Calliope: Dr. Delvaux (Short Three) By Imani Wagner

Dr. Delvaux appears to be full of surprises. Find out what they are in part three of Calliope, a short story series!- IW.

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Henrietta and I sat in the plush olive green armchair, which took up its own corner in my living room. It was raining outside again, and Henri and I loved to climb up into the chair and watch the rain beat the window pane. We did this often. I loved this little nook in my space. The dark walls and the amber lighting made the nook warm. It was a place where I could think and process the hard things. I would climb inside this portal of comfort and let everything come together and then melt away.

Suddenly, something shifted in the room. It was what I always felt right before Ellie appeared out of thin air. I turned to look at her as she sat crossed legged on my big great sofa.

“You’re getting good at this.” she smiled admittedly.

“Either that, or I'm losing my mind.” It seemed like every time I saw Ellie she looked better, somehow. There were less bruises scattered across her arms and legs, and the discoloration around her neck had completely disappeared.

“I am changing,” Ellie said, as if she could read my mind. “I’m not exactly sure how, but I believe talking to you is helping me heal.”

I was more than pleased to hear that, but I had such a deep understanding that there is so much I don’t know about any of this. I had a strong urge to take Dr. Delvaux up on her offer for a home visit. Once it was in my head, I was already dialing the phone number she gave me. Within no time I found Delvaux at my door with something I could only imagine was a bag full of medical supplies.

“Hi Calliope, how are you feeling?” I stepped aside and motioned for her to come in. She walked over to the sofa and sat down right next to Ellie, completely unaware of her presence. I understand now why Ellie looked like just another person when I had first seen her in the coffee shop. As Ellie and Dr. Delvaux sat together on the couch; they looked as if they existed on the same plane, except there was now a light of some sort surrounding Ellie. I hadn’t noticed it at first. It was misty and faint around her ghost. “Calliope, you alright,” Delvaux asked again.

I sat across from her in the armchair and began to tell her about the ghostly happenings of the past few days. “...her name is Ellie Marshall.” I nervously folded my hands together on my lap. I knew that she thought I was crazy. Her facial expression had not changed the entire time it took to expel my monologue of absurdity. I was ready for a group of people in white scrubs to come bursting into my apartment, right before dragging me away to a psychiatric hospital. Ellie’s head whipped from me to Delvaux as she tried to best assess the situation that was unfolding between the three of us.

Then, something incalculable happened. Slowly, Dr. Delvax turned her body away from me and looked Ellie directly in her eyes. “I think I know how to help you both.” I had never seen Ellie shocked before, granted I had never known her when she was alive, and I had only known her ghost very recently. Her little face couldn’t stop moving as she looked from me to Dr. Delvaux, and then back to me with puzzlement.

“I didn’t know you could see me,” Ellie said.

“Yes, I can see you, Ellie. I suspected Calliope could see you as well. I could sense you in her mind's eye. She was so newly open, I could see her spirit world very clearly.” I settled into the cushion as things began to come full circle. “Calliope, I'll need to show you how to better protect yourself. You don’t want anyone to be able to get inside your head that easily. I suspect that is how Ellie is able to communicate with you telepathically.”

I was taken aback by many things. Delvaux could experience what I had been this entire time, however she had access to something more. Secondly, I was right about hearing Ellie in my head. Sometimes she would speak to me but her lips would remain still or slightly parted. Dr. Delvaux kept her eyes on mine as she monitored my mood. “I think that this is too much,” I said. I held my hands on either side of my face in an effort to squeeze out the unseeable part of myself that was freaking out.

Delvaux pulled my hands into hers and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and when she exhaled, the me that I was trying to squeeze out softened. “How did you do that,” I asked her. I had only ever felt this way with Ellie, before I understood what she was. It was like being soothed. It was as if someone had lightly caressed my back, and with each stroke there was less despair.

“Everyone has gifts. These are mine. Now, we should get right to it,” She pulled her hands away and stepped back into her authoritative doctor role. “Calliope, someone will call you about a party tonight. It’s Saturday, you should go.”

“How is a party supposed to help Ellie right now,” I asked.

“It just is. It doesn’t need to make sense right now.”

“Yes, let’s go! I hadn’t been to a real party in a while because of Delton. I think this could be fun,” Ellie exclaimed.

“Okay so we go to the party and then what?”

“You go to the party, and then you call me tomorrow morning.” Dr Delvaux stood, grabbed her bag, and walked out of my front door. Ellie and I stared at each other until we were interrupted by my phone buzzing loudly on the coffee table between us. I reached for it and there was a text from Mya. It was a flyer for a house party she was throwing tonight.

Ellie bounced in her seat and clapped her hands together like an excited three year old. “Oh, this is going to be so fun!”