Do not speak. Just observe.

She stood at the side of the street of her childhood home. Everything was the same. The tire wheel swing on the big oak tree. The white picket fence surrounding a yard she knew hid Bongo’s dropping. He was such a good dog and she watched him chase his puppy dog tail like a dream. The porch held the swinging chair where her father sat. His straw hat hung over his eyes. He looked so young. So thin. So happy wearing a smile she hadn’t seen him wear in a long time. She saw herself in pig-tails skipping on the hopscotch her mother had drawn for her in chalk. Her little brother still sat in his diaper just within the gate that swung haphazardly in the wind.

Do not speak. Just observe.

Exposure therapy from Omni Corp. She stood on its platform as it whirled beneath her feet. Through the window she could see her mother in the kitchen. Soon she’d bend over to get the pies out of the oven. It would only take a moment. Her father would tilt the hat up and check on his son and daughter. She would land on the 6 and spin around but it’d be too late. For all three of them. Their life would be destroyed in just a few seconds. The car would speed through. The air whipping through the driver’s hair as he turned to the girl he was trying to impress. He’d lift his sunglasses and wink before he turned his eyes back to the road.

Do not speak. Just observe.

She’d watch this numerous times. Doctor Zhen said she was doing so well. She cried less. Her flinches were barely visible. Exposure therapy.

She screamed, “Billy, watch out!”

The little girl faltered on 5. She gasped as her little brother wobbled towards the road. She darted forward. 4. 3. 2. 1. Hopscotch. She pushed Billy back and she stumbled out into the road.

Do not speak. Just observe.

He stood at the side of the street of his childhood home. Everything was the same. The tire wheel swing on the big oak tree. The white picket fence surrounding a yard he knew hid Bongo’s droppings. He was such a good dog and he watched him chase his puppy dog tail like a dream. The porch held the swinging chair where his father sat. His straw hat hung over his eyes. He looked so young. So thin. So happy wearing a smile he hadn’t seen him wear in a long time. He saw his sister in pig-tails skipping on the hopscotch her mother had drawn for her in chalk. He saw himself sitting in his diaper just within the gate that swung haphazardly in the wind.