Chapter One

"What am I doing here?" He wondered to himself as the door closed behind him and his eyes began scanning the surroundings. The room was small and filled with stale air that seemed as old and worn out as the furniture and decorations. Overall he couldn't help but feel that he had stepped into a time capsule from the late 80's.

She had given him no direction on where to sit, not that there were too many options. A sofa, a love seat, or an oversized recliner with a broken wooden handle. "This is probably a test," he thought to himself.

Selecting the love seat, he sank down into its worn cushion and stole a glance at the sheet of paper she had given him to fill out. It had three questions on it. "Let's see here..."

1) What changes have you noticed in your mood and/or behavior since your last visit?

"That's easy," he thought as he struck a line through the question. "This is my first visit."

2) What feedback can you provide on your last visit?

"Well this may be the easiest form I've ever filled out," he chuckled to himself as he drew a line through the second question.

3) What would you like to discuss today?

"Oh....Where do I even begin? Am I supposed to lay it all out right here on this piece of paper? That can't be right there's only three lines. I could fill a book with all of my issues."

Staring at the clipboard, he felt the same old awful and familiar feelings rush in. Pulse getting faster, heart pounding out of his chest, mind racing, breathing getting rapid and shallow...

"Shit!"

The sound of the door handle turning sent his panic into overdrive. "Write something you damn fool!" He thought to himself. But his hand refused to be influenced by the desperate pleadings of his panicked mind.

"Hello Ezra, I'm so glad you could make it in today." Her voice was pleasant and calm, it matched the warm smile that stretched across her plain mousy face. She was dressed in a simple navy suit that was both conservative and professional. And she moved through the room with the silent grace of a highly educated individual. "Let's see how you're feeling today," she said as she took the clipboard from his hands and rolled an office chair into a position opposite him. "Well you're not giving me much to work with now are you?" She questioned with the same calming smile.

"Oh...uh...yeah. Sorry about that," he managed to stammer out.

"That's okay," she quickly replied. "This is just a standard form that all my patients fill out before a session with me. You don't have to write anything at all if you can't think of what to say. I am, however, very curious about the reason for your visit today so why don't we start with that. Tell me Ezra, what made you decide to come in and see a psychologist today?"

A thousand different answers raced through his mind like a giant orchestra with each instrument playing its own broken song. Yet, he just sat there staring at her and sinking deeper into his cushion. "I guess...I guess I need help." He finally got out. Cursing himself under his breath for how stupid he sounded.

"Well then dear, you have come to the right place. Tell me, how are you feeling right now?"

"Christ," he thought to himself. "Here we go..."

[ok there it is...chapter one. I tried to create a character that would be easy to build on. Feel free to develop more on our troubled friend Ezra or to introduce an entirely different character and we can get back to him in a future chapter. Good luck and don't forget to mention me in the comments and to tag your story #communitystory.]