Soul Patient Part I. Synchronicity

By Emiko T.

 

Masako Nagasawa, a clinical psychologist, is in charge of counseling a boy who appears to have multiple personality disorder. Since then, inexplicable and bizarre occurrences start to haunt Masako.

The story portrays the salvation of the soul, focusing on Masako, a clinical psychologist with a critical trauma, and

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emiko T.
• Release date: Feb 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869206725

Book preview

Contents

Chapter 1: The Index Finger

Chapter 2: The Outsider

Chapter 3: Naomi Minami

Chapter 4: You're Not Needed

Chapter 5: Intake

Chapter 6: The Blank Questionnaire

Chapter 7: Background

Chapter 8: Suspicious Death

Chapter 9: Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

Chapter 10: The Resolve to Confront

Chapter 11: Perhaps

Chapter 12: Cannot Say

Chapter 13: Help

Chapter 14: Drowning Man

Chapter 15: I'm Home

Chapter 16: Just a Bit

Chapter 17: Something That Shouldn't Be There

Chapter 18: Some Way or Another

Chapter 19: Brazenly

Chapter 20: The Receipt

Chapter 21: How?

Chapter 22: Method of Entry

Chapter 23: Physical Evidence

Chapter 24: Robbery

Chapter 25: My Intake

Chapter 26: The Unavoidable Coincidence

Chapter 27: The Right Person for the Job

Chapter 28: Unqualified

Chapter 29: Arrangement of Stars

Chapter 30: The Key Person

Chapter 31: The Third Person

Chapter 32: Not There

Chapter 33: The Fundamental Principle

Chapter 1: The Index Finger

That evening, Masako Nagasawa caught sight of an elevator door closing at the entrance of a mixed-use building. Hurrying towards it with the sound of her heels echoing, she saw a person inside who pressed the button to hold the door open for her.

'Thank you,' she said, bowing her head slightly as she entered. The boy in front of the control panel, dressed in an unremarkable outfit of a navy duffle coat and jeans, asked, 'Which floor?'

'Fourth floor, please,' Masako replied, slightly out of breath. However, the light indicating someone was going to the fourth floor was already on. The boy responded to Masako's nod with a smile and promptly pressed the close button.

As the doors closed and the elevator ascended, an awkward silence filled the space. Masako caught a glimpse of the boy's index finger, which had pressed the button, and gasped.

On the first joint of his right index finger was a distinctive, whitish, large callus, resembling a pen callus but actually a 'vomit callus,' commonly found on individuals with eating disorders who repeatedly force themselves to vomit by shoving their finger down their throat after overeating. While Masako contemplated this, the elevator reached the fourth floor, and the boy pressed the 'open' button.

'After you,' he said politely, prompting Masako to step out onto the floor. The boy followed her out of the elevator, turning left from the main floor and following behind Masako as she walked straight down the corridor.

She could feel his presence behind her.

They were both heading to the entrance of the psychiatric clinic at the end of the hallway. In other words, like Masako, the boy behind her also had business beyond the glass door.

Turning back to check on him might impose stress and damage. To avoid this, she continued walking as if visiting an office, checking her smartphone screen.

Even in the Reiwa era, attending a psychiatric or psychosomatic clinic carries a stigma, whether for the individual or their family. Looking back might cause the visitor to turn away, burdened by a sense of shame.

Masako opened a door marked 'Staff Only' midway down the hallway, but the boy passed by without hesitation or hurry, maintaining a steady pace.

He then pulled open the glass door at the end of the hall.

The door glass bore the name 'Komai Clinic,' but nothing indicating 'Mental Health,' 'Psychosomatic Medicine,' or 'Psychiatry,' to lessen the mental burden on clients.

As the boy entered, a slightly nasal female voice in a baby pink nurse's uniform greeted him with 'Good evening.' The voice belonged to Yoko Hatanaka, reminiscent of a cabaret club hostess's 'Welcome.'

When Hatanaka's voice faded away, Masako softly cast her gaze towards him standing beyond the glass door. He was gesturing for a seat in the waiting room after showing his insurance card at the reception