Indigo Ch. 9

The next few days were difficult for Sam. After James had rushed her back to her room, she refused to leave again. She was distressed by the fact that Indigo wanted her for the same reason that the hospital had wanted her. She did not want to accept that there was something wrong with her. Though the Indigo program didn't think she was sick, they also believed she was different. All Sam wanted was to leave her past behind and keep the world from knowing that she was different. If she stayed here, they wanted her to embrace all of her problems as blessings. If she left she would still be different, but on the run. She found it impossible to balance her desire to be normal with Indigo's insistence that she was extraordinary.

Downstairs, James was staring at Rose with disbelief. He could not believe what he was hearing. "Rose, she has slept over twelve hours a day. She hasn't been eating, and on the rare occasion I do find her awake, she refuses to talk. We have to intervene."

Rose's demeanor was quiet and calm. She knew what needed to be done, even if it did make her uneasy to let Sam wallow in discomfort above her. "Absolutely not. She has to learn to deal with things on her own. No magic pills. No injections. She needs to learn to cope."

James felt that this was cruel. Rose, however, was the expert. She continued. Sam needed to learn to work it out on her own. Sam had coping techniques. She proved that over the past year and a half on the run. Rose insisted that she was able to work it out on her own.

"Her idea of coping was to run. That isn't going to work anymore." James was cold and sarcastic.

"I know. She isn't going anywhere right now though. She hasn't even tried to leave her room. I think that a part of her knows that she is safe." Rose sat down behind her desk. She knew that this was the right thing to do. It was harder with James harassing her hourly, but she knew what was going on upstairs. It had to be this way.

James continued, with a hesitant smirk, "We also can't continue to keep everyone else on high alert for much longer. The natives are starting to get a bit restless." Rose laughed. No one at The Commune really enjoyed being told what to do. Since Sam's arrival, they had been rushed out of the dining areas and away from the building during most of the day. They had even been asked to keep emotional outbursts to a minimum while she transitioned. In most cases, they would have fought the ordinances. But when they came from Dr. Franklind, they listened.

"I am going to take her some lunch. I will tell her about the appointment." James said, as he left the office.

James took the tray of food up to Sam's room. He knocked on the door, but as usual, did not get a response. Opening the door, he saw her sitting on the small couch, staring out the window into the courtyard. She was still in the same clothes, but her messy hair was now greasy. Every time he had come to check on her since the video, she had been asleep. However, he kept bringing food and sometimes bits of it would be eaten before he changed it out for something new. The room looked too tidy for someone who had been cooped up for several days. She obviously had spent most of her time laying in bed.

He walked through the small apartment silently, and placed the food on the counter. Sam turned to look at him, her eyes were more alert today. The initial panic that turned into numbness the past few days was now gone. Life was slowly starting to fill them again.

"It is nice to see you are finally awake." James said cautiously.

"It is nice that you brought me something to eat." Her voice was still distant.

Sam's waking hours and dreams had been spent reliving the video. This place obviously wanted to change the entire construction of her world. The government and the corporations were not trying to help people. The happiness she had grown up seeing around her was manufactured. Somehow a group called Indigo was helping people like her. Unfortunately, she had panicked a few days ago and had not been in a state to ask what exactly Indigo was and what it meant for her. Though she was curious, she was not sure that she was ready to face her new reality.

"If this is your idea of an apology, it is nice, but isn't working." James was pleased to hear the sarcasm coming back into her voice. The callous layer that she put on to hide everything underneath, was cute in its own way.

"Please don't blame me what happened. I am trying to help you." James said as he continued to take her in.

"Who else would I blame?"

"Look, I don't want to fight with you. Though the fact that you are up swinging again does give me some hope." He grinned. She did not return his smile, but instead took a closer look. There was something off. This did not feel right.

"What is wrong with you?"

James dodged her question and continued as if he hadn't heard it at all. He explained that Rose wanted to meet with her at 3 o'clock for an appointment. He left the food and on his way out the door headed to the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and let it fill the tub. Sam stared at him silently, but did not ask again. He exited quietly without looking back. It was apparent that he couldn't get to close to her without telling her the truth.

Despite wanting to ignore everything he had said, Sam got up and started to move for the first time in days. She was stiff and tired, but it felt like she wasn't given the option to stay in her room for another day. She ate and then settled into the hot water. She first thought about the video that had plagued her for days. Then, her mind slipped to the dark-haired man who had been checking in on her. She had often pretended to be asleep to avoid talking to him, but she couldn't help shake the feeling that something was amiss. That would be one of the questions to ask Dr. Franklind about today.

Sam realized that someone must have brought her clothes over the past few days, because there were now clean outfits available in her closet. She picked jeans and a t-shirt, her normal attire. Now that her hair was clean she let if fall down, straight against her back. It had grown long over the past year, and she hadn't even noticed. Clean clothing, clean body " a fresh start; that is how she wanted to treat leaving her room. As 3 o'clock rolled around, Sam left her small living quarters and headed back down the elevator.

Sam walked to Dr. Franklind's office, and knocked quietly. Right on cue, the door came open. The woman gave her a happy smile, and ushered her back to the same chair she sat in her first night. She didn't give Sam a chance to even say hello before she started speaking.

"I heard you had quite the rough few days. I am sorry about that. I did not ask Edward to show you the video, and am quite displeased with him. I would consider firing him if he wasn't so useful around her." Rose smiled a bit at Sam. Sam looked at Rose's face. She was tired, more tired than the first night Sam had arrived. Dark circles were beginning to grow under her eyes, and she was worried.

"I guess that makes you in charge of this whole place?"

"Something like that." Rose smiled again. There was something so warm and familiar about her smile. Sam felt her walls start to come down. There was safety and kindness within this woman. She oozed it. It was no wonder she was the resident psychiatrist for The Commune. Sam decided that she should just go for it, and not waste any time with the doctor. If she wanted her questions answered, it was now.

"What exactly is Indigo?"

Rose explained that it was the group she worked for. Indigo went around the country and found people just like Sam. They brought them to The Commune, taught them how to use their gifts, and function within a society. Some of the members moved back to their homes, others stayed at The Commune. However, they were all connected and still worked toward the same goals.

"So everyone here has a gift?" Sam asked, still not want to believe what she was hearing.

"Everyone here has a purpose. However, not everyone here is special." Rose said. Sam's mind was reeling. She still was not sure exactly why she was here. The confusion must have been clear on her face.

"Tell me, Sam, what do you think is special about you?" The tone of the statement reminded Sam of countless hours of therapy. She would be asked rhetorical questions, and the answers never really mattered. The therapist would twist it into a conversation about abandonment and her biological parents.

"I really have no idea. I freak out. I hate crowds. My emotions are all over the place, and I have a hard time staying healthy. Those don't sound like special qualities. Those sound like disabilities."

Rose explained that Sam was incredibly sensitive. Crowds were overwhelming, because Sam couldn't control her emotions when she was in them. She went on to describe how sometimes she was inexplicably sad, or overwhelmingly happy, or worried, or even had specific thoughts about things that had never happened to her. Rose spoke as if she knew the symptoms by heart.

"So great, you read my file." Sam said in a cool tone. "It seems that I am only here because I have such terrible issues and you guys think you can fix me."

Rose gave a small laugh. "Your impression of us is only half correct. I do think that we can help you. But there is nothing to fix. You are here because you are an empath."

Sam sat silently. The words had absolutely no meaning to her. She wasn't sure if she should be shocked or concerned.

"An empath. It is someone who is deeply in touch with their emotional self. You can feel the emotions and intentions of others. You have the ability to look into the hearts of other people and know what they are really experiencing. Unfortunately, it is overwhelming to you and makes you feel out of control. But I think that I can help you learn to manage it."

Sam was confused. On one hand, Dr. Franklind sounded absolutely crazy. The idea of someone being able to feel the emotions of others was nonsense. However, Sam knew that Dr. Franklind believed it with all her heart. Sam had long been able to identify when those around her were lying or hiding things from her. She always thought that she was just good at reading body language.

"This doesn't make any sense. Why do I want to believe you?"

"Because you have known all along that you weren't unhealthy, but you didn't have the words to describe what you were feeling. Now you do. The best path to healing is having the truth. I think that given time and the proper help, you will even begin to impress yourself."

Sam thought about this for a moment. Even if all of this were true, this didn't explain the video she had seen. What did this have to do with the government or the president? How was it possible that she existed, and even that others like her existed, without her knowing? They lived in the age of technology, where you could be continuously wired into the internet and access the entire documented history of the human era at a simple request.

"I see all the questions in your eyes but sadly they will have to wait until another day. I need to get to another meeting." Rose said gloomily.

"One more question."

"What is that?"

"What is wrong with Edward?"

"That, my sweet girl, he will have to tell you for himself."