A tall woman sat at the reception desk of a dark, empty therapy clinic. She looked to be in her early thirties. Her black hair hung straight like silk, framing her dark complexion. Glasses rested dead-center on the bridge of her nose. And she wore a crisp black suit paired with a red tie.
However, what was odd about the receptionist was her right eye that stayed closed shut yet her left remained open.
Yuki hesitated a little.
"I'm here to see Sasaki Shin...he's the owner of this therapy clinic right?"
The odd looking receptionist didn't answer. Instead she opened a drawer, set a pen and a form on the desk, and gestured for her to take one of the available seats.
Yuki sat alone and filled out the form. However, she paused at the line for "Reason for visit" and left it blank.
When she returned the form, the receptionist took it without a word and disappeared to the back. Yuki leaned over to catch a glimpse of whatever she was doing, but the dust along the edge stirred up and crept into her nose and a loud sneeze tore out of her.
Her eyes went wide as she dragged her sleeve across her face, wiping the snot away before it could spread, and then it caught up with her; if the receptionist had come back a second sooner, her snot might have flung onto the woman's cheek or even her clothes.
Yuki's face went red at the thought, and she pressed her hands together over her face, hiding from the receptionist who had not even come back yet. By the time her eyes cleared the receptionist stood at the counter again, hands aiming toward a door on the right. Yuki composed herself, trying to forget what had just happened, and marched to the door.
***
The therapy room was dim, a single fluorescent bulb swinging overhead. A man sat in the middle of it, settled into a fancy red chair with a plain one waiting in front of him.
He was dressed in a black suit and black tie, not a single wrinkle on him. His hair was darker than coal, slicked back with two strands falling loose over his forehead. The grin on his face could have been polite, but Yuki couldn't tell since it was her first time meeting him.
He glanced over the form she had submitted.
"You left the reason blank. Why?" He said.
Yuki didn't respond. She looked down at the floor instead.
"..."
He tilted his head, analyzing her for a bit. Then his grin widened.
"Ah—I see. You talk to them, don't you? The dolls?"
Yuki's head shot up. Her whole body tensed.
"What?! How did yo—"
She stood up fast, her chair scraping the floor.
"You're right, I shouldn't know that. I mean, it's not like it's on the form... right?"
It felt like he already knew everything.
Yuki started to shake, her fingers gripping the back of her chair, and when she looked at her palms, sweat had already formed.
Sasaki's grin slowly faded.
"How about you sit down? I just took a guess. That's all. Now... why don't you tell me about these dolls of yours."
Yuki sat back down. However, she was still shaking and unable to control herself.
"Well, sometimes… I feel like they can talk back to me, like they actually hear and respond to what I'm saying. And before you say anything, I know it sounds like you're speaking to a crazy person's story but for me it felt real and honestly it's better than walking into a house that's completely silent."
Sasaki started scribbling something in his notebook.
"How about your parents? Are they not in your life?"
"Uhm yes, but… not really. They're sick in the hospital."
Sasaki's pen paused mid-note.
"Do you believe in the supernatural, like demons and cursed spirits?"
"I mean… I know people that believe in that type of stuff. But no, I personally don't."
"Well, they do exist and I believe you're being hunted by a cursed spirit."
Yuki raised an eyebrow.
"Hunted? Yeah, no I don't think so."
The light bulb above flickered as they sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, until Sasaki Shin finally leaned forward toward her.
"Okay then, how about you tell me what you left out blank on the form? That part must be pretty important, don't you think?"
Yuki lifted her gaze slowly, but her mouth remained shut.
This guy creeps me out… and on top of that, he's not helping at all by going on about demons and cursed spirits. How is he still in business talking like that to his clients? Yuki thought.
Sasaki watched her in silence, for a little while more, Then he stood up.
Yuki blinked quite rapidly, as she watched him walking past her. He then opened the door to the hallway, and turned back to her.
"You've got quite the story hiding behind your eyes, Little Ayano. Come back when you're ready to talk about it."
Yuki stood slowly. Confused and upset.
Did he just call me Little Ayano?!
She then moved towards the door, but just as she passed him, Sasaki tapped on his temple with a sigh.
"Ah, that reminds me. A thousand dollars."
Yuki turned. "What?"
"A thousand US dollars," he said, holding out a flat open hand. "Or about one hundred forty-three thousand yen."
Her jaw dropped.
"Are you serious?!"
He gestured to the wall, where all of his dusty certificates hung. One of them appeared to be handwritten in Latin.
"I'm very qualified and quite underpaid, you see. So I have to raise my prices to match my qualifications. You understand, right?"
Qualification my ass! You didn't help me at all.
Yuki took a step back.
"You're insane."
She turned, walking away from him.
Miss Nishimura really thought this guy could help? What was she thinking sending me to some overpriced wacko? This was such a waste of time.
"Naomi Nishimura said the same thing," Sasaki called out.
Yuki stopped dead in her tracks. Did he just respond to what she was thinking? No, that's impossible. She must have said it out loud without realizing. There's no way he could have heard her thoughts. Right?
"What did you just say?!"
Sasaki Shin tilted his head slightly with a huge grin on his face.
"But, she came back, they always do."
Then, the door shut behind her before she could even respond.