Teri entered the office of Mr. Small, the school's counselor timidly. Closing the door slowly behind her as to not disturb the cloud hippie.
"Ah, Teri. You're early today..." The counselor said, glancing up from a set of papers he was reading. The paper bear girl nodded and shrunk down, shuddering.
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Small, sir. B-but I've been having more problems recently and..." Her voice let off as she sat down in a chair in front of the adult's desk. "The migraines have been getting more and more frequent, and I've been having these reoccurring dreams for the past month." The cloud man nodded as he took off his reading glasses and stood up.
"I see...and have you been taking the medication prescribed by your physician?" He asked, concerned. The girl nodded, her head picking up air and fanning him slightly. "And they don't help at all?" Another breeze. "I see, how odd..." He walked around his room to a filing cabinet and unlocked it, flipping through a number of labeled folders before picking one up and scrolling through it's contents. "Hmm, alright Teri, I'll tell ya what we're gonna do...we're gonna head right to the meditation today. That alright with you?" The paper girl got out of her chair.
"Yeah, that's alright, Mr. Small. Do you have anything specific in mind?" The hippie shook his head.
"I'm just gonna try something new this time. Now do it like before, just sit down and I want you to be relaxed. We're gonna make a nice, calm atmosphere. Think of nice, pleasant thoughts." The girl did as she was instructed and rested herself onto the carpeted floor, closing her eyes and doing her best to find a sense of tranquility. Mr. Small joined her, sitting directly in front of her, doing the same.
A lingering quietness hung in the air as the two conjoined their breathing; in and out, in...and out. In...and out...
"So tell me, Teri," Mr. Small muttered softly so as to not break the tension. "Are there any other things you might be experiencing? Tell me about these dreams you've been having." Teri kept her composure calm as she let her body settle down further, not opening her eyes now.
"I've told you about the steady chain of headaches. They started about a month ago. One of the other students, Jamie, was fooling about, doing her usual business with Tina. I had just brought into school this science project I had spent the last week working on, it was one of the best projects I had ever done. I had almost made it to Ms. Simian's classroom when I ran into the two. As I was distracted with carrying my project, Jamie found it, for whatever reason, to trip me and take my science project. I tried to run after them, but she had already smashed it on the ground. I yelled at them to stop, but that just seemed to egg them on more. Tina stepped on it, completely ruining my project and...and...I felt more horrible than I ever had to before. I didn't understand why someone would go and do that? Why go and break someone else's project for no reason? I got up and said that I was going to the principle, but Jamie ran up and grabbed me and said she'd...turn me into a spitball if I dared telling anyone..."
"Oh dear, Jamie said that?" Mr. Small said, Teri nodded her head as he let her go on with her story.
"I...I just didn't know what to do. All those emotions just built up into something enormous. My head started to pound like crazy, I couldn't see straight I was either crying or just so angry! And...and..."
"You hit her?"
"I...I don't know! I remember having Ms. Simian wake me up with everyone standing around me, it was embarrassing thinking that I fainted in the school hallway of all places. I learned it from Ms. Simian that Jamie jumped out a window earlier and that they just found me there. Jamie hasn't been saying anything and neither has Tina. Now people are giving me these weird looks thinking that I had something to do with it, but I have no idea what!" The bear finished, stopping for air.
"Calm yourself, Teri. You're in a calm atmosphere, no need for loud noises." Mr. Small responded softly, taking in all the information the girl provided. "Yes, I heard about what happened with Jamie, it does seem a little...strange for a girl her age to attempt suicide like that."
"But that's just it, Mr. Small. I don't understand WHY she would be threatening me one minute, and jumping out a window the next!" She caught herself and steadied her breathing once more. "Anyway, after that, the headaches started to come. At first they were mild, like I couldn't even feel them. But now, they're keeping me from concentrating in class, I can't even stand up straight when they start. I thought I might've hit my head and gotten a concussion, but the doctor said nothing was wrong. He prescribed me some painkillers, but they seem to be doing nothing to help. My parents are worried sick and so am I..."
"This all started after your little scruffle with Jamie?"
"Mhmm, but that's not all. After the second week or so, well...I could...start to THINK people talk."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I would be seeing someone standing there, doing nothing, but I could HEAR them talk without them moving their lips. At first, I thought it was a sort of trick, but then I started to hear it from more and more people! No one else could hear them, but me! It's like I can hear their thoughts in their own...!" She got cut off from a pain splitting through her skull, her breath was sharp as she refrained from crying out. It passed within a couple of moments.
"Was that the migraine you were describing earlier?" Mr. Small inquired, still in his sitting state.
"Yes..."
"Keep talking, tell me about these reoccurring dreams you were talking about earlier?"
"These...I'm not even sure if they're nightmares or just regular dreams, but I've had the same one since...since that incident with Jamie. I think they might be connected in some way."
"What happens in this dream?" He asked.
"It's the same thing, I'm in this...black...void. But it's like I'm standing. Theres this set of steps in front of me with torches lining them on either side, the moon was so close I felt like I could jump up at it and touch it. At first, I was afraid, but every night I always got to the next step before I woke up. At the end there was this giant door, I could always see it, but never was I able to get to it before waking up, until last night. Last night, I got right up to the door, but I was so afraid to open it I woke up. I was sweating and my headache was making it like every tick on my clock was like a train passing over my head. I couldn't move because I felt so sick. I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night..."
Mr. Small took all this information calmly. His head nodded in understanding before he leaned over and picked up his folder again, scrolling through the papers inside.
"Teri, this might not seem like the best idea to you, but I think we should send you back. To the door." Teri's eyes enlarged.
"What? No, no please, Mr. Small! I don't want to go back there! The headaches, the nausea, I just want it all to go away!"
"That's what I'm getting at, Teri. Whatever may be affecting you might have something to do with this door. You have to face it and see whats on the other side. I believe it may hold the cure to your ailment." He said, putting down the folder and resuming his position.
"I-I don't understand, why do you think this door has anything to do with what's been happening to me?" The bear seemed frightened and nervous, hoping another wave of pain wouldn't appear again.
"Dreams have a way of contacting and telling us what we need to do. Some people believe our dreams can even help contact lost loved ones, find out hidden secrets, or even explore the deepest recesses of our minds. If anything is behind this door, I have no doubt you'll find what you're looking for." Mr. Small sounded confident enough to where Teri felt a tad more reassured. She got back into her sitting position and slowed her breathing, as if she was going to sleep.
"I'll try." She said, almost at a whisper.
"Just let your body rest, let your mind drift away...A speck of dust on a windy day...A boat drifting aloft in the bay..." His voice soothed her to the point where it became molded and morphed together and soon they were just muffled out words and phrases. Teri soon drifted off into a sound sleep.
...
Teri's eyes opened up to the now familiar scene around her; the shroud of of the black void swallowed her as she floated in space. The moon seemed to spin around and shine it's brightness over her, revealing the pathway in front of her. She knew what to do, going through this all before.
"Okay, here we go." She took in a breath and took the first step. The second followed after, and the third after that. She could feel her heart race as each step took her closer to that door at the very end. Teri could feel her mind begin to pull away from her, as if her subconscious was afraid of continuing further. The girl continued on slowly, with each step taking her closer to that disturbing door. It's edges curved and spiked on the tips. The designs of old world carving with a violet stain to finish. This was the most she was ever able to make of it without waking up.
Suddenly, a wrack of pain forced her to stop and stumble over onto the steps, her migraines were acting up again, this time worse than before. She was almost there, almost at the foot of this giant door.
Gaining her footing again, she continued through the pain until she was just able to touch the door. Upon doing so, her head seemed to shake as the pain running through her skull caused her to lose her vision momentarily. The experience brought her back to when she was being bullied by Jamie and Tina, it was the exact same feeling as then!
Whatever was causing this, she was sure this door had something to do with it.
Teri pushed on the door with all the strength she could muster in her frail arms. Amazingly, the door seemed to open with ease and close swiftly behind her. The headaches, the nausea, the voices, all dispersed as she let herself in, much to her relief. On the opposite side was nothing she was expecting.
A bright ball of light seemed to float aloft in the center of the room she had just entered. Flashes of long forgotten memories and experiences seemed to flutter around the orb and disappear back into it's blinding luminosity. Anxious, but curious, Teri inched closer to the floating sphere. It began to shine even brighter at her approach, casting it's glow all across the room.
"This is...these are my memories. My thoughts...!" She said, intrigued. Around her, a voice seemed to enter inside the room and reverberate throughout.
"...delay...a hammock in sway..." Said the voice soothingly.
"Mr. Small?" Teri thought, I...I can hear him, but I'm asleep. I shouldn't be able to hear any-" The ball of light caught her attention as it's warming glow sparked again. Walking up to it, she brought up a hand and put it near that orb. Without warning the ball flew up at Teri and into her head. The shock brought a searing pain that caused Teri to scream out in fright.
Her eyes flew open as her scream awoke her. A shock wave erupted from her and threw Mr. Small against his office wall. Papers scattered, desks and chairs shook, and the lights dimmed at the sudden outburst of energy. Teri realized where she was and sat up, seeing the room in sudden disarray.
"Mr. Small! What happened?" She cried as the cloud hippie got up, shaking himself off.
"You've...awakened. In more ways than one I might add." He said, to the confusion of the paper bear. "Let me explain, all those things you were experiencing were a result of your confrontation with Jamie, but not just because of her. You've had this ability inside you laying asleep your whole life. The headaches, the voices, the nightmares, they were all due to psychological buildup that couldn't find an way to escape. What you did just now released all of that buildup into a sort of psychic shock wave, just like what happened with Jamie!" These words confused the young girl, who only stared at the school councilor.
"W-what? I have what now? Then...I did hurt Jamie?" She sounded afraid now. Mr. Small walked up and laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault, Teri. Feeling that amount of emotional stress must've sent out a premature spike of psychic energy that sent her through the window. You didn't even know about it until now. So you couldn't have done it on purpose."
"You keep using that word: psychic. What do you mean? I can only hurt people with my mind now?" Mr. Small smiled.
"Not at all dear. You'll learn you can do so much more, I assure you. For now however, I suggest you take the rest of the day off and go get some rest. I think you'll be able to get your first full night of sleep in quite a while now." He turned his back with a twirl and proceeded to pick up the scattered papers and files.
"Mr...Mr. Small, how do yo-?"
"If you have anymore questions, please feel free to come in at any time." The man said, turning his head toward her. He extended his hand out towards the door and made a motion as if he was turning the handle and pulling it. As if to respond, the door suddenly turned and popped open on it's own. Teri stared, mouth agape from the door over to Mr. Small's smiling face.
"Believe me, you're in good company."