lowe sighed. "Emily, your parents told me about your past. I understand you had a difficult childhood so it’s completely natural for you to…..”

  Emily cut her off, mid sentence. “Well it sounds like my parents already told you everything there is to know about me so why am I even here?”

  Dr. Lowe flashed that condescending smile again that was beginning to infuriate Emily. “You’re here because you are obviously having trouble dealing with your pain and your parents think that it may be helpful for you to talk about it and get to the root of the problem. I was thinking maybe we can start with some relaxation techniques.”

  “NO!” Emily cried. “Isn’t that like hypnotism? What if the same thing happens again?”

  Dr. Lowe pulled the chair closer, leaned forward and took Emily’s hand. “No it’s not the same thing. Hypnotism puts you into a deeply suggestive state. All I would like to do is help you to relax and clear your mind so you can deal with your anxiety when it comes up. We will visualize a happy place where you can go whenever you feel stressed or need to calm down.  I will not put any suggestions into your mind and you will be in complete control.”

  “I don’t know“, Emily said “I guess we can try it. Promise me you won’t let me go under?”

  Dr. Lowe smiled warmly, the condescending look gone from her face. “I promise. I’m sure you will feel relaxed and refreshed when we are finished.”

  Reluctantly, Emily closed her eyes and allowed Dr. Lowe to lead her through a relaxation exercise.

  Dr. Lowe began in a soothing voice, “I would like you to relax each part of your body one by one starting with the top of your head…. now your shoulders…. your arms…. your chest…. down to your stomach…. down your legs….and into your feet. Now listen to the sounds of the wind and the waves and picture yourself on a warm beach with the one person you trust most in the world….."

Emily could see the image vividly in her mind. Suddenly she was sitting there on the beach. She turned to look at Josh, and in his place was the most devastatingly handsome man she had ever seen. He looked to be in his early twenties and was deeply tanned with silver blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His lips were full and she felt the strongest urge to kiss them. She could see the outline of his muscles through his white T-shirt and he was looking at her with a look of pure love and adoration.

“Who are you?” Emily asked. What was this stranger doing here? She was supposed to picture the one person she was closest to. While a part deep inside her felt like she had known this man her entire life, she couldn’t remember who he was.

  The man smiled and brushed a lock of hair from her face with one hand. Emily felt electricity run through her entire body at his touch.

“You know who I am.” he whispered “I’m in your heart. I’m part of you.”

  The image began to fade and Emily was back in the chair across from Dr. Lowe.

  “So what did you see?” Dr. Lowe asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Emily answered. “It was the strangest thing. I willed myself to see my brother Joshua. He’s the one person I have always felt closest to and instead there was a man that I have never met! What is that supposed to mean?”

  Dr. Lowe smiled. “It must be someone from your past. Your subconscious holds information that your conscious mind has blocked out or can’t remember for one reason or another. By clearing your mind of conscious thoughts the way you just did, you have accessed your subconscious memories. Could he have been your biological father or an uncle or other family member?”

  Emily laughed and shook her head. “Eww no!” Definitely not a family member. He was the hottest guy I have ever seen! And there was what felt like a romantic connection between us.”

  Dr. Lowe looked puzzled. “That’s strange. At your age, I would think that you would remember a romantic relationship. Maybe you should continue practicing this technique at home. Ask the man questions. He is the embodiment of your subconscious. He should be able to give you some of the answers that are locked in your memory.”

  Emily smiled for the first time since she had arrived at the therapist’s office. “That is a really cool idea! Thank you.”

  Dr. Lowe smiled back. “It’s good to see your face light up like that. You have a lovely smile. I would like to see more of it. Now go home and ask this hunk as many questions as you can think of and we’ll get together again soon to discuss what you discover.”

  Emily couldn’t stop thinking of the mystery man for the rest of the day. Who was he? How could someone she had never met have such an effect on her?

  As she lay in bed that night, she willed herself to dream of the mystery man but she wouldn’t get her wish at least not the way she had hoped.


                                                                                *  *  *  *  *

  He waited for Emily to fall asleep. She was so beautiful lying there, her blonde hair fanned out on her pillow. He wished they could fall asleep in each other's arms but he knew he had to wait. Soon enough he would find a way to bring her to him.

He had overheard every word she said at the therapist's office. She was beginning to remember! Until today he had begun to give up hope. He was beginning to think that she would never love him as he loved her but now he knew that he was wrong. She did love him and soon they would be together forever.

Finally he saw Emily begin to materialize in front of him. A look of horror came across her lovely face when she saw where she was. He hid in the shadows. He wasn’t ready for her to see him yet. “Oh my sweet Emily“, he said, reaching out and taking her small  hand in his larger one.

  She pulled her hand away in shock and tried to run. He walked up behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her, inhaling the sweet fragrance of her silky hair “Don’t be afraid,” He soothed, “It’s me, your True Love. Remember?” 

  Emily made a pitiful sound somewhere between a choke and a sob and went limp in his arms. He felt her whole body shaking with her sobs. He released her and she immediately began to run from him. He started to follow her but stopped as he saw her begin to disappear before his eyes.