Chapter 4.25 – Uninvited Visitor

Teen (15+)





Hildur Guðnadóttir - Rennur Upp




Aaron still hasn't made best friends with Lenore, like he wants to do, so he invites her over for a visit once more.

Billy was at the dining table doing his homework when a loud pounding noise was heard from the door behind him.




"Open the door!" an angry voice shouted. The pounding was heard again. "Open the goddamn door! I know you're in there!"




"Who is that, mommy?" Isaac asked. Natalie recognized the shouting voice. She was here. Of course she was here. "Don't open the door, Isaac!" Natalie said. "Don't open the door!"




Aaron had just been hushed out of the bathroom by Ingun, because she needed to use the toilet. He had heard the pounding, too, and could tell that Natalie was upset about something. "Whats going on mom?" he asked.

Natalie: Stay away from the door! Don't open it!

Another round of pounding was heard. "Open the door, or I'll kick it in!" the voice from the outside shouted.

Natalie: She's here! Kids, go upstairs!
Isaac: Why mom? Whos there? What's happening!?
Aaron: But Lenore is co..



Natalie: Go upstairs! NOW!

A kick was heard, and the front door slammed open just as Billy was making it up the stairs. "I know you're in there!" the voice shouted.




Bianka ran through the door straight up to Natalie. "Where is Ingun? Where are you keeping her!?" she yelled




Natalie: Ingun is not here! Get out of my house!
Bianka: I'm not leaving without my daughter! Where is she!?




Natalie: She's not here! GET OUT!




Ingun heard them shouting at each other and thought it was best to not leave the bathroom for a while..




Bianka: Don't lie to me! I know she's in here!




While this was going on, poor Lenore had arrived and stood outside listening to the shouting and arguing from inside. She didn't know what the fighting was all about, and where was Aaron?

Bianka: She's upstairs, isn't she?




Bianka turned around to go up the stairs.

Natalie: No, she is not! Don't you dare go up there!!

Natalie couldn't have that monster go upstairs to her children.. Now it was all or nothing!







But Bianka fought back hard this time...







Natalie: Oww...
Bianka: Where is Ingun?
Natalie: She is not here.. get out of my house...




Bianka: I'm not leaving without Ingun! She belongs to me!




Ragnar: Hey! What's going on in here?

Ragnar, Isaac and Aarons father (and also their neighbour) had just returned home from going to the movies with Ina, when he saw the front door open and heard the commotion from inside.




Bianka: Thats none of your business! This is a family affair!

Ragnar: I don't think Natalie wants you around here.




Bianka: Who are you to say, you damn no-show!




Ragnar: Now you watch it! I suggest you take it easy and go home..
Bianka: I'm not leaving without my daughter, Ingun. I know she's in here!




Natalie: Ingun is not here, and even if she was, she wouldn't be coming with you! Get out of my house, or I'm calling the police!




Bianka: The police? Hah! What are they going to do! I am your mother!




Natalie: You. Are. Not. My. Mother. Now, get the fuck out of my house!

Bianka: I'm not leaving!




Natalie: You are SO leaving!




Bianka: I'm not done here, Natalie! I'll be coming back for Ingun, and I won't give up!

Natalie: Just get out...



Natalie made sure to follow Bianka to the door, ready to give her a hard push at any moment if she stopped or turned around... Lenore was no longer outside. She had ran home once things got physical inside. She didn't tell her father what she had seen and heard at Natalies house until after a couple of days.




Ragnar: Whew! That was.. intense! Natalie... what the devil is going on here!?

Natalie explained everything to Ragnar, about the how she picked up Ingun from her moms house, and the visits to the doctors office. What she didn't explain, was everything related to Elisa, the demons and the spellcasting. Ingun heard that her mom had left, and hesitantly made it out of the bathroom. Natalie went up to the kids, and told them it was safe now and that they could come downstairs.




Isaac: I didn't know grandma was so mean
Aaron: I hope she never comes back here!
Natalie: Neither do I, Aaron.
Billy: We should put her in jail!
Natalie: Yeah, maybe we should...
Natalie went downstairs again, to where Ragnar was standing.



Ragnar: Its getting late, and I think its time for me to go home. Ina was quite worried when she heard you fighting inside...

Ragnar: ....but Natalie, if you get in trouble with your mom again, please don't hesitate to give me a call.. and tell the kids that they can come over to our place anytime they want! Me and Ina would love to have some kids around the house!

Natalie: Oh, yeah.. sure, thanks Ragnar. I will tell them...

Ragnar: Good to hear. Good night, Natalie..

Natalie: G-good night...




Ingun was still in the bathroom looking nervously out the window. She had seen her mom leave just that way, but wasn't sure yet if she would suddenly double back.




As Ragnar walked out the door, Natalie went into the bathroom and gave her sister a good, solid hug.




Natalie: Its alright now, sister. She's gone now. She's gone now..




Now that things had returned to normal, Aaron walked outside to sleep in the treehouse again. Its not that he didn't like his bedroom, but he liked the treehouse more where he could be alone. Especially now that he had to share a bedroom with both Billy and Ingun.




Billy on the other hand, enjoyed his newfound auntie Inguns company, so he went into the bathroom to ask her once more to read him a bedtime story.




Isaac was upstairs being a strong and powerful dinosaur. Raawr, rawwr. No bad and evil grandmother should ever be able to lay her hands on him or his mother. He would sink his claws into her if she tried, that was for sure.




Ingun read the bedtime story to Billy, and everything seemed peaceful...




Natalie wasn't feeling so good right now, though, as the adrenaline was about to leave her body. What if her mother came back? What if she didn't only take Ingun, but took her kids as well? Natalie was very distressed.




She hoped that her sister would toughen up, and that together they could defeat their mom once and for all, so that she would never come back! Heck, Natalie didn't even care if her mom would wind up dead for all the pain she had caused....










The kids seemed to warm up pretty good to Ingun, and they really enjoyed her reading for them. Isaac also wanted a bedtime story, and Ingun was more than happy to read for him as well.




Natalie didn't feel to bad about the kids occupying her bed, as she could use the rocking chair to rest and calm her nerves for the night.




With Billy in Natalies bed, and Aaron in the treehouse, Ingun got the room with the bunk bed upstairs all to herself for this night.




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Chapter 4.24 - Tommy

Teen (13+)




Tori Amos – Horses

I got me some horses to ride on, to ride on
They say that your demons can't go there
So I got me some horses to ride on, to ride on
As long as your army keeps perfectly still

And maybe I'll find me a sailor, a tailor
And maybe together we'll make mother well
So I got me some horses to ride on, to ride on
As long as your army keeps perfectly still

---




Ingun was having sweet dreams of baking the most delicious cakes and pastries...




Aaron enjoyed his solitude staying awake at night. After Aaron was done eating, Billy got up to eat the leftover salmon that Natalie had made yesterday for breakfast.




"Morning Billy" Aaron said, as he walked out to play in the treehouse. Billy didn't respond, he was perhaps a little grumpy this morning. The sun was already up, and soon it would be time for the kids to get ready for school, and Ingun for her first session alone with Dr. Sara...







Rise and shine, Ingun..




Her sister, Natalie, woke up downstairs at more or less the same time. She had to remember to take her medication, as usual.




The first thought on Inguns mind was to buy a new and more expensive oven. She wasn't to happy about the one that Natalie owned. "I want one that is worth atleast 1000 simeoleons!" she thought.




Natalie called the repair man to fix the broken tv.







The kids were on their way to school.




Natalie gave Ingun a hug, and Ingun felt protected and watched after. "Time to go to the doctors office, sis" Natalie said.

Ingun: O..ok, I just hope we won't meet any c-criminals on the way...




Natalie: Relax, Ingun! Its broad daylight! You know criminals usually operate in the dark.. and even if one tried something, I would kick his ass! Come now!




Ingun wasn't all that convinced. She had a little nervous breakdown, so Natalie had to call on her a few times before she would leave the bathroom.







"Come along now, Ingun! I'm watching over you!" Natalie called for her again as she entered the hallway at the hospital.




Saras makeshift office is just up that staircase. "You go up there now, Ingun. I'll be in the waiting room watching a movie or something until you are done. Sara is very good and friendly, there is nothing to worry about!" Natalie said reassuringly.




"Good morning, Ingun! Nice to see you! Please, have a seat!" Sara said as Ingun entered.




"I moved to a new house, yesterday", Ingun said, "but I never made it inside. Why does that happen?"

Sara: What..uhh.. what do you mean? Didn't you go home with Natalie?




Ingun: Natalie..? Who is Natalie?

Sara: Your sister, Natalie. You went home to your sisters house yesterday.




Ingun: I don't have a sister. I want to go home to ride my horse. Do you like horses lady?




Sara: Horses are very beatiful animals, but.. Ingun.. of course you have a sister. Don't you remember?




Ingun: ?? No... what sister? My name is Tommy. I like horses.

Sara: Oh, oh.. I see. My name is Sara, I work here as a psychologist.

Sara began to understand that Ingun might actually be dissociating. She had read about this as a student, and heard of patients diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, but never actually met one before. She knew that this condition was typically caused by childhood abuse as a way for an individual to distance and detatch themselves from trauma. A person with this disorder would have two or more seperate identities, known as alters, with each their own personality traits, unique history, likes and dislikes. Sara also knew that there was no real cure for the disorder. The best thing she could do for Ingun, was to make the identities aware of each other, teach her/them about the condition and how best to deal with it, as well as offer psychotherapy to help Ingun and/or her alters to deal with her past trauma.




Tommy: I'm only ten years old. I have no job. Are you a doctor?

Sara: Yes, Tommy, I am a doctor. I help people get better. Do you have any friends, Tommy?

Tommy: I have no friends. I only have mommy and my horse. We live together in a big house on a big field. Mommy is very good to me.




Sara: Oh, thats good to hear Tommy. Does mommy have a name?

Tommy: Yes, her name is Ingun. She likes to make food. She makes the best cakes!




Tommy: My mommy is a doctor, just like you, and she has said that if her boss gives her a raise, we will buy a new horse!

Sara: That sounds very nice, Tommy. Do you have a father?




Tommy: No, father has ran away! He doesn't like mommy and he doesn't like horses!

Sara: Oh, I am sorry to hear that, Tommy.




Ingun: S-sorry to hear w-what? I... ap-pologize... I m-must have blacked out for a s-second..

Sara: That's ok.. so, you don't remember anything of what we just talked about?

Ingun: I d-don't know.. I remember c-coming here, w-walking up the stairs and s-sitting down.. t-that's what I remember...




Ingun: D-do you know w-why that happens?

Sara: Well, umm.. it looks like you have a condition called dissociative identity disorder.

Sara explained everything about the disorder to Ingun, and what she could or couldn't do about it. She also recommended for Ingun to start keeping a journal as a way to communicate between her alters to make them more aware of each other, and as a way for Ingun and Sara to uncover how many there were of them.




Ingun was relieved to finally get an explanation, but also sad to have such an untreatable diagnosis.
"So.. I h-have to.... live with t-this for the rest of my l-life?" Ingun said with a sorrow in her voice.

Sara: Well, the bad news is that... yes, you do, but the good news is that it is possible to greatly reduce the impact it has on your life.

Sara: I will teach you several coping mechanisms, and together we will uncover the triggers that causes these switches between your alters, so that you can recognize when it happens and get a lot more control.




Sara: It is also very important that you have support from your loved ones, and already you moving in with your sister is a HUGE step forward! I think it is so not only for you, but also for Natalie. I think that both you and your sister need each other.

Ingun was listening intently. Sara told her about Tommy, and went on to explain in further detail what plan and strategy they should use, before the time was up and she had to dismiss Ingun for the day. Ingun would continue to see Sara daily for the next couple of months as step one of the plan, before it would be reduced to every other day and eventually only weekly. Atleast that was the plan so far.







Ingun felt better after the session was over, but became a little uneasy when she came downstairs and didn't see Natalie anywhere.




Well, Natalie hadn't gone to far, she just had to use the toilet.

Natalie: I am so proud of you from sitting through your first session alone! Tell me, what did Sara say?

Ingun explained everything Sara had told her, about the dissociation and the alters, and about Tommy, the 10 year old boy that loved horses.




Natalie: Ahh.. that explains why you shouted yeehaw and imitated a horse right after we came home yesterday!

Ingun: Wow, I r-really did that? T-that's kind of funny, in a w-way.




Natalie: Maybe we should buy a horse next!




Ingun: I w-would much rather have a new c-cooking oven!

Natalie: Hahaha, yeah, why not!? I think we can stop by and get one on the way home!




And so they did..




All of a sudden money didn't appear to be any problem for Natalie. She hadn't bought anything expensive in a good while, so she had built up a little bit of a cash reserve, so getting a new oven was no problem.. Natalie now only wanted the best for her sister, she wanted to give her everything she wanted, everything she could give her...

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 Source on the disorder: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9792-dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder

It was a new disorder for me to discover, I hadn't really heard about it before. I don't remember now excactly how I came across this, but I did do a lot of searching to understand mental illness and the effects of trauma on a person, so that's probably how I found it. I also found a youtube video of an interview with a woman with this disorder where she switches to at least one alter, and yeah.. learning about this and watching that video kind of blew my mind... not only is it extremely tragic, but also the lengths or own brains can go to, to preserve ourselves.. it left me with a feeling of... speechlessness.. jawdropping.. If it is of interest I may try to dig up the video again, but I think it was 20+ minutes long, or something..