The World of Myth Magazine

That morning Ebar had been given some free time and was using it to read a favorite book, Walden. He was sitting on his narrow bed when he heard a knock on the door frame.

Looking up, he smiled and set the book aside. “Jeremy. Hi. Good to see you. How’s going?”

“Hi. It’s going okay,” Jeremy said, his friendly greeting belying the look of concern on his face.

The young counselor swung by every other day or so to check on his patient. Those informal visits were in addition to the state-mandated twice-a-week individual counseling sessions Jeremy conducted. Ebar also attended group sessions led by Doctor Franklin, the same man who’d been prescribing medications for him ever since he’d first been admitted to the psych ward at the hospital a month earlier. The drugs were now different, not as strong, thanks to Jeremy’s insistence, but Ebar was still medicated, something that both of them were learning to live with.

“You’ve got to choose your battles,” Jeremy told Ebar once. “Besides, there’s not much we can do about it. Doctor Franklin pretty much rules the roost around here when it comes to prescribing meds for the patients.”

Ebar had no argument against that so he’d said, “Okay. It’s fine. You’re the boss,” kind of making a joke.

At the time, Jeremy grinned, “Well, actually, the guy I report to, Doctor Richard Andrews, is my boss, but I appreciate your confidence in me. Maybe one day.”

It was one thing Ebar appreciated about Jeremy - he had a sense of humor and didn’t take himself too seriously. Not like a lot of the other doctors and counselors and people he’d been running into lately. It was always good to see him.

“So, to what do I owe this visit?” Ebar asked. “You look a little preoccupied. Here just to chat? Our next session isn’t until tomorrow. Is everything okay?”

Jeremy grimaced and fidgeted with a strap on his backpack. “Well, speaking of bosses, it’s actually not going all that well. I just came from a meeting with my boss - that Andrews guy I’ve told you about.”

“How’d it go?” Ebar asked. He was all ears. When Jeremy first arrived, he’d hoped his counselor was bringing some good news for a change, like, for instance, when he might be released. But a closer look at Jeremy’s concerned expression told him something was wrong. In a big way. Ebar felt his stomach flip over. “Oh, oh. What’d he say?” He suddenly felt sick. Nauseous. “Your boss. He said something bad about me. I just know it.”

“Kind of, I’m afraid.” Jeremy nervously set his backpack aside and turned to Ebar with a pained look. “Look. I’ll give you a recap. You need to hear this. It’s not all good news.”

Ebar sat up, ready to pay attention. He trusted his counselor to do what was right for him. “Fire away. I’m ready for anything.”

Like what you read? Hang in there. Chapter Four will be coming next month!

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