Whom You Might Trust
Nowhere can a secret keep
Always secret, dark and deep,
Half so well as in the past,
Buried deep to last, to last.
Keep it in your own dark heart.
Otherwise the rumors start.
After many years have been buried
Secrets over which you worried,
No confidant can they betray
All the words you didn't say.
Only you can then exhume
Secrets safe within the tomb
Of memory, of memory
Within the tomb of memory.
- The Book of Counted Sorrows, Dean R. Koontz
A man dressed in a white button-up shirt, black tie, and a pair of black dress pants entered Resolutions Psychiatry Offices. You could hear his black dress shoes clicking against the hardwood floors. He ran his hand through his thick dark brown. He cleared his throat to get the secretary's attention. "Ah! Mr. Wayne so nice to see you again," Tonya Greenfield jumped. She handed Bruce Wayne a pen to sign in. Yes, Bruce Wayne the billionaire and owner of Wayne Enterprises. "Have a seat Mr. Wayne and Dr. Brenan will be right with you." He thanked her, and found an empty chair to sit on.
The office wasn't busy, unlike his first appointment. There wasn't a seat to be had. Bruce was thankful this time, because everyone had been staring at him. It was uncomfortable. He was just like everyone one else, well not quit.
The door to the offices opened, and Tonya appeared. "Mr. Wayne, you can come on back now. Dr. Brenan is ready to see you," She announced.
Lauren Brenan's office was decorated in a beach theme. The walls were painted a robin's egg blue with accents of mint and cream. Any patient walking into her office would feel at ease, except Bruce Wayne.
"Have a seat Mr. Wayne and we'll get started." Dr. Lauren Brenan watched Bruce as he sat down. He seemed more nervous than their first session.
"Please, call me Bruce," he smiled.
"All right Bruce, shall we get started?" His smile faded. Bruce watched Lauren gather her recording device and tablet of paper. "Okay, so Bruce why are you here? I know we briefly talked about it during our first session."
Bruce's eyes scanned the office. 'Who am I?'he said to himself. 'Bruce Wayne or Batman?'He couldn't avoid the question any longer. "Who I am," he said nonchalantly. 'Batman,' he answered in his mind.
What was he going to say? He started to feel uncomfortable. He must have been hiding it well, because Dr. Brenan hadn't taken notice of his nervousness. Or maybe she did but didn't show it.
"Bruce…" Dr. Brenan said raising her voice.
Bruce snapped out of his daze, and thought of an answer. "Who do you think I am?"
"Bruce, you came to me for help. I want to know who you think you are. I want to figure out whatever it is your going through." Dr. Brenan knew he was much more than the media portrayed him to be. She saw what many people did not or could not see. She looked at Bruce and narrowed her eyes.
'Maybe this was all a mistake coming here. I know who I am I'm… I'm Bruce Wayne, and The Batman is my escape. My chance to avenge my parent's deaths, and to give back Gotham City what it needs,' Bruce reassured himself.
"Bruce, who do you think you are?" Lauren asked again, this time more forcefully.
"I'm Bruce Wayne, the playboy and businessman. I own Wayne Enterprises and a hotel and I have a butler named Alfred," Bruce huffed.
She took made some notes then looked him straight in the eye. "Bruce, is this really you? I find it very hard to believe you think of yourself like that. The media likes to distort things, especially public figures like you. I can tell you're more than what you think you are. I want you to see that too."
Time passed, and Bruce's session came to an end. Dr. Brenan noticed Bruce watching the oversized wall clock directly behind her. "I can see you obviously need to be somewhere you keep staring at my clock. Wednesday same time my office. You don't have a choice. I'll have Alfred drag you here." He nodded and stood up. She saw his eyes move to her over sized clock once again. It was almost six o'clock. Evening was approaching and soon nightfall would consume Gotham City, and The Batman would be waiting.