Dr. Chen had a theory about grief and she shared it with Hope on day nine post-merge during their third session of the week, which had become the new normal—three sessions minimum, sometimes four, sometimes Hope just showed up at the therapy room doorway because the alternative was sitting alone while dimensional consciousness pressed its awareness against hers like a bruise that didn't stop.
"Grief isn't linear," Dr. Chen said. "Everyone knows that. But there's a second part people forget. Grief isn't singular either. You're not grieving one thing. You're grieving the consciousness you created, the person you were before you created it, the world that existed before the merge, the version of this year where you didn't have to make that choice. All of those griefs run simultaneously and they interfere with each other. One will peak just as another troughs and you'll feel like you're making progress and then the next wave hits and you're back under."
