Page 140 of Raw

“Depends.”

“On what, Fennec?”

“On many things. My mood. My emotions. One day I was upset about her being angry, the other I couldn’t care less about her feelings.”

She was noting things again, and after turning the page, she leaned back, crossed her legs, and tilted her head.

“Do you often have those kinds of mood swings?”

“Sometimes.”

“And do they change drastically? Going from feeling happy and energetic to suddenly feeling sad, lost and pessimistic?”

“Yeah. That happens often.”

I tried to think back at how many times that happened in the past, but there were too many times that counting them was impossible.

“Are there times you feel normal? Moments in which you felt as if nothing was ever wrong?”

“Yeah. A few times.”

Mrs. Irvine continued to ask me questions. More about me rather than Vespyr, and as long as the focus was on myself, I felt comfortable enough to open up to her more.

Our conversation flowed, and I didn’t realize how fast time went by until I heard the church bells from the outside.

“If it’s okay with you, I would like to continue our conversation soon. I told Vespyr that I can make sure you two have sessions back to back on the same days. How’s that?”

I sat up on the couch and adjusted my beanie. “Fine with me.”

“Perfect. I know it’s hard to accept certain things, especially when it comes to our minds and own well-being, but I can promise you that we’re already on the right track.”

“So you don’t know what’s wrong with me yet?”

“I would like to read through my notes until we meet again later this week. There are a few things I need to go over and rethink, but I’m headed in the right direction to diagnose you.”

“And what’s the conclusion for today’s session?” I asked, wanting to know what she thought was wrong with me.

She looked down at her clipboard and puckered her lips before smiling back up at me again.

“Considering your extreme mood swings, I suspect you’re bipolar. It can cause a person to feel extremely sad, which are periods of depression, but also could make you have elevated moods, which we call periods of mania.”

I watched her get up and walk to her desk where she pulled out two flyers, then she handed them to me.

“There’s some information on here. You can also go on the internet or find books in a library, but these flyers have been written by psychiatrists I know personally, and they have put the most important information on there to help understand the disorder better.”

“Did Vespyr get one of those flyers too?”

“No.”

“Why not? Is nothing wrong with her?”

She studied my face again, and with a smile that had gotten on my nerves even before I entered this room, she turned back to her desk and pulled out another flyer.

“I’m giving this one to her.”

I couldn’t read what the title on it was, but I would soon find out when we got back home.

Vespyr wouldn’t hide it from me.

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