Page 31 of Matthew

ML: No. I wish I could erase it from my mind.

Dr. R: Perfectly understandable, but you should confront it when you’re feeling better. Let’s talk about what you can do in the here and now. I’m interested in hearing more about your music.

ML: My music? When they’re coming for me, trying to get to me?

Nobek Kom: Those two can’t touch you. I won’t let them.

Dr. R: Go back to the rational statements we worked on, Matt. Go ahead, bring them up on your handheld and read them to me.

ML: The monster—

Dr. R: That isn’t what it says. Keep him human, not superhuman.

ML: My father and Valter are on Mercy Colony, two weeks’ travel from Kalquor. They won’t come here because they despise what Kalquorians stand for. If they did, my clan outnumbers them. They can’t harm Avir, Masok, or Kom.

Kom: Most especially me.

ML: My clan will protect me from them.

Dr. R: Do you accept those statements are true?

(No answer)

Dr. R: Matt, look at those statements. Set fears aside. Using your rational mind, do you believe them to be true?

ML: Yes.

Dr. R: All right. It’ll take practice to use the rational mind, because emotions are easy to get lost in. But holding them at bay is what you’re going to work on.

ML: Okay.

Dr. R: Let’s discuss the area of your life where the least threat is present. How is your music coming along?

* * * *

Avir paused as his clanmates, Matt, and Dr. Sanderson left the comfortable office. The office resembled a greeting room more than an official-appearing space. It featured a cozy seating area, decorative objects scattered on shelves, and tables. A place where nightmares shouldn’t intrude.

He watched Matt through the door for an instant, aching for the tormented expression he wore. At least he was lucid again. The scratches he’d torn into his cheeks had been healed, as if they’d never existed.

If only the injuries to his soul could be so easily treated, he thought bitterly.

Avir approached Dr. Retel. The gray-bearded psychiatrist was tapping notes on his handheld, but he set it aside and smiled at him.

“He’ll be okay?” Avir caught the pleading note in his own tone.

“Given time and a lot of effort. He’s been through a great deal. The funny thing is, having found safety and security with your clan, he might experience more episodes of grief and anxiety than he did while he was simply trying to survive.”

“That’s…odd.”

“Honestly, it isn’t. When he was wrapped up in figuring out where his next meal was coming from or a safe place to sleep, emotional concerns fell to the bottom of the list. Now that he’s landed in a safe place, the trauma has space to emerge.” Dr. Retel patted Avir’s shoulder. “You’re doing fine by him. In fact, your support for someone you so recently met is quite commendable.”

“At first, it was for Kom’s sake. Now I know what a good person Matt is. It’s impossible to not care for him.” And far more, Avir suspected. The terror of not knowing where Matt had gone and the seeming impossibility of locating him in the spaceport had given him his own case of trauma. “I should have known better than to leave him alone.”

“It would be perfectly normal to do in most cases. You can’t be too critical of yourself for today’s events. For one, you’ve never dealt with such a situation before.”

“I’m clan leader. His welfare is my responsibility. I should have…I saw him fall apart after the incident in the shop. How could I fail him again?”

“You didn’t. He’s been doing well recently, hasn’t he? Why wouldn’t you believe he’d be fine at home for an hour?”

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