Meet Kiesha

Deidre was growing frustrated and scared.  Marj was gone. She paced back and forth across the room.  “Okay, okay, okay,” she said smacking herself on the side of the head.  What do I need to do?. What haven’t I thought of? Where else do I need to look? 

Earlier:

Something felt off when she woke up that morning.  There was a strange quiet in her bedroom. She had overslept; which was unusual.  It was 8:30. Marj always woke her up for her frosted cereal around 7 every morning.  The seven year old was like an alarm clock that never had to be wound or set. Maybe she had tried to wake me,Deidre thought,  and after she couldn’t, decided to fix her own breakfast. Pulling on her robe she had hurried to the kitchen. Maybe Marj was there.  Oh my goodness, she’d thought; she has probably made a mess. But, the kitchen was empty. No Marj. No mess. 

She yelled for Marj then.  She’d checked in the bathroom; moved back the shower curtain - no Marj.  Maybe she was hiding. Deidre smiled. They often played hide and seek. Okay Marj, she thought, I will find you.  She had looked in the closet in the hall, in the cabinets in the kitchen, and under the bed with no luck.  

Perhaps, she’d gone outside.  Deidre had slipped on her jacket and looked in the small back yard. She walked around the front of the small house and looked both ways down the sidewalk. .   Marj was not there. This was the point that she had started feeling scared. I need to talk to George she thought. George always showed up when Deidre was distressed.  He would calm her down and make her think rationally. Together they would figure this all out. Deidre went back inside and slipped on a pair of overalls and flannel shirt.   

George suggested that Deidre try the candy shop a couple of blocks away.  Mr. Stephens, the owner, was always nice to Marj and gave her free candy. Deidre walked to Sweet Treats  and looked in the window. Mr. Stephens was behind the counter and there were no customers in the store.  He looked up and waved at Deidre, motioning for her to come in as he started to fill a small bag with candy.  Deidre stared at Mr. Stephens but didn’t enter the store. Marj wasn’t here. There was no reason to go in and get the candy.

There was nowhere left to look.   Deidre didn’t know what to do. George, who always had the solution, had been wrong. As Deidre slowly walked back home, she had felt empty and scared and lonely.  Marj was her little friend. They were always together. Marj made Deidre laugh and feel alive and see the beauty in the world. She was a good little companion. What would she do without her?  Why had Marj run away? 

As she walked, Deidre thought about the night before.  She and Marj had read a story after dinner and then watched the disney movie, Bambi, which was Deidre’s favorite.  Susan, their guardian, had showed up and ruined their evening as usual. She was tough and mean and loved to make them feel stupid. Susan  was always telling them what a burden they were and how she was tired of putting up with them. Usually when Susan went on one of her tirades, Deidre and Marj just clung to each other and waited it out.  But last night Marj had started crying and held her hands over her ears. Deidre had felt really angry because of Marj’s distress, and in an unusual show of bravery, had screamed for Susan to back off. Deidre had felt a sense of freedom because she had finally stood up to Susan, but now wondered if her outburst had scared Marj and made her run away.  Maybe seeing her angry reminded Marj too much of Susan.

Present:

And that is how Deidre  found herself at this point, pacing back and forth across the room, wondering what to do next.  As she paced, George showed up. “You know what you need to do”, he said, after hearing that Marg was still missing.     “You know we need his help.” Deidre didn’t really want to hear what George was saying but she knew he was right. There was only one person who could find Marj.  She dreaded making the phone call. Mainly because she would have to deal with Susan. Thinking about an encounter with Susan made Deidre feel the anger start to build up inside her.  Susan would probably be glad that Marj was gone. It would be one less person for her to have to deal with. Susan always told them that they were in the way. Well if they couldn’t find Marj, maybe they could finally get rid of Susan.  

Deidre went to her bedroom and changed from the overalls to a long sweater and leggings.  She saw Marj’s jacket on the chair and decided to put it on. Somehow, maybe it would make her feel like Marj was with her.  She got into the cab that George had called.  

Dr. Winston, head of the Psycotherapy department at Willow Way Hospital, wondered what was wrong with Deidre.  His nurse had said that George had called and it was very important they see him. He had given no other details .  He wondered who was coming. Would it be George? He knew George existed but had never really met him. Deidre and Marj talked about him.  He seemed to be like a favorite uncle that showed up when advice was needed. 

Deidre had made great progress in the last couple of years.  She didn’t realize it yet but she was moving closer to not needing all of her personalities.  There was still work to be done but he felt confident one day the now 33 year old would be one person.  He had been her doctor for 20 years and they had gone from seven to, now, three others.  

A beautiful woman with smooth chocolate skin was shown into the office by his nurse.  At first glance, he wasn’t sure who had entered because of the way she was dressed. He looked at her face as she sank into the chair.  “ Good afternoon,” Dr Winston said questionably. “ I am Kiesha, the woman replied. We have to get rid of Susan. She is hurting Marj.”