VANESSA
My mind was drowning, suspended between past and present. Dr. Keane's office had disappeared. The soft couch beneath me had vanished. Everything was forest, childhood, and overwhelming fear.
"Vanessa, stay with it. You're safe here." Dr. Keane's voice floated to me as if from underwater.
I wanted to surface. To escape the memory that was swallowing me whole. But I couldn't. Something was anchoring me to this moment, forcing me to confront what had been buried for so long.
"I don't want to see more," I whispered, my adult voice coming from my ten-year-old body.
"You must," Dr. Keane insisted gently. "This memory holds the key. Trust yourself to face it."
I surrendered, letting the past consume me completely.
