The Counseling Session (A Play)
Cast of Characters:
Doctor M – Psychiatrist
Mr K – Unwilling patient
Ms S – Long suffering secretary
A psychiatrist sits comfortably in a chair, notepad and paper in hand. He is dressed in an expensive business suit. His office looks spacious and has many awards, commendations and several diplomas prominently displayed on the wall. On the couch next to him sits a middle aged man, his seersucker suit mildly rumpled. His hat dangles from a hat rack near the door. The man on the couch appears uncomfortable and annoyed.
Doctor M: I hope my secretary wasn't too curt with you.
Mr. K: Not at all. In fact she was quite polite. Very nice lady. She actually got my name right on the first try.
Doctor M: Good, good. Now there's no need for any anxiety. Usually in these first sessions, I'll only be asking you general questions; how you got here, what topics you need to talk out, that sort of thing.
Mr. K: I know why I'm here. It's a condition so charges won't be pressed against me. I'm sure they must have given you an earful about what happened. Or rather what they say happened.
Doctor M: Well, yes they did. But the point of this session isn't to accuse you of anything. It didn't sound to me like you actually commited a crime in any case. Besides the drunk and disorderly conduct, that is.
Mr K sits up, looking angry.
Mr. K: I was not drunk. They did the breathalyzer test and I showed no unusual alcohol levels. And if I got disorderly, it was because they were getting ready to open that damn box. I was just trying to keep people from getting killed.
Mr K lies back on the couch again.
Doctor M: Yes, I found that part very interesting. You claimed that the head of a gorgon was in the box.
Mr K: Not a claim. Just a plain fact. They found Mr. Nelson's body turned to stone still sitting at his desk. He had the box on the desk right in front of him. Luckily the lid had dropped back down on the box.
Doctor M: The police say it was just a statue dressed in clothing.
Mr K: If they had just let me use one of those ampoules I could have shown them it wasn't a statue.
Doctor M: Ampoules? What was in them?
Mr K: Dehydrated gorgon blood. You just add a little water. Gorgon blood taken from the right side of the creature can bring the dead back to life. I could have restored Mr. Nelson. Now the poor guy is stuck as a statue.
Doctor M taps his pen thoughtfully on his chin, frowns, then writes for a while on his notepad.
Doctor M: How did Mr. Nelson come by the box?
Mr K: The box and ampoules came from an estate sale. The late owner was a professional magician. And more than that I guess. I'm not sure how he got the box. A Mr. Kozwalski outbid Mr. Nelson and got the lot. But apparently Mr. Nelson wanted them bad enough so he broke into Mr. Kozwalski's home and stole them. He knew they were valuable but he obviously didn't realize the gorgon's head was a real head and not a statue. Until he opened the box anyway.
Doctor M scribbles away at his notepad.
Doctor M: And how did you know that there was a real gorgon head in the box?
Mr K: Mr. Nelson tossed the paperwork when he robbed Mr. Kozwalski's study. He probably thought it was all bogus. I happened to be visiting Mr. Kozwalski on another matter when the robbery happened. He knows a lot about occult stuff. When I read the paperwork and realized what he had, I went after Mr. Nelson after I called the police. Mr. Kozwalski couldn't do it himself because he's confined to a wheelchair.
Doctor M nods and continues writing.
Doctor M: Hmm. Very interesting.
Mr. K: You think a crooked antiquarian robbing a disabled man is interesting?
Doctor M: Oh, no, forgive me. I was just registering an observation about this whole matter. I didn't mean to be flippant.
Mr K: a sarcastic note in his voice: Of course not. You're just too interested in what the crazy guy has to say.
Doctor M: Please relax. For what it's worth, I don't think you're crazy. You only seem to be suffering from a surfeit of credulity.
Mr K: annoyed: In other words you think I'm being gullible. Don't use a twenty dollar word when a ten cent one will do.
Doctor M: laughing: How droll! But you have to admit you're taking a lot on faith. You didn't actually see Mr. Nelson change to stone did you?
Mr K: Well, no. But I didn't have to see it. If I had been there, I'd probably be a stone statue myself. It was pretty obvious what happened.
Doctor M: Perhaps to you. But let's face it. There's more likely to be some sort of convoluted hoax going on and you just got caught up in it. Really, how could a head, real or not, turn someone to stone? How did this 'magician' get the head? If it was that dangerous, why didn't he just dispose of it?
Mr K: Well, I admit I don't have all the facts in hand yet. But there's no denying Mr Nelson got turned to stone.
Doctor M: But don't you see? Since you didn't see the actual transformation, you have no way of knowing if that statue is really Mr. Nelson or if he just made it to cover his escape. He is wanted for robbery after all.
Mr K: That's a pretty weird way to cover your tracks. Wouldn't it be just easier to admit he did look into the face of a gorgon and got turned to stone?
Doctor M: Well, there's a very simple way to settle this matter.
Doctor M gets up from his chair and sits down at his desk. He reaches behind it and pulls out two boxes. One is a small rectangular box, the other a large head sized box with a lid. Mr. K reacts with great alarm and sits up when he sees this.
Mr K: How the hell did you get your hands on those?
Doctor M: The police were kind enough to lend them to me. I indicated they would be important in your successful treatment
Mr K: Can't be that they opened the box with the head or they'd know better than to send it to you.
Doctor M: visibly skeptical: Hmm. They did duct-tape it for some reason. Well, be that as it may, I'll have to return the boxes after this session since they are considered evidence. But what I'm going to do is open this box and show you its contents. Once you see the head is only a harmless piece of marble, I think you'll agree that perhaps –
Doctor M begins cutting through the duct tape.
Mr K: Whoa, whoa, wait a minute...
Mr K pulls out a long piece of cloth from his trouser pocket and blindfolds himself with it.
Mr K: Look, I'm warning you, opening that box is not a good idea. I mean, it's nice you have the ampoules with you but it would be a lot better if I didn't need to use them. There's only a limited supply of gorgons' blood after all.
Doctor M laughs merrily.
Doctor M: I'm glad you're so thoughtful of my safety. But there's really no need for alarm...
As he speaks, Doctor M opens the box.
Doctor M: Now let's see. Oh! Oh my, that-that is quite the ugly thing! In fact it's the …. ugliest...face...I've...ever...set...eyes...gggkkkkkkk...
As he speaks, Doctor M's voice acquires a gravelly sound and finally grinds to a halt. Mr K waits a moment, then reaches into his pocket and brings out a ladies' compact. Lifting a corner of his blindfold, he opens the compact to look in the mirror at the psychiatrist who is now a statue. Replacing his blindfold, he feels around the desk and finding the box, carefully places the lid back on it. Lifting his blindfold and double-checking with the compact, he then removes it, goes to the door and calls the secretary.
The secretary enters. She is an attractive blond with long hair. She looks at her employer and shakes her head.
Ms. S: I was afraid of that. I had a feeling after what you told me over the phone when you made your appointment, that was what was in the box.
Mr. K hands the compact back to her. Ms S shakes her head sadly.
Ms S: I thought after getting away from that nut house of a home I grew up in back in Maine, that I'd leave all of this weirdo stuff behind me. No such luck, I guess.
Mr. K: Nope. My experience is once it starts, you're stuck with it whether you want it or not. Did you get the ticket for the ocean cruise?
Ms S: I got two of them.
Mr K: surprised: Two of them?
Ms S: You better believe it. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've had a decent vacation?
Mr K: smiling: Too long, I'm guessing. Well, I certainly don't mind the company.
Mr K looks back at the psychiatrist.
Mr K: That's the part they always get wrong in the movies, have you noticed? They always make the victim and his clothes change but that's not what really happens. The clothes stay the same.
Ms S: That's right! I never thought of that. Clothes don't have eyes so why would they change?
Mr K: Do you think we should leave him that way for now? The papers said it didn't matter how long the victim had been stone as long as they were intact.
Ms S shrugs her shoulders.
Ms S: Yeah, I say leave him like that until we get back. It's only a week's cruise anyway. Don't worry about the sessions. I can fudge the paperwork. It's pretty easy. He's had me do it on other patients. He's just in it for the paycheck anyway, you know.
Mr K: Doesn't surprise me a bit. We'll have to find a way to sneak into the station to change back Mr. Nelson. It doesn't feel right leaving the guy like that. I'll stick a couple ampoules in the desk drawer for our dear doctor when we get back. The directions for mixing up the stuff are pretty easy. I wonder if he'll remember anything after we restore him?
Ms S: If he doesn't, we can just pretend he fainted or something. With any luck he'll be too confused to recall what really happened, especially if he notices the time gap. I'll make sure to cancel all his appointments for the next week or so.
Mr K carefully retapes the box containing the gorgon's head after putting a few ampoules in the desk drawer. He then wraps the box in a blanket and with Ms. S's help ties the blanket on.
Ms S: Do you have a box you can put this in? It's made of wood and might rot in the water. Who knows what might happen if the head got out.
Mr K: Yeah, good idea. I've got a ceramic one left over from another story I did, I can stick it in. I can drill holes so water can get inside and add weights, too. Then I'll seal it shut. That way when we get to the deep part of the sea we'll be cruising over, I can just chuck it into the water, no problem. This box is pretty generic looking. I can put a fake one in its place with a fake head in it before we leave. The cops won't know about the head but if they spot the box as a fake, well, it's my psychiatrist's problem, isn't it?
The pair laugh amiably, then leave. A moment after the door shuts, it reopens. Mr K's arm reaches in to grab his hat, then turn out the lights. He shuts the door again. Doctor M sits in stoney silence.