WebNovels

Chapter 18 - Chapter 18

Elsa finally sat back down. Now, she had decided to put her trust in Dr. Amelia.

Dr. Amelia looked at Elsa with a soft smile. "I'm glad you decided to stay," she said softly.

Elsa remained silent.

"Okay, how about we talk about what's going on with you? I can only help you if I know exactly what's wrong," Dr. Amelia said.

Elsa exhaled sharply. "I already told you, I have a sleepwalking condition. It suddenly came back"

Dr. Amelia shook her head. "I know, Elsa. I mean, what exactly is weighing your mind? You can't just suddenly relapse all of a sudden. Somnambulism mostly evolves from an event, either traumatic or something else."

Elsa looked down for a moment, then spoke. "It started when I was 10. Anytime I lost something, I had an episode. I lost my pet back then. I was so emotionally attached to my cat. Then, when it suddenly died, I cried for days. That was when I had my first episode. I was examined by a doctor. We were told it wasn't serious and it wouldn't disturb my activities, and it's just for a while till I heal from my loss. With my medications and without me experiencing loss, I didn't get any episode for a while."

Dr. Amelia crossed her legs as she paid full attention. Elsa continued as she pressed on her palm nervously.

"But soon, we discovered that whenever I'm overwhelmed or disturbed about something, I experience an episode. With efficient medications, it seemed it disappeared forever. Not until—"

Elsa paused as she exhaled sharply.

Dr. Amelia leaned in. "Not until what?"

Elsa's voice trembled nervously. "Not until I lost someone close to me. I slumped into depression. Then that's when it began again after so many years."

Dr. Amelia's brow furrowed. Then she hummed softly. "By 'lost someone', can I know who you are referring to? And how close this person is to you?"

Elsa looked up. She couldn't tell Dr. Amelia that she was talking about the future when Mirabel died. Telling a therapist she travelled back in time would make her sound fully mad. And she wasn't ready for all that.

"I can't tell you the details. But I got back on my feet after grieving, although not totally, because I kept on having this scary nightmare."

Dr. Amelia looked at her more curiously. "Nightmare? Can you tell me what it's about?"

Elsa sighed heavily. It was the nightmare she had nonstop after Mira died. "I always see myself dying in the dream. And before then, I see the face of this person that I lost. It continued each day after the death."

After some silence, "You sound like these nightmares stopped at some point," Dr. Amelia asked.

Elsa nodded softly. "Yes, it stopped."

"What do you think made it stop? And when did it stop?" Amelia asked.

Elsa went mute. All this was hard for her because of how ridiculous she would sound. How was she going to say that after she travelled back in time and reunited with Mirabel again, she stopped having those nightmares?

"I found something similar to the person. I think it made me heal," Elsa said.

Dr. Amelia nodded softly and let down her crossed legs. "I fully understand all what you have just said." Dr. Amelia stopped and walked to her desk. "And according to your documents, it's been years since you experienced any episodes lately, right?" Dr. Amelia said as she grabbed the document from her desk and dropped it before Elsa, then she sat back down.

Elsa nodded to her question.

"Since today is our first session, I won't push you too much. Today was more of an introduction and getting you to be more comfortable with me." Dr. Amelia pulled out a sheet from Elsa's document and weaved it to her. Elsa took it gently as she glanced through it.

"What's this?" Elsa asked curiously as her eyes scanned the paper.

"It's an evaluation test. You can see it's like a questionnaire, tick the ones you think you have experienced. Then in our next session, you can hand it over to me."

Elsa scoffed. "I'm not depressed."

Dr. Amelia kept a smile. "I'm not exactly saying you are, Elsa. It's an evaluation. Those that are depressed don't know it yet until they finally slip into it." She paused. "You said you've been depressed before?"

Elsa looked at her and didn't say anything.

Dr. Amelia smiled softly. "It's okay, take your time. Our next meeting is in three days' time, so you have a lot of time with it. And trust me when I say this isn't an evaluation to see if you are depressed. It is just to keep your emotions in check," Dr. Amelia said.

Elsa exhaled sharply, then nodded as she slid the paper into her bag.

"That will be all for today, Elsa. I hope the next time we meet, you will open up more to me, and you will find answers to what is in your mind," Amelia said with a soft smile.

Elsa kept a plain expression. She grabbed her bag and stood up. "Thanks for today, Amelia. It was really worth it. I will see you in our next session."

Amelia smiled softly. As Elsa walked to the door, she suddenly stopped, then turned back to Amelia. Amelia looked at her curiously.

"Want to say something?" she asked her.

Elsa went silent for a moment. Elsa still couldn't remember how she slipped into the past. Her memory was still fuzzy and blurry. All she remembered was the dinner that night on her birthday with Liam.

Elsa forced a smile. "Do you have any trick for memory jogging?"

Amelia's brow furrowed. She stood up and walked towards Elsa. "Is there something you are trying to remember?"

Elsa nodded slowly. "So do you have??"

Amelia thought for a moment. "The next time you come, we are going to practice something. Is that okay by you?"

Elsa nodded and stormed out. She shut the door behind her and heaved a sigh of relief.

She stepped into the hallway. Mira and Susan saw her. They stood up immediately and walked towards her.

"How did it go?" Susan asked in a worried tone.

"That ended quite earlier than I expected," Mirabel added.

Elsa sighed heavily, then nodded. "Yeah, today was just like some sort of introduction so..."

Mira cut in. "Did she say you are fine? What did she say?"

Elsa nodded with a faint smile. "We didn't go deep for now."

"It's okay, Els… don't let this weigh you down, okay?" Susan said as she held her hand softly.

"Alright, girls… since we are out, why don't we have fun!" Mirabel said as she clasped her hands together and her face lit up.

Susan's face lit up too. "Yess! I'm down!"

Elsa's smile grew. "Let's go, girls!"

They excitedly stepped out of the hospital and got into the car. Their first stop was at a cozy café they always loved, CloudNine Café, where they had milkshakes, croissants, and laughed over the same old booth they used to sit in during their younger years.

Then they went to a karaoke lounge, a bright, fun-filled spot upstairs in the plaza. Each girl picked a song. Elsa sang a dramatic love ballad. Susan picked a wild pop anthem and started dancing like a maniac, making everyone burst into laughter. Mira sang a classic throwback that had them screaming the lyrics together.

They laughed so much their cheeks hurt. They danced, took selfies with microphones, and made a little video of them singing out-of-tune. It was pure joy.

Their final stop was a photo booth, which Elsa had suggested. It was tucked in a corner near the arcade, with pink neon lights and colorful props inside. They took cute photos, goofy faces, peace signs, bunny ears, dramatic poses.

The three girls sighed heavily as they stepped out of the booth, each of them holding a copy of the picture with them. Elsa looked at the picture and couldn't help but feel emotional and teary. Deep down, she was scared. Scared that one day everything would crumble again, and she'd lose them like in the future.

Mirabel noticed her change in mood. "Hey, you okay?"

Susan looked at her too.

Elsa looked at them, then nodded with a smile. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Let's go home now."

They both smiled and nodded.

They walked towards the car, the driver waiting for them, they got in and zoomed off.

"Yeah, I wanted to give this to you guys this morning, I forgot," Susan said as she brought out three keychains from her bag.

Elsa and Mira looked at her, paying attention.

"Here, matching keychains. Cute, right?" Susan said with a wide smile.

They both smiled as they took it. Elsa had a red one, Mira had a purple, while Susan had a blue. The keychains were small plush hearts with glittering mini bottles inside, filled with sparkly dust. Each one had a silver letter of their name's initial hanging beside it, and a tiny glowing star charm that blinked when you tapped it.

"Wait, this is a keychain?" Mira asked in surprise.

"Yes! Doesn't look like one, right?"

"Wow… it's so pretty. It doesn't look like a keychain," Elsa said.

"Exactly my point," Mira agreed.

"I had to wait for a week to get these delivered, so you guys better cherish it well," Susan teased.

"Let's attach it to our school bags," Susan added.

Elsa groaned. "I appreciate your gift and I would forever cherish it, but attaching it to our bags? Isn't that a bit childish?"

Susan's smile faded. "Oh please, Els. Since when did you find things like this childish?"

Mira nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Els. I think it's cute too."

Elsa huffed. "Fine."

They stopped at a place to eat dinner.

They finally got home. Susan suggested sleeping over at Elsa's house that day. They got home, and after a little chat with Elsa's parents, they headed to the room to retire for bed.

Mira flung herself to the bed as she sighed tiredly.

Susan too followed suit. Elsa shook her head as she smiled. She placed her bag down, then brought out her phone. She glanced through it like she had been waiting for a call or text.

"Why hasn't he texted today?" she muttered to herself.

Mira sat upright, brow furrowing. "Who's that?"

Elsa cleared her throat and dropped her phone immediately on the table. "No one."

Susan sat upright too. "Hmm... you've been acting suspicious these days," she teased.

Elsa let out a dry laugh as she pulled off her jacket. "Shut up, Susan. It's nothing."

Susan's brow furrowed mischievously. "I will catch you soon."

Mirabel was the only one not smiling. She looked at Elsa. Her expression was soft but slightly distant, as if reading into something deeper, concerned, yet unsure whether to ask.

Elsa stormed into the bathroom after a while, while the other girls got ready to sleep.

She came out a few minutes later with a towel wrapped around her head. Mira and Susan were busy on their phones.

Elsa sat down as she began drying her hair, her gaze glancing at her phone occasionally. Deep down, Elsa was waiting for Liam's text or call. She found herself hoping for it.

Elsa groaned as she shook her head, trying to snap out of it. "Come to your senses, Els. Why would you want him to call you? He's nothing to you," she said to herself, resuming drying her hair.

After a minute, a call came in.

Elsa gasped, immediately turned off her dryer, placed it down, and grabbed her phone as her face lit up.

It was Liam.

She sprung to her feet excitedly.

The two girls shifted their gaze to her. Elsa looked at them, then stormed out of the room to take the call.

Mira and Susan glanced at each other.

Susan immediately sat upright and turned to Mirabel. "Am I the only one or has she been acting weird lately?"

Mira's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Susan's expression now serious. "Think about it. I understand that she was mad at you because of not telling her about Brittany and all that, right?"

Mira nodded. "Yeah, so…?"

"Elsa suddenly relapsed. Don't you think there's more to all this? Something she isn't telling us?"

Mira thought for a moment. "I have thought about this before… but I don't think she is hiding anything from us. Why would she even do that?"

Susan thought for a moment. "I know… but it's been on my mind for a while." susan's gaze shifted to the drawer where the journal was sitting.

"What's wrong?" Mira asked curiously.

"This morning, she freaked out because I picked up this journal. Don't you think that can give us answers?" Susan replied.

Mira shook her head in disagreement. "No, there is no way we are reading it. It's her privacy."

Susan cut in. "It's not as if it's her diary. And besides, we just want to know if she's suffering alone or if something is up with her, right?" Susan said convincingly.

Mirabel thought for a moment as she went silent. Deep down, Mira too was curious. She knew her friend had been acting strange, but reading her journal didn't sit right with her.

Susan sighed. She stood up and walked towards the drawer and picked out the book. She walked back and sat beside Mira.

They both looked at each other nervously. Susan hesitantly flipped the book open. The first page, nothing was there. The other pages, nothing was there.

Susan's brow furrowed. "What's this? It's empty."

Mira looked at her, confused.

"Why did she then act like that when I took it earlier?" Susan sighed in disappointment. She stood up to return it. Then something dropped into Mira's mind. Mira held Susan back.

"What's wrong?" 

"Elsa never writes from the first page. If she was hiding something, then she would write from the middle or the last page."

Susan looked at her, puzzled.

Mirabel remembered how when they were in 5th grade, Elsa had a diary. Elsa allowed Mira to read it one day, and the few pages at the beginning were left blank. When Mira asked, Elsa said she wouldn't write anything she was keeping secret on the first pages.

And now, Mira knew. definitely, Elsa was hiding something.

Mira collected the journal from Susan and flipped to the middle. Susan too looked curiously.

That was when they saw it, everything Elsa had documented. About her coming back in time. About Mira dying in the future. And how she was trying to change everything.

Absolutely! Here's the continuation of your scene, picking up immediately after Mira and Susan read Elsa's journal. I've maintained the same tone, realism, and emotional intensity, preserving every moment from your original style—while enhancing it for clarity, imagination, and depth.

Elsa got outside. After a dramatic clearing of her throat, she engaged the line.

Liam: "Hey."

Elsa: "Hi hi, Liam."

Liam let out a low chuckle, his voice soft. "How are you, Els?"

Elsa tried as much as possible to not sound nervous.

Elsa: "I'm good. How about you?"

Liam: "I'm okay. I just… thought of you, so I decided to call."

There was a short silence. Elsa blinked. He thought of me? she thought, her chest tightening a little.

Elsa: "Ah, yeah… thanks for calling, I appreciate it."

Liam laughed softly. "It's okay. What did you do today?"

Elsa's brows furrowed.

"That's new. You want to know how my day went?" she asked, suspicion and surprise lacing her voice.

Liam let out a small huff of laughter.

"I was just curious. We're friends now, aren't we? I just thought I could ask."

Elsa cut in, her tone skeptical.

"Friends?"

"Yeah. Friends," he replied simply.

She let out a dry laugh, almost disbelieving.

"When exactly did we become friends?"

Liam didn't hesitate.

"We had fun the other day. You even shared your problems with me, and you asked to sit beside me for the trip. Isn't that what friends do?"

Elsa went silent. She couldn't even argue with him , because everything he said was true. She had done all those things.

It wasn't like she didn't enjoy it... but hearing him say it out loud caught her completely off guard.

She groaned inwardly. Yeah, asking to sit beside him during the trip just to avoid Adrian was honestly pathetic.

"Hello?" Liam's voice cut through her thoughts.

Elsa blinked, snapping back.

"Oh, yeah. Yes, of course, we're friends," she said quickly, laughing nervously.

Liam smiled on the other end. She could hear it in his voice.

"Or… were you expecting something else? Disappointed?"

Elsa scoffed.

"Oh, please."

"So… I had a really long day. I visited the hospital today…" she trailed off, realising how she had spilled.

Liam: "What?! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" His voice was filled with panic.

Elsa laughed nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Elsa: "Oh no, no! Just a random check-up. I'm completely fine."

Liam: "You got me scared for a moment." He exhaled sharply, sounding relieved.

Elsa went silent for a moment. Is he seriously worried about me right now?

Elsa: "Anyway, I hung out with my friends after. We just got back."

Liam: "Oh. Does this mean… you've reconciled with Mirabel?" he asked carefully.

Elsa: "Yes. It was just a misunderstanding."

Liam: "I'm glad you guys were able to sort things out."

Elsa smiled over the phone, warmth spreading through her. Then came an awkward silence.

Elsa: "So um… thanks again for calling. I need to hang up now. I'm really tired and sleepy."

Liam: "Elsa?"

Elsa's eyes widened at the sudden call of her name.

Elsa: "Yeah?" she said in a low tone.

The line went silent for a moment, like he was thinking. Then he said, in a voice barely above a whisper:

Liam: "Good night, Els."

Elsa's lips tugged into a smile.

Elsa: "Good night, Liam."

As soon as the call ended, Elsa lowered the phone slowly from her ear.

"Friends."

That word echoed in her head like an annoying ringtone she couldn't shut off.

Of all things Liam could've said… friends?

She leaned back against the wall, arms crossed tightly over her chest like she was trying to hold something in.

"Why do I feel weird about this?" she mumbled under her breath. "It's just Liam. Chill."

But her mind didn't chill.

She thought about the way he'd said it , casual, like it was the most natural thing in the world.That teasing little jab: "Were you expecting something else? Disappointed?"

Was she?

Elsa sighed and let her head fall back softly against the wall.

Maybe she was overreacting. Or overtired. Or maybe it was the way her stomach had fluttered, just a little, when he'd asked how her day went like he genuinely cared.

No sarcasm. No games. Just… honest interest.

It was unfamiliar. And unsettling.

Friends, she repeated in her head, this time slower, more thoughtfully.

She should be relieved.

After everything with liam, "friend" should be the safest, most boring word in the universe.

But somehow, her chest felt a little too full. A little too tight.

She glanced down at her phone again, still clutched in her hand. Her thumb hovered over the screen. 

Something light. Something teasing. Something that would say, "I'm cool with this" even though her brain was clearly spiraling.

But instead, she shook her head and shoved the phone into her pocket.

"This is so stupid," she whispered with a groan, pushing away from the wall, and walked back.

She opened the door and stepped into the room, only for her eyes to instantly lock onto the journal in Mira and Susan's hands. They were still reading. Their faces were frozen in disbelief. Tears welled up in Mira's eyes, her hands trembling.

Elsa's heart dropped. Her smile faded instantly.

"No…" she muttered as she stormed over to them and snatched the journal from Mira's grip.

Mira's eyes were wide and glassy with shock. She didn't say a word. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to process what she'd just read. Susan looked completely stunned too.

Elsa held the journal tightly, panic rising in her throat. Her entire body trembled. She couldn't even find the right words.

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