Free Next History: The Girl Who Hacked Tomorrow by Lee Baldwin

her psychologist’s office, although a soft couch is available. Tharcia prefers to have her eyes at the same level as Dr. Gloom, her private name for Dr. Kristina Novak. She’s kicked off her shoes, folded her legs beneath her.
    “How are you feeling this week, Tharcia? Any changes in your mood?”
    Tharcia shrugs. “About the same. Taking what you gave me.”
    “And how is your sleep?”
    “The new stuff lets me sleep most of the night. But wild dreams come, sometimes.”
    “ You want to tell me about those dreams, Tharcia?”
    “It's embarrassing. Well, one is. The other is just odd.”
    “ This is a private, safe space for you my dear. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but it might show the way to helping you.”
    “ Help me with what? What do I need help with?”
    “ You want to reconcile with your mother. You told me that.”
    “ Mm. Reconcile is not the word.”
    “Then what is?”
    “I want to tell her how she hurt me, why I’m angry. Tell her my shit face to face.” For a second, Dr. Novak sees before her the pleading expression of a young girl. But quick as she blinks, it’s the untroubled face of a beautiful woman intent on hiding something. Total lockdown.
    “Now, Tharcia, when you first came to me, you were talking about ideas that were a little… unusual. We discussed those, remember? We agreed there is no way, now, that you and your mother can be together, correct? Is that still your mission, or do you have another goal?”
    Tharcia considers. Outside the window birds flit among a tree’s low branches. What she visualizes is seeing her mom alive, telling her everything, making her listen. It’s too mixed up in her head to explain. She’s fully rational, understands what it means that her mother is dead. But she’s having these dreams. Vivid. Other realities leaking in. Perhaps unwise she’s mentioned those. Her whale dream? No. Too precious, too new. Not for now. She’ll divert, using one of Dr. Gloom’s favorite words.
    “ Okay,” Tharcia says. “In this one dream, I woke up in a dark place surrounded by lots of people. Everyone was naked.”
    Dr. Novak sits a little straighter. “You were naked too?”
    “ I'm not sure. I wasn't aware of looking at myself. Anyway I noticed the bodies around me, and it seemed that lots of ‘em were dead. Some were waking up from their own dreams, same as me. There was fear, longing, despair. These people were all lined up for some kind of processing and there were many souls waiting in line, some crying. The air was red and there were demonic winged things flying around. And in this place, I now felt it was a factory, we were laying dead bodies on an escalator after peeling off the skins. This was supposedly to release their souls. The skins were tied into big bundles and demons took them away with forklifts. Demons with big teeth were eating my flesh before it was removed. I felt filthy, I felt worthless to be naked with them. I woke up with tears.” She dare not mention the gross thing forcing her mouth open.
    Novak holds out a tissue. Tharcia doesn’t notice she’d begun to weep while relating the dream.
    “ It has an effect on you.”
    Dabbing her eyes she nods yes.
    “ What do you think is happening in the dream?”
    “Lust?”
    Dr. Novak nods. “That could be one aspect. Animalistic and carnal desires could mean the dream is completely sexual.”
    “ Being eaten alive? Doesn’t seem sexy to me.”
    “ Biting during intercourse is a deep drive, the lovers wish to consume each other. The crocodile brain, earliest developed brain function. Were the demons using their mouths on you sexually? Or were they consuming your flesh?”
    “They had big teeth sunk into my legs.”
    “Well, if you consider yourself on your own now, unattached, the fact there were so many people present in the dream might show that you want to be promiscuous. Or be the center of attention.”
    “I don’t like it.”
    “In dreams, we often