Dr. Rush arrived early that afternoon, more than they had anticipated. The same car who took Paula took him there, but the driver was different. The driver was apparently new. Paula watched him from the window. He was a sturdy man with a long beard and dark eyes like two tunnels. When he stopped the car he gave the house a strange look as if he was afraid of it. He didn't get out of the car and didn't open the car door to the doctor.

Paula felt a chill and instinctively looked behind her. She was alone in the lobby, there was nothing and no one there, but the panic Paula had felt hours before, made her to be still nervous. She remembered when the bathroom door handle stopped moving... she had heard her aunt's voice approaching. Then she opened the door and noticed that there was no one. Her aunt was climbing the stairs to the far side, and then Paula closed the door. So Paula took a quick bath because she didn't want to stay there for long.

The doctor was a middle-aged man, tall, very thin and with a dark mustache. As the doctor had white hair, Paula and her hospital companions always wondered if he dyed his mustache. Paula remembered smiling the day Flavia dared to comment on that near the doctor. He had blushed like a child, while the other women tried not to laugh. However, he had not lost his usual serenity, nor had he uttered a single word. They all had to admit that he was not an attractive man ... If only he were more sympathetic.

The man arrived at the Parker's house wearing a dark suit. The doctor's jacket and his briefcase were hanging on his arm. His entire outfit was perfectly clean and ironed, not even a fluff perched on his broad shoulders. His appearance reflected the obsessive perfection he applied to all aspects of his life. He was a single man and his job was his obsession.

When he got out of the car he complains when he noticed that his shoes were full of dirt. Paula smiled, wondering if he was drowning in his suit because of the hot weather.

"Does he already arrived?" Mrs. Parker asked from the kitchen. Her voice sounded anxious.

She and her husband were sitting, waiting while their niece wandered around the hall.

"Yes," Paula said.

"Damn and pompous doctor". Paula heard her uncle complain. His wife, embarrassed, rebuked him to shut up.

The bell rang and then Paula opened the door, inviting the man to come in. She was surprised to see that the driver didn't get out of the car. The heat at that time was intense, but she shrugged and closed the door when the doctor entered the house.

The doctor entered the kitchen and introduced himself with his usual serenity, adopting an attitude of superiority that caused the Parkers to be slightly intimidated in his presence.

"Well, Paula. Can you sit next to me? Yes! There," the man said as he indicated a chair to the girl, as if they were both in a hospital office, then he also sat in his chair, of course after checking that there was no dust on top of it.

There was a long silence, the man watched them all.

"How was the trip?" asked Mrs. Parker kindly.

"Oh very hot!" said the man who hadn't even taken off his jacket.

Paula watched the sweat run down the man's forehead.

"Do you want?" asked Mrs. Parker but the doctor interrupted her.

"No, thanks, I never take off my jacket when I'm working," the doctor said, forcing a smile.

"No, I wasn't going to ask you that. I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to drink something," the woman said, puzzled.

"Oh no! No, thanks," said Dr. Rush, watching the whole kitchen. Maybe he thought the cups and glasses might be dirty. Paula also thought that maybe the doctor thought they could poison him.

"Well, I suppose you know why I came here," he said looking at Paula that she started to get nervous, even though she tried not to show it.

The girl nodded.

"I have advanced my visit for work reasons," the doctor lied not to scare Paula. "Anyway, what do you think of Mr. and Mrs. Parker? How about the house? Do you find it comfortable?"

Paula didn't expect such direct questions in front of her uncle and aunt, so she began to babble... «Yes... well... yes». She had imagined something else. She believed that Dr. Rush would speak to him in private. But apparently that was not the intention of the doctor because the interrogation continued in front of the Parkers, so Paula could not be honest. The Parkers seemed mute and the doctor ignored their presence, also seemed in a hurry, as if he wanted to finish as soon as possible to leave.

"Well, let's move on to another topic. Have you felt good about medication?" he said suddenly, changing the subject.

"Good, but...," Mr. Parker tried to interrupt her, but Dr. Rush didn't allow it, at that moment all his attention was on Paula.

"I have felt good, but lately I have felt very sleepy, I have even fallen asleep during the day."

Paula looked at the parker sideways; they shared a look of fear.

"Have you taken the same dose?" the doctor asked with interest.

"Yes."

"Then reduce it to half a pill," the man said.

"But...," Mrs. Parker wanted to intervene in the conversation, but Dr. Parker interrupted her.

"That's nothing weird lady, that means Paula is recovering," the doctor spoke to her as if she were a little girl.

Paula felt uncomfortable; however Mrs. Parker would not give up so easily.

"That she falls asleep during the day does seem weird to me. What if some other medicine is hurting her?" said the woman, flushed with indignation. That stupid pompous doctor was not going to shut her up. She feared she had caused some harm to her niece with the sleeping pills she gave her on the tea.

"No, I don't think so. She just has to reduce the dose of her sleeping pills," said the man without giving importance to Mrs. Parker's voice. He even looked bored.

Then the doctor moved on to another topic of conversation. Paula watched Mr. Parker's attempts to intervene nervously. She was afraid that her uncle would tell the doctor something that could harm her.

"Have you had any progress with your memory? Have you remembered something?" said the man looking at her sideways. This time he seemed interested. His eyes shone in a strange way, as if he were contemplating an object worthy of study.

Paula blushed when answering...

"No, well... I remember something."

"Something?" said the doctor with renewed curiosity.

The parkers looked at each other. Paula noticed that they felt fear. Did they fear that she remembered everything?

"Yes, but it was recently. I think it was just a dream."

"A nightmare?" asked Dr. Rush.

"No, well... more or less. I remembered part of my discussion with Franco but nothing else," Paula frowned and then added: "It was weird."

"Nothing at all?" the doctor insisted.

"No."

"Well, that's something, although progress is too small to be considered as such. You must try to remember with all your might, Paula. You know what I always say: to start healing we must start by accepting our past, so the wounds can heal and you will continue with your life."

Paula blushed. She already knew! He talked without knowing how much she had trouble remembering. She had tried, well, from time to time, especially since she saw the village nun.

"Have you had nightmares?" asked the doctor.

"Well... yes."

"Have they increased?"

"I think so; she admitted reluctantly and looked away."

"Are your nightmares still about your child?" the man asked.

Paula was surprised. That was a very personal question. She looked at Mr. and Mrs. Parker sideways.

"Yes," she finally admitted.

There was a brief silence.

"Well, even if it seems strange to you, that means there is progress. Many times our mind manifests itself in dreams. The unconscious tells us things through them", the doctor explained with a little more enthusiasm. The previous questions had not left him happy with Paula's recovery. But he was starting to change his mind. "You should try to remember anyway. Every morning when you wake up, think about them. That will help you."

Paula nodded; it was very difficult to think about her family... the accident... the child. All of that was very painful for her. At first she had been able to evade her memories, but lately they were present in her thoughts.

"And when will she begin to remember?" Mr. Parker asked. At last his voice could be heard after the brief silence.

"Well, we don't know that, it can take days or weeks. Hopefully we don't have to wait for years," the doctor replied.

Uncle Parker was alarmed by these words.

"Don't worry, Mr. Parker, your niece will be fine, she will soon remember. We have indications that that is already happening," the doctor said with a fake smile.

«His public relations smile». Paula thought.

Mr. Parker was not satisfied with his response and was willing to argue but the doctor interrupted him.

"Any other thing? Has something else happened?" he said suddenly, looking at Mrs. Parker and ignoring the other man.

The woman was surprised to find herself unexpectedly challenged.

"Mmmm! No," answered the woman.

"You sounded very worried on the phone," the doctor insisted. Paula looked at her aunt and terror invaded her.

"Oh! Yes, I was worried because she used to fall asleep anywhere, even on the table. I thought the medications were causing her harm," the woman said calmly, but Paula watched as she twisted the cloth of her skirt nervously.

Paula thanked her aunt with all her soul for not mentioning her strange behavior.

"Well...," babbled the man in the suit.

Dr. Rush took a notebook from his briefcase and wrote down some things on it that nobody understood, and then he kept it carefully, submerged in the most absolute silence and then got up.

"That's all, the patient...," said looking at Paula, "is improving so my next visit will be more or less in a month and..."

"Wait! Wait! That is all? And what about the other thing? Don't you plan on saying anything, Laura?" said Mr. Parker, looking at his wife.

Paula was scared and Mrs. Parker looked at her husband, alarmed. Dr. Rush meanwhile looked at them both with concern.

"What is going on," he said while sitting down again.

"I...," the woman stuttered.

"She sees things," the man said wickedly, pointing to Paula.

"That's not true!" she shouted furiously.

"Of course it is! And don't talk to me in that tone! Remember that you are in my house."

Paula was about to argue but the doctor interrupted them.

"What do you mean?" the doctor asked, looking at the parker.

"Honey... you know that...," Mrs. Parker tried to intervene in a weak voice.

"Let me talk to me, Laura!" her husband said so she would shut up.

"Nothing that he says is true!" Paula said desperately. It was happening what she feared.

"Shut up!" shouted Mr. Parker with a violent attitude.

"You better calm down," the doctor requested.

Everyone sat down again and when Mr. Parker calmed down then the doctor spoke again.

"Please, I need you to explain to me what you mean by saying that your niece sees things."

"Days ago she started screaming like crazy, she did it during the night. We almost died of fright! She began to say that there was a child in her room, that she had seen him and that she could hear him. I think she has hallucinations. She behaves strangely. She hides something from us, I know, I can see it in her eyes. I think she sees bugs or something like that."

That was the last straw for Paula.

"I don't have hallucinations! I don't see bugs! Are you crazy?" Paula said with anguish. "That night you are talking about... it was just a nightmare."

"But you said that..."

"I thought I saw a child because I was dreaming of him and... I got scared, but I soon realized that it had only been a nightmare," she screamed almost desperate.

"That is not true! She claimed to have seen that child Laura! Are not you going to support me?"

"I... don't know... Maybe it did, honey," said the woman shyly. Her husband looked at her with hate. "She said she had nightmares. You know this house is big and..."

"She listens to things, she thought she had seen a child IN MY HOUSE," Mr. Parker was very angry and seemed about to explode with anger.

Dr. Rush remained silent; he was beginning to understand what was happening in that house. He began to remember Mr. Parker's continuous calls to the hospital and home, saying that his niece was wrong. At first the doctor was worried, but now he was convinced he had found the truth. Mr. Parker only wanted his niece outside the house; in fact it had been very difficult for him to accept her there. That place was not good for the girl in recovery, but at least her aunt seemed to be a good person who was willing to help her.

He was listening to the fight for a long time until he decided to interrupt. He told the Parkers that he could not take the woman back to the psychiatric hospital because he was convinced that patients were recovering faster in a family environment and he had high hopes that Paula would recover her memory. She would recover her mint health and by then she would need a psychologist to help her get into society again. After the accident that had been the sentence of the court. She must serve her sentence.

"I got it, Mr. Parker," said Dr. Rush interrupting his aggressive monologue. "I don't think Paula has any hallucinations. Many times the fear felt in a nightmare can last a long time after waking up. It is not something abnormal; in fact it must have happened to you too."

"But you must take her. I can't live with a crazy girl," the man said as he hit the table with his fist.

"Please, man, have more respect for your niece. You signed a document and you know very well what the conditions are," the doctor shouted as he got up from his chair. Mr. Parker was making him lose his temper, something no one had achieved until that moment.

Mr. Parker said nothing more.

"Well, I have to go," said the doctor, looking at Paula indulgently. "Will you accompany me to the door?"

"Yes, of course," Paula answered.

The two went out to the lobby. The Parkers began to argue in the kitchen, none of them said goodbye to the doctor. Paula felt embarrassed by that show of lack of education of the Parkers.

"Excuse me, doctor, I..."

"You don't have to apologize," said the man a little tense when he heard the fight between the Parkers. Actually it was Mr. Parker who was shouting, his wife was trying to calm him down.

"No, well, actually what I wanted to know was if you knew anything about... my boyfriend, Franco," Paula said expectantly.

She wanted to know about her boyfriend Franco, her son's father. She had not heard anything about him since the day of the accident and had not even visited her.

When she was in the psychiatric hospital, Dr. Rush had never wanted to answer her questions and she wanted to know the truth. To heal, she must know the truth. Paula thought that maybe Franco blamed her for the accident and that maybe he was next to Erika, so he had not gone to visit her at the hospital or at the Parker's house. If that was true, she needed to know it even if it hurt.

Due to her uncle's exclamation, Paula deduced that he had heard her from the kitchen.

"Did you hear what she said? She's crazy!"

"Shhh, honey, shut up!" said his wife weakly.

Paula thought that the situation had already exceeded the limit because there was nothing wrong with her question and her uncle did not have to meddle in her affairs.

"I want to know the truth. I have not known anything about him since the accident. I know he blames me for what happened," Paula pleaded.

Dr. Rush looked at her with pity.

"Are you starting to miss your family?" the man whispered so that the Parkers would not listen to him.

Paula nodded with a couple of tears in her eyes, then the doctor smiled genuinely, at last some humanity had appeared on that perfect face. He was satisfied because that meant Paula was progressing. Paula seemed disconnected emotionally with her family; she never expressed feelings for them. It was as if the two belonged to a separate world, and if she talked about her son, she used to call him «the boy», and she never called him by name.

Dr. Rush realized that everything was changing because Paula was beginning to show deep emotions and that meant she would soon remember.

"I can't tell you anything about him, Paula. You have to remember on your own."

"I know," she replied a little angry. She just wanted answers.

"In your head you will find everything you need to know and, when the time is right I can accompany you to see it if you want," said the doctor.

Paula accepted the answer although she was not sure if Franco would accept her visit or not. Dr. Rush always had that strange way of speaking... anyway she needed to see Franco and apologize to him for what happened with the boy... with her child.

Dr. Rush got into the car and then Paula watched him go along the path through the small forest. Paula sighed and went back into the house. The Parkers continued to fight in the kitchen. She decided to face her uncle at once; she was fed up with his selfishness and evil.

"You have no right to tell lies about me!"

The man turned to look at her. He was surprised.

"They are not lies! And don't talk to me that way! I remind you that you are living in my house for my mercy!"

Of course Paula was offended.

"Of course they are lies! You have no right to talk to me like that! And you can't think I'm crazy just for asking about my family!" Paula shouted.

The man began to laugh maliciously.

"Your family!" he said scornfully, and then fell silent.

"Don't, do not do it, honey...," Mrs. Parker intervened, she was scared.

She was afraid that her husband would talk about more so she tried to stop him by taking him by the arm.

"You can't deny that you don't know that...," he was shouting without listening to his wife.

"It's enough! Don't say it! Dr. Rush said that!" his wife he tried to intervene again.

He was not going to stop.

"Shut up, Laura!" he yelled, furious and pushed her so she would release him.

Mrs. Parker fell to the floor. Paula was outraged.

"Don't you dare to touch it!" Paula shouted and tried to help her, but the man took her arm and pushed her away from his wife.

Paula crashed into the wall and hit her back.

Mrs. Parker was crying from the floor: «no, no, please», she said begging her husband.

"You're sick! Damn alcoholic!"

Mr. Parker turned pale and suddenly seemed even more dangerous

"What did you just say, disgusting crazy!" said the man, furious.

Paula was afraid and for a moment she didn't know what to answer but then she took courage and yelled at him.

"Yes, I know about your little secret! You don't scare me and if I could leave I would. Maybe I can convince Dr. Rush to give me Franco's phone and so I can go live with him."

"Do you want to go to live with him?" asked the man laughing with irony.

"Yes," the girl replied. She was confused to see that her uncle laughed.

"Well then you will have to go to hell. That is where he is," the man said, still laughing.

"What are you talking about?" Paula was enraged.

"No, don't do it! Please don't tell her!" Mrs. Parker supplicated from the floor, but the man did not listen to her, was not willing to stop.

"Don't you know what I'm talking about? He is dead... Dead! And you killed him. Damn murderer!"

Paula could not believe what he was saying... No! That was a lie. She started shaking her head while trying to speak.

"No, I wouldn't do that," she said, terrified.

"Yes, you killed him and also murdered your son... Damn murderer! You murdered your whole family."

Mrs. Parker kept asking him to stop talking.

Paula was shocked and felt her mind go blank. She could see her uncle pointing at her furiously but suddenly she couldn't hear him anymore. She was absent... immersed in the depths of her soul. The reality of that scene distorted before her eyes. It could not be possible.

She couldn't have killed her son and her husband either because she wasn't a murderess... or could she?

Suddenly she remembered everything and it was as if a mist cleared from her memory.