Twelve

[Note: The hypnotherapist details in the following chapters are almost completely made up. I used the internet to obtain some of the more relevant information, but the doctor herself is completely fake. I also do not claim to know hypnosis or hypnotherapy in any way. This is just my uneducated guess on the situation that befalls the characters involved.]

Demi sat on the train next to Jemi, reading the article again and again.

'Dr Professor Mary Haynes , registered hypnotherapist, and is recognised by the IMDHA for her progressive work in helping sufferers of fear-related, sleep-related, and other associated disorders.'

She sat back and looked at the picture of the older woman, who looked very proud, sitting straight, looking straight towards the camera. For some reason Demi felt comforted just looking at the picture, and was about to continue her reading when Jemi tugged her arm,

"Here it is, Bloomfield Hills," and she jumped up to exit the train. Demi followed her, and they both looked around the platform.

"Ok, from here," Jemi started, fishing a piece of paper from her pocket, "We need to walk two blocks to the east, and her offices are located on Woodward Street."

They started walking, and after about a half hour of walking and searching, they located the offices. Demi pressed the buzzer, and they waited in anticipation. After about a minute, the intercom crackled into life.

"Ms Haynes office, can I help you?" came the starched female voice down to the surprised girls.

"Erm," Jemi stuttered, "We were wondering if it would be possible to see Ms Haynes please?"

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Erm...no?" Jemi fidgeted.

"I can make you an appointment but Ms Haynes is booked until the end of the month. Would you care to wait while I get next months diary?"

"Oh...ok," Jemi looked at Demi, and her shoulders slumped. Demi too, felt crestfallen.

"Ok, please wait," snapped the lady on the other end, and the intercom clicked off.

"Oh Demi," wailed the younger girl, "I was so sure we would be able to see her, I didn't even think she would be busy like this, I'm so sorry," she looked at her older step sister with tears in her eyes.

"It's fine, Jemi," Demi soothed. "I was so excited at the prospect that I didn't think of it either. It's not really your fault, I should have thought about it more, being the older one."

The intercom suddenly crackled into life again, "I have a free appointment consultancy on Wednesday 21st November at 1.35pm," came the voice.

"I guess that will have to do...wait, free?" said Jemi in surprise.

"I mean a free slot for appointment booking," the woman on the other end practically snarled.

"Oh, oh...sorry," whimpered Jemi.

"Ok, name, address, phone number," the woman snapped again, and Jemi gave her the details. "Will it be ok if I bring my sister too?" She asked, and the line went silent.

"Your sister?" The woman's tone changed.

"My sister." Jemi confirmed.

"There's two of you?"

"Three actually, but my other sister isn't here," Jemi wasn't sure why she needed to disclose such information, but she had done it now.

There was a dead silence on the other end of the intercom, and then the voice crackled down. "Push the door and come up to the first floor please." The two girls, shocked by the sudden admission, heard the buzzer and Demi grabbed the door before it was too late. "Get inside," she hissed, and Jemi snuck into the building. Demi followed her, letting the heavy door snap shut behind them, as they started up the stone steps to the next storey.

Mary Haynes sat at the desk in front of the door buzzer, unable to believe it. They were about to walk right in off the street. She was about to meet the girls she'd been dreaming about for weeks.

She saw in her mind's eye, the elderly ginger tom, who had smuggled her into a corner at the very beginning of the first dream, and he had never returned to her. And now, as the weeks went on, she saw the others running back and forth past her dark corner. The blood that covered the floor when she emerged. And the blackness that hit her when she fainted.

The door to the office pushed open and she saw them for the first time, and it was almost like being hit by a freight train. They were so similar to the dream, she couldn't believe it. The younger one, red haired, glossy eyed, and the elder, a red head too, a little timid perhaps, but a strong character deep down. Her analysis over, she got up from the chair. "Dr Mary Haynes, how can I help you girls?"

She noticed the surprised looks on both their faces, and laughed. "I'm sorry. I do everything here. I often say I'm fully booked, not to scare clients away, but because I'm waiting for the special cases to turn up. And here you are."

She noticed the annoyance on the elder girls face, and strove to redeem herself, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Just...sometimes I get thoughts. Feelings. About a particular person, or set of people. And you two, when I heard there were two of you and another one somewhere else, it clicked with me. See," she continued, gesturing to the girls to take a seat, to which they obliged, "I have been having some thoughts about a small group of felines."

She noticed the girls glance at one another, and stopped. "I'm sorry; I'm letting my mouth run away with me." She was aware that she hadn't even let them state their business with her. They might not even be the ones she was looking for. She might just have happened to let two people think she was a complete weirdo.

"Thats really strange," the younger one started, and Mary felt herself buckling at the knees in relief. She slipped into her chair and began to listen to the story.