Fidelia began to explain everything what she remembered, and what Mia had told her.
When she finished, she hesitated, then said quietly, "I've been… losing time."
"Losing time?" Dr. Thompson leaned forward slightly, his tone calm. "And you have no recollection of what happens during these gaps?"
"None. But…" She looked down. "It's not like I'm scared. Just… confused. Because it happened while I was awake. I lost consciousness then the next thing I knew, I was on the floor, and my friend was there."
"That could be amnesia," he said thoughtfully.
"I thought so too," she replied. "But it's different. Mia told me I acted out of place. That I wanted to hurt someone my stepsister with a bottle. Later, I found out I rode a motorbike there, following her. And I don't even remember any of it."
Dr. Thompson nodded slowly, processing.
She hesitated again, then added, "It's like… someone else was controlling my body."
"The next incident happened on my way back," Fidelia said. "Mia told me I called myself Nyra. And… I remembered something. From when I was little. I used to be locked in a room for months. So I'd play with three toys I called my sisters. I named them Nyra, Raven, and Iris."
He listened quietly, pen poised. "Have you ever heard their voices in your head?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Tell me about them."
"The first is Nyra," she said softly. "She's angry. Violent. When she takes over, I think she's trying to protect me but she doesn't know when to stop. Mia said I told her I'd kill Bridget. Or anyone who threatened me."
Dr. Thompson noted it down.
"The second is Raven," Fidelia continued, glancing away. "But… it seems she hasn't appeared yet. Only Nyra."
"And the third?"
"Iris," Fidelia said, a faint smile touching her lips. "She's different. Cheerful. Gentle. She's… light. The part of me that still wanted to be happy."
Dr. Thompson's voice was careful. "Fidelia based on everything you've told me the blackouts, emotional fragmentation, identity shifts I believe you're experiencing Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID."
Fidelia blinked slowly, processing.
"It's a defense mechanism," he explained gently. "Your mind created Nyra, Raven, and Iris to survive something it couldn't handle as one person. They're not your enemies. They're parts of you each carrying pain or hope the others couldn't."
She stayed quiet, staring at the floor.
"But," he added, "I'm not entirely sure yet. To proceed further, I'd like to try a hypnotherapy session, if you're open to it."
"What's that about?" Fidelia asked curiously.
"Hypnotherapy is a type of psychotherapy," he explained, "that uses guided hypnosis a deep, focused state of relaxation and concentration to access thoughts, memories, or feelings hidden from conscious awareness."
"So… it can draw them out?"
"Yes. I believe it can help us reach your alters directly. To understand why one suddenly appeared and maybe, what triggered it."
Fidelia thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll do it. I don't like losing control of my body or my time. If there's anything that can help, I'll do it."
Dr. Thompson gave a small, approving nod. "All right. But understand, it can be dangerous if you're not ready."
"What do you mean?"
Harold's expression grew more grave. "I mean that if we bring Nyra forward, she may not want to cooperate. She may be defensive, even hostile. And if we unlock the memories she's been guarding all these years, you might experience those traumas as if they're happening again in real time. The mind doesn't always distinguish between past and present under hypnosis."
He paused, making sure she understood the weight of what he was saying.
"There's something else you need to know. During hypnosis, the barriers between your alters can become unstable, more permeable. If Nyra or one of the others doesn't want to relinquish control after we bring them forward…"
He let the implication hang in the air for a moment. "They might fight to stay in control. And if that happens while you're in such a vulnerable state, it could make the situation worse rather than better."
The room fell silent for a while as he waited for her to speak up.
"So what you're saying," Fidelia said slowly, "is that by doing this, I might lose control completely. That one of them might take over and not give my body back."
"It's a possibility," Harold admitted. "Not a certainty, but a risk we have to acknowledge. Some patients with DID experience what we call 'switching' where one alter takes over for extended periods. If we're not careful, if we push too hard or too fast, we could trigger that."
Fidelia sat back in her chair, weighing the options in her mind. She could walk away now, pretend none of this was happening, hope that the blackouts would stop on their own. But she knew better. This wasn't going away. And the longer she waited, the more dangerous Nyra might become.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Harold asked quietly, his eyes searching hers for any sign of hesitation.
Fidelia met his gaze without flinching.
"I don't have a choice," she said, her voice steady despite the fear coiling in her chest. "I need to understand what's happening to me. Before it's too late. Before I hurt someone I care about, or before Nyra does something I can't take back."
Harold studied her for a long moment, then gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"Alright. Let's begin"
Then the session started.
About seven minutes into the hypnotherapy, Fidelia's eyes fluttered open. Her pupils were dull empty, almost lifeless. She stared blankly at the ceiling, not moving, not blinking.
"Fidelia, are you okay?" Dr. Thompson asked carefully, sensing something was off.
She didn't respond at first. Then her lips curved into the faintest smile.
"Well, well, well," she murmured softly. "You really shouldn't have done that, Doctor."
The doctor's heart skipped. "Fidelia?" he asked, taking a cautious step back.
Her gaze finally shifted to him. "No," she said calmly. "It's Iris."