Chapter 10: Chapter 9

"H-how was your sleep?" Dr. Yano woke her with a gentle tap on the shoulder.

Anna opened her eyes and looked around. Everything was blurry. There were streaks of light glowing from the windows. The rest of the room looked like distorted shadows covered by a thick blanket of fog.

"A-are you listening to me?" The young doctor asked.

She closed her eyes and nodded slowly. She felt like her head got ran over by a truck. She felt queasy and wanted to hurl out whatever she ate that night. She felt her food rushing back up, however, she managed to keep it down her stomach. Anna remained still for a few minutes until she could no longer feel the urge to vomit.

She slowly opened her eyes saw the silhouette of her doctor walking away from her and sitting near the foot of the sofa. Her vision was still blurry, but Dr. Yano seemed to be writing something on her chart. Anna tried moving her body, it felt light for the first time in days. It was as if a huge burden was taken off her shoulders.

"W-what happened to me?" Anna curiously asked.

"Hmmm…" Dr. Yano placed her chart on his lap. "I hypnotized you to suppress that…"

"Thing? Monster?" She raised her eyebrow as she rose from the couch. "A-are you sure that's how you treat it? I-I mean I should be inside the—"

"Are you questioning my form of treatment?" Dr. Yano stood up from his chair.

Anna noticed the sudden change of tone from his voice and realized how she overstepped. Although she still believed that the session was abrupt than what she expected. As a nurse, she who was exposed to the psychiatric wards during her student days, she knew fully well how lacking the young doctor was treating her. She felt like she was being treated with an experimental method that even other doctors would find more of a blunder than anything else.

"I-I just…" Her words got stuck and hung inconveniently on the tip of her tongue. "I-I'm sorry…I shouldn't be questioning—"

"Good, because that's going to be the last time, I am hearing that from you." He ripped a piece of paper from the chart and gave it to her. "Here, your prescription. Take that to my secretary, she'll know exactly what to do with it."

"D-dr. Yano…I…" She fumbled for words as she tried to explain her point. "I want to thank you…"

"Save that for later in my bill." The doctor sarcastically smiled and led her to the door.

Anna felt bad about what she did. She might be a nurse, but she was never a doctor, and she knew too well how she overstepped her boundaries when she asked about the method of treatment she was getting. She wanted to apologize, but with the doctor's dismissiveness she rather not push it.

She went to his secretary who was fondly caressing the small puppy she saw earlier. She smiled at her and handed her the prescription. The secretary smiled back and placed her puppy on the table as she checked the prescription.

The small white puppy sat still and stared at her deeply. Anna saw how the puppy's eyes gazed deep into hers. She smiled at the small pup and reached out her hand to touch the pup but, the secretary stopped her midway.

"He doesn't want to be touched." The secretary held her hand and smiled.

"Oh! Sorry Ms. Dagondon!" Anna immediately apologized as she slowly took her hand off the secretary's grip. "I didn't know."

The secretary squinted and sighed while looking at the puppy caressing its head. Anna felt a flush of blood going to her face. She immediately shook it off trying to hide the embarrassing situation she had with the elegant secretary.

"No, that's fine. I…I apologize." The secretary shook her head and smiled. "I… could be a bit protective with him at times." She awkwardly laughed.

"Aw... if I have a puppy as cute as he is," Anna paused as she glanced at the puppy. "I would be too!"

Both women shared a laugh before proceeding to the prescription.

"Ms. Sanbwan," The secretary said. "This pill should be taken three times a day. This is an anti-psychotic drug, so this packs a punch. You better drink it after meals or this could mess your stomach up." She smiled.

Anna nodded and smiled back. "Thanks, I think I got this one already."

"Oh! Of course, you do!" The secretary handed her the bill.

The amount wasn't as egregious as she thought it would be. If anything, the amount was far too low for a doctor of that medical background.

"I-is this the right amount?" Anna bafflingly asked while placing the money on the counter.

"Indeed, it is. Dr. Yano doesn't charge as much." The secretary smiled again. "That's why he had a lot of loyal patients here." She said as she took the money from the counter.

Anna said her thanks and was about to head for the door when the secretary stopped her once again.

"Ms. Sanbwan!" She said while waving a brochure. "You may want to look at this!"

Anna went back to the counter and took the brochure. It was a monochromatic-colored brochure. It felt too bland for her taste, but out of respect she skimmed through it.

"A healing community?" Anna mumbled.

"Yes, it is." The secretary nodded. "I know this might be a stretch. Usually, Dr. Yano doesn't want to recommend this to his patients, but if you still have the symptoms after drinking the first batch of meds…You might—"

"I understand." She immediately rolled the brochure to her purse. "Thank you, but I think I could manage this." Anna tried to sound calm and collected even after what the secretary was implying.

"Of course, you do." The secretary bowed slightly at her and showed her the door.

Anna thanked her once again and showed herself out of the office. But before she could get out, she heard a whisper.

"She will turn… I tell you!" The voice sounded feathery yet sly. "She will."

Anna turn around and found the puppy, and the secretary staring at each other, as if both were in a deep conversation. It was weird seeing both of them locking eyes, unfazed at each other.

"Uhmm… what did you say?" Anna asked her.

"Oh…ummm… nothing!" The secretary answered back, flustered.

"Ohh… sorry!" Anna scratched her head and smiled. "I must've you know---"

"Should I tell Dr. Yano about—" The secretary picked up the phone and was about to call the doctor, but Anna told her not to.

Anna smiled and rushed out of the office, confused at what she saw and heard. "Was the treatment a fluke?" She went down the stairs and called a cab going home.

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