Scarecrow of 1889
Chapter 39: After the breakthrough

Chapter 39: After the breakthrough

As happy as Dr. Hall was about the breakthrough in Sylvester Crowley’s case, where he finally knew when the instances of trauma had occurred and how the split personalities had emerged, there was still one more personality left.

Marcello Hatter.

"Do you know when Marcello appeared?" Dr. Hall questioned in his seat.

"Now that’s a tricky question, doc," Ricardo said, crossing his legs. "I don’t know."

"What do you mean? Was he born before you and Agnes?"

"What I mean to say is that I don’t know. No se," Ricardo responded with a shrug of his shoulders. "We didn’t know he existed until one day Agnes went out and ate ice cream. He was just there."

"May I speak to Marcello?" Dr. Hall asked for permission, while keenly staring at Ricardo as if questioning if there was a case where only one alter commanded when the other alters could get their turns to appear.

Soon Sylvester’s expressions changed and so did the look in his eyes. He brought his feet up to sit on the couch and he asked, "Did you get me ice cream today?"

"It is to be sent to the office," Dr. Hall replied to the boy, and he added, "Marcello, I want to ask you something."

"Mm?"

"Do you remember when you came to live with Ricardo, Agnes and Sylvester?" Dr. Hall inquired, but the boy gave him a quizzical expression. "Marcello?"

"I don’t know," Marcello said, shaking his head.

"What is your earliest memory? Anything that you can remember?" Dr. Hall attempted once again.

"Your questions are making my head hurt. When are you going to give me the ice cream?" Marcello asked with a slight pout.

If it weren’t for his profession, Colin Hall would have said ’Once you answer my questions, you brat!’ But having been in this line of work for so long, he had been conditioned to handle patients. To know how to approach them, as some were crooked.

"What do you like to do apart from eating ice cream? There should be something that you like but weren’t able to do," Dr. Hall asked, keeping his notes down on the empty seat next to him.

"I like to play in the playground... but I was never allowed. I was told I was too old to do that. I wasn’t allowed to be with other children," Marcello looked saddened by the thought of it. "Once... Father got so mad at me, he hit me."

Which meant he was born before Sylvester’s father had passed away, Dr. Hall assumed quietly. He said, "There is a playground if you wish to go now. Or if you like... we could talk more about how you feel. About your father."

"I wish he liked me," murmured Marcello in a small voice. "I thought he would..."

"Unfortunately, some people don’t know how to show love or how to express it. They deal with emotions based on what is inside them," Dr. Hall replied, watching the boy’s vulnerability. "But just because someone treats you or thinks you are in a certain way, doesn’t mean it is how you are. It is merely a reflection of their own self."

Marcello smiled and then said, "I like you, doctor."

"I like you too, Marcello. You are a good person," said Dr. Hall, trying to understand if Sylvester’s father was the reason why the young boy had come in place.

The human mind was similar to delicate dandelions, and it responded uniquely to trauma. Some minds exhibited resilience, while others proved more fragile. The degree of trauma’s impact varied, with the potential to fracture and form new pieces. In Sylvester Crowley’s case, three such fragments had formed.

"Would you like to talk to Sylvester?" Dr. Hall asked, watching Marcello purse his lips.

"I don’t know..."

"I think he would like a friend, because he feels lonely here. Then you could both talk to each other, and never be alone," Dr. Hall said, but didn’t push him. Because things like these needed to come from within them if he was planning to bring back those fragments to form one single piece.

Marcello was quiet for quite a few seconds, where he pursed his lips and he then agreed, "Okay... if you say so."

Dr. Hall was relieved by this and he smiled, "Thank you, Marcello, you don’t know how much you are helping Sylvester in his time of need. And he will help you back. I will be talking to him now and bring you your ice cream after it."

"Okay..."

"I am going to put you to sleep now," Dr. Hall informed him. He later called out to Sylvester, "Sylvester, I am going to wake you up now. I will count down from three. Three... two... one. You can now open your eyes."

When Sylvester woke up from the hypnosis, he stared at Dr. Hall and then asked, "Did you find out...?"

Dr. Hall nodded, "I did. Today’s session was something we have all been waiting for." Finally they had moved through the phase and the next one was to speak about the victims. He had to work on that before the entire personalities would come together and that itself would take time. He then said, "I spoke to Marcello and he has agreed to talk to you."

"What?" Sylvester whispered, having goosebumps over his arms now. He looked terrified at the thought of talking to someone who was living inside of him.

Dr. Hall assured him, "It is going to be just fine. I told you in the last session, that it is important that you and the others get to know each other, because you aren’t different people. You all belong to each other. Each one of you. Okay?"

Sylvester took a deep breath before he nodded, still unsure as he was extremely nervous.

"I want you to greet him first. Please remember he is a young boy," Dr. Hall instructed.

"Hello, Marcello..." Sylvester spoke to the person whom he couldn’t see. He stared at the doctor before him. After two seconds, he heard a voice, that replied to him,

"Hello, Vester."

Sylvester’s eyes widened, because he didn’t know something like this was possible if his mind was just making up things. He saw Dr. Hall give him a nod, as if urging him to go on. He said,

"How are you doing?"

"Happy! I will be eating ice cream later," the voice sounded cheerful in his voice.

Dr. Hall hoped that Marcello would be the first one to fuse, while knowing Ricardo could be the last one to agree to be a part of Sylvester. But knowing how accepting and easy it was to get Marcello to talk, maybe it would make things better and lighten Sylvester. Right now it seemed like Sylvester was talking to Marcello in his mind, and he finally looked up to meet his eyes to say,

"It feels strange."

"I am sure it does. But it will get better," Dr. Hall assured him with a smile. Now was the harder part, he thought to himself. He said, "I found the reason why the letter was torn."

"Who was it?" Sylvester asked, nervousness apparent on his face.

"It was Agnes. She was angry at Elizabeth for not being there when you both needed her. For abandoning you, but I am sure in time Agnes will realise that the fault wasn’t yours or hers. Or your sister’s. Your mother was the one in the wrong."

Sylvester’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He asked, "My mother? What did she do?"

Dr. Hall finally began to break down what he heard from Ricardo, as it was important for Sylvester to face his fears and not to hide behind his alters which he wasn’t even aware of until now. But as Sylvester soaked in the information, his face paled considerably and he looked like a ghost. Words failed him, as did his mother upon hearing what she had done to him in the past.

In the evening, when Sylvester had returned to his room, Dr. Hall met Dr. Wright and said, "We had a breakthrough. The case isn’t stagnant anymore. I know when and why the alters were born."

"That is a very good job, Colin!" Dr. Wright praised him with a nod.

In the morning, when Dr. Hall met Sylvester he noticed his patient having a bandage around his wrist. His eyes widened and he asked, "What happened to your hand, Sylvester??"

"I was walking by the window when I got hurt," Sylvester replied. "It is nothing big. It will heal in time. Just like things in the past."

Dr. Hall didn’t need to know what might have happened. He then said, "Sylvester, I know these weeks have been hard, but I want to tell you that you have made immense progress. What your mother did, you shouldn’t punish yourself for it. I believe you should live a life without fear, one that you can control yourself."

"I know. But I don’t have a life outside this place when I go back," Sylvester replied, and he asked "Do you think I can have a better life?"

"I believe yes. Everyone should have the opportunity for it." Dr. Hall sighed, and he spoke to him for an hour about his feelings, letting the man before him ease into his feelings while letting him know he wasn’t alone.

"I will try it, Dr. Hall," Sylvester said after he was done discussing with Dr. Hall about how far they had come from and about his feelings.

Later, when it was time, he said, "Now I will be putting you into a sleep state. Are you ready?"

Sylvester nodded. Having done this plenty of times, he quickly sunk into his mind and Dr. Hall called out to Ricardo.

"Maldito egoista! Fucker tried to kill us all!" Ricardo was furious and his eyes livid.

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