Page 28 of Storm Surge

“Doctor Wolf?” Will asked.

The man smiled and stuck out his hand. “Yes, I’m Xavier Wolf.”

“Will Grayson.” He turned to the woman at his side. “This is Jamie Collins.”

Wolf shook Jamie’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jamie.” Wolf glanced around. “This is a beautiful place. Is there someplace quiet that we can go to begin?”

Will nodded. “We can use the sunroom. It’s off the back of the house and private.”

With a nod, the doctor followed Will and Jamie around to the room that had been added to the back of the house. The room was filled with windows, and a woodstove was its centerpiece. Will had started a fire earlier to ensure it would be warm.

Jamie sat beside Will on the sofa. Doctor Wolf took the seat opposite the sofa and leaned forward, placing a small recorder on the table separating them.

“With your permission, I’d like to record our session. I find it helps to document things.” He looked expectantly to Jamie who nodded.

“First off, Jamie, I want you to relax. I realize this is all strange, but know you’re safe here, and nothing you remember will be shared.”

Terrified, she slowly nodded, but her hands shook.

“Now, if you’re ready, let’s begin by closing your eyes. I’m going to ask you to think about something calming. It can be anything.”

She pulled in a breath and closed her eyes. The ocean with its constant motion came to mind. There had always been something comforting about the cycle.

“You’re doing great. Now count back in your head from twenty.”

She did as he suggested. Twenty, nineteen, eighteen. . .

“I want you to go back in time to when you were a little girl.” The doctor’s soothing voice registered through her counting. “You’re six years old. Tell me what you see?”

She opened her eyes. . . only they weren’t open, yet a peaceful scene unfolded before her. Bright sunshine shimmered off the water below. The bluff she loved so much jutted out to the ocean.

And she wasn’t alone.

“Come on, Mommy. I can’t wait to swim.” She glanced back at the woman whose smile could take away even the darkest thought. Beautiful and strong. Jamie wanted to be just like her mother.

“What do you see?” Doctor Wolf’s soothing tone seamlessly interfaced with the scenes playing through her mind’s eye.

“My mother. Here name is Sofia. She and I are going to the beach to swim.” She lifted her hand and pointed to the beach as she descended the rocky cliff.

Her mother laughed and began running, her long legs tanned from the sun. Black hair flowed out behind her. She passed her daughter. “Come on, Lizzy Bug.”

Jamie’s hand covered her mouth. Tears filled her eyes.Lizzy Bug. The nickname her mother once called her forgotten. She ran after her mother. “Wait, Mommy.”

Her mother turned. Something above them caught her attention and ripped the smile from her face.

“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Jamie ran to her side and reached for her hand. She’d seen that same haunted look on her mother’s face before. Whenever he was around.

Jamie followed her gaze. On the bluff above them, her father watched them. And suddenly the brightness of the day disappeared.

A sadness penetrated deep into her heart. Her beautiful mother. Gone without so much as a goodbye. Her father told her she’d left them both. She’d cried for days in secret. And then Aunt Betty came, and she wasn’t so lonely.

“You are doing great, Jamie. Now we’re going to leave the beach, and I want you to come with me to another period in time. It’s five years ago. It’s the summer again. Where are you?”

The beach faded before her mind’s eye to be replaced with the swirling desert sand of the country she’d fallen in love with from the start. She’d always wanted to visit, despite the warnings. Her father had sent her the ticket with a note that read;Congratulations on your graduation.I will see you soon.

“I’m in Afghanistan.” The trip was a graduation gift from her father. He’d met her in Kabul and showed her around.

“And what do you see there?”

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