“Dad! Why are you here? What are you doing in such a place!?”
“Chloe?” The doctor was also surprised at the sight of her.
“Dr. Rorschach, do you know her?” asked the nightingale in wonder.
“Yes, she is my daughter, Chloe. Please set her free now.”
“Ah, sure,” said the nightingale in a flurry. “Er, madam, would you please let her go?” it asked the cow politely. As soon as the cow released Chloe's arms, she scurried to her father, threw herself into his arms, and sobbed.
Frowning, Dr. Rorschach looked down at her in his arms but tenderly hugged her back and asked, “Chloe, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying?”
She tried to answer him, but she was choked with tears.
“Er, excuse me, Dr. Rorschach,” said the nightingale. “It is urgent. She must have a terrible pain in her hands now.”
“A terrible pain in her hands?” Dr. Rorschach held up her hands with worry and found them greatly swollen and inflamed. “What happened, Chloe?”
“She was stung on her hands by bees,” said the nightingale.
“By bees?” Dr. Rorschach scowled a little and promptly said, “Chloe, come with me.”
He led her to the consultation room and let her sit down on a chair. “Uh, Florence, you take over examining that patient there, please. I will take care of my daughter.”
“Certainly, doctor,” said the nightingale and took Chamae to another desk.
“Er...sir and madams,” said the nightingale to the dog, bat, and cow. “Would you please wait for a few minutes in the waiting room?”
“Oh, sure,” they who were peeping into the consultation room said in a flurry and reluctantly sat down on a couch in the waiting room.
“Chloe, please wait here. I am going to bring an ice bag and a first-aid kit. I'll be back in a minute. Okay?” said Dr. Rorschach.
But Chloe just lowered her head and wept without answering him. So Dr. Rorschach let her sob and left the room from another door.
Then the nightingale, as Dr. Rorschach usually did, started to examine Chamae, using some ambiguous pictures.
“Okay, Chamae...I would like you to tell me what these pictures look like or what you think the colors of the pictures are associated with. Please be quick and don't take time to think. You don't have to logically explain what you think. Okay?”
“Well,” said Chamae. “Why do you ask such a thing? What are those pictures for?”
“This test is called the 'Rorschach test' because Dr. Rorschach you just saw first invented this. This is one of the projective tests and is a useful tool in psychoanalysis. In this analysis, it is believed that you will project some aspect of yourself upon these paintings because you will interpret them differently, depending on the condition of your subconscious mind.” The nightingale then showed one picture to Chamae. It was a very ambiguous black and dark gray picture on a black background. “Chamae, what do you think this would be? And what do you feel by looking at the color?”
“Hmm...” Chamae started to think about it seriously.
“Don't take time. Be quick. Tell me what you think or feel by instinct.”
“Well, this would be the 'nothing' you see when you are in a room at night without turning on a light,” answered Chamae.
“Good,” said the nightingale and tried to interpret Chamae's answer. “How about the color? What kind of feeling do you get from the color?”
“Er...I don't know. For some reason, I feel bad...somebody may be in the dark room and may be afflicted by the failure to see himself in the invisible world....”
“Good.” The nightingale again tried to interpret the answer and wrote it down on the sheet, referring to the general concepts about colors.
“How about this?” The nightingale next showed a yellow picture plate to Chamae.
“Hmmm...,” Chamae again started to ponder.
“Ah, excuse me, Chamae.”
“I know. I have to tell you quickly, right?”
“Uh, yes you do. But...,” said the nightingale, staring at Chamae in wonder, “you don't have to change your body color into the color of this picture.”
I know, but I have no control over it,”said Chamae. He was, in fact, totally yellow now according to the color of the picture.
“Really!? What will happen if I show you another picture?”
The nightingale curiously showed a blue picture plate, and Chamae turned into blue.
“Wow. This is great!”The nightingale chuckled at Chamae's camouflaged body. “You are supposed to project some aspect of yourself upon this painting. But instead, this color was projected upon your body. Interesting!”
The nightingale, then, picked a different picture. “How about this?”
The green picture plate that the nightingale showed next made Chamae turn into green. The orange picture plate turned him into orange.
“This is really interesting! People usually think that a chameleon can change the color of its skin color to match any object on which it is placed, when actually the color range it can change is only from green through yellow to dark gray. But you turned into even blue and orange!”
The nightingale again put an yellow picture plate quickly in front of Chamae, and he instantaneously turned back into yellow. The nightingale chuckled louder this time, and its laughing attracted Chloe and made her giggle a little over her grief. The cow, bat, and dog were also attracted, and they slunk in and peeped over the door at what was going on. But it was not funny to Dr. Rorschach, who came back with a load of items in his arms. “Don't cut capers, Florence. This is not the place for play. Please perform your duty.”
“Ah, y--yes, doctor,”said the nightingale awkwardly.
Dr. Rorschach put everything he had brought on the desk. There were an ice bag, a water bottle, a bowl, meat tenderizer, a spoon, and a first-aid kit. He first took out a pair of tweezers from the first-aid kit and said, “Chloe, show me your hands.”
Chloe put out her hands but still kept her head lowered.
“Oh, my! I can imagine how painful this has been.”Dr. Rorschach then passed the tweezers over the flame of his lighter to kill the germs and tried to pick the stingers out of her hands carefully. “I have to be careful so that I won't squeeze this bladder. Look at this, Chloe. This bladder has a venom inside and is still attached to this stinger.”
Chloe slowly raised her head and looked closely at the stinger on her right hand with her eyes full of tears.
“Usually bees cannot pull off their stingers because they are barbed so that they anchor in your skin. If bees try to pull them off hard, they leave their stingers on the skin, and they die. Sometimes, venom bladders are left attached to the stingers. That's why it is very painful when you are stung on your hands by bees.” He then put a spoonful of the meat tenderizer and a few drops of water into the bowl, mixed them, and put the poultice on her hands. “I don't know if it is too late to do this, but it is better than doing nothing. If the venom is not deeply into your skin yet, this will work. This has an enzyme called papain or bromelain that dissolves the toxins in the venom injected in your hands. So, you will be relieved soon. Next time you go outdoors in areas where you think bees are possibly present, be sure to take a bottle of meat tenderizer with you.” He next put the ice bag on her hands to reduce the inflammation and swelling.
Chloe silently listened to her father, trying to suppress her tears. She seemed to be thinking of something else.
“By the way,” said Dr. Rorschach. “This venom injected in your hands contains formic acid. The word 'formic' means 'of ants.' And the acid was named so because it was first obtained by distilling ants. Interestingly, some plants also have the same acid. One plant that I know has the acid is...well, what's the common name of the plant...? I cannot remember it now...age may tell on my memory....”
“A stinging nettle,” Chloe abruptly uttered.
“Oh, yes. That's it. Did Kip ever tell you that?”
Chloe just nodded.
“It belongs to genus Urtica,” Dr. Rorschach continued to explain. “And there used to be so many Urtica dioica thriving in a certain place in the forest near Kip's house. I tried to keep him and you away from them, but Kip often roamed around the forest and even went there, so he got some painful experience.” He chuckled a little and then continued. “But he didn't cry. I know your hands are hurting very much. It would be much more painful than pain caused by the stinging nettle. But, I wish you would stop crying. If Kip were here now, he might laugh at you.”
“I am not crying with this pain!” Chloe suddenly shouted.
“Calm down, Chloe. That's not like you.”
Chloe again dropped her head and became silent.
“If you are not crying with pain, why are you crying?” asked Dr. Rorschach with half wonder and half worry.
But Chloe remained silent.
“If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But you were stung by bees. That's because you, for some reason, disturbed a bees nest, isn't it?”
“No, I didn't!” Chloe again shouted.
“Calm down, Chloe. I wonder why you are behaving like this today. That's not the way you used to be. Would you tell me what happened, if you don't mind?” said Dr. Rorschach in a tender voice.
Chloe kept silent for a while but her resolution soon faltered. “Dad,” said Chloe in a small voice. She seemed to decide to talk about something important. “Could you believe everything I am going to tell you now if you are real?”
“If I am real!? What do you mean by that, Chloe?” Dr. Rorschach was confused.
“I think I have been dreaming a dream. It must be a nightmare.”
“You are dreaming? But you are awake now, aren't you?”
“Yes, I am. But I am merely awake in my dream. So, you also exist only in my dream, don't you?”
“What are you talking about? How can I exist only in your dream? I am physically here now. Well, at least I think I physically exist in this reality. I wonder why you say such a silly thing.”
“No! It is not a silly idea! Tell me the truth! Say that you are actually the one I created in my subconscious mind!”
“Are you all right, Chloe?” Dr. Rorschach was totally confused by what she was saying.
“Look at those animals?” Chloe turned her eyes on the nightingale and Chamae.
“Is something wrong with them?” asked Dr. Rorschach in wonder.
“Yes, there is! Why are they here? Why are they behaving like humans? Why can they talk? Don't you wonder why!? You must if we are really in the real world!” Chloe exclaimed and jumped up from the chair.
“Why do you question such a matter? All animals are children of the earth...well...actually children of Gaea. So, we are all brothers and sisters in a sense, aren't we? And if you do have sort of a psychometrical ability, you can talk to them, can't you?”
“No! You didn't say that when I once told you that I might have such an ability!” Chloe exclaimed emotionally.
“Well, you were very young at that time, so I didn't seriously take into account what you were talking about. I thought you just talked about your imagination or a dream or something like that.”
“So, do you still say you are real and so are all these other creatures!?”
“Of course I do.”
“If so,” said Chloe, “is this hospital also real?”
“Sure, it is.”
“Are you really telling me the truth, being honest?” Chloe still persisted in asking questions that were very strange to Dr. Rorschach.
“Yes, I am. Why would I tell you a lie?”
“If so...has Kip been hospitalized here?”
“Well...I can't tell” He gave an evasive answer.
“Why not!?”
“Because....” Dr. Rorschach fumbled for the right words for awhile.
“Because if I tell you, you will sneak into his ward, using my spare key again, won't you?”
“No, I won't! I won't do that again! I swear! So, please tell me! Tell me if he is still here!”
“Well...he is actually not here now,” Dr. Rorschach murmured.
“He is not here!? Where is he now?”
“He...he has actually gone to the recesses of the mountain near the Cimmerian land.”
“The Cimmerian land....” As soon as she heard those words, she tried to remember what the bargeman had told her before.
'It is the land of darkness...
Mortals never know exactly where
the Cimmerian land is
because it is beyond their perception...'
'When you see the Cimmerian land,
look for the mountain near the land.
It is the place where Hypnos and Oneiros live,
and also the place where Hermes' son has gone....'
“You know that land, don't you, Chloe? The bargeman you met before told you something about it, didn't he?” said Dr. Rorschach.
“How did you know that!?” Chloe shouted in surprise.
“I know everything...all that has happened to you since you have come to this world...or even before that.”
“Why?” Chloe was suddenly afraid to talk to him because she did not feel she was talking to her father. “Who the heck are you!?” Chloe suddenly exclaimed crazily, half in fear. “Identify yourself! If you were my real father, you would not know of such a land. I've even wondered why you knew so many things about a stinging nettle! Well, he may know something about it since he is very smart and does have some basic knowledge in natural science, too. But, I don't think he knows the scientific name of that plant!”
“Good speculation, Chloe,” said Dr. Rorschach in a low voice. “I am actually not Dr. Rorschach. Although I completely look like him, I am not him. I am merely an immanent being as you thought. But, I am not the one created in your dream. I am actually the one created by the author of this world.”
“The author of this world?”
“You know him very well, don't you? Your best friend from your childhood....”
“My friend from childhood...? Kip...? Is he the author of this world?” Chloe was quite confused. “But I thought this was my dream....”
“No.... Think about in this way,” said Dr. Rorschach. “If this were your dream, how would you explain those you have met in this world who talked about something you didn't know. You cannot give yourself an answer to the question you asked if you don't know it, can you? Well, in an exact sense, though, it would not be impossible that you create a plausible explanation or answer to your question in your dream, or that you create a totally new image you have never seen before. But all your imagination is based on what you previously knew or saw. So, even though you don't know the scientific name of 'stinging nettle', for example, you can imagine and create a name by putting together some arbitrary elements of words you know. But the chance that the name you created in your dream is actually the correct scientific name is very low...it is almost zero. In the same way, you can make a plausible explanation for the 'why' question you asked. But in your dream, you probably cannot make a logical explanation that is widely accepted as the truth in science if you don't know anything about it. For instance, you could not have explained why I put meat tenderizer on your hands if I had not explained it for you. You didn't have any idea about papain, did you? If this were in your dream, you would have to have the knowledge about it in order to make me talk about it in your dream. Therefore, this is unlikely to be your dream.”
“If that is true...is this all Kip's dream?” asked Chloe in confusion.
“That is not exactly correct,” said Dr. Rorschach. “If this were his dream, you would be also an immanent being he created in his mind. But you have your own will, don't you? What you are talking about is what you are thinking about in your mind, not what he imagines you will say.”
“But you are also talking about what you are thinking now, aren't you?” asked Chloe.
“No. What I am talking about is actually what he imagines I will say. So, I am now going to tell you something important he wants me to tell you,” said Dr. Rorschach, seriously changing his facial expression. “Go to the Cimmerian land. He will be waiting for you there.”
“Waiting for me?” Chloe was quite confused and didn't understand it.
“He must be waiting for you there with his real father.”
“His real father? What do you mean by that?”
“As Charon, the bargeman you met before, told you, he is not a human. He is actually a son of the god, Hermes.”
“Hermes?” She remembered she was told that Hermes was actually the one who gave her the pendant. She curiously looked down at the pendant and saw it emitting a faint royal purple light again.
“Why is he waiting for me?”
“You'll see if you go there.”
“How can I go?”
“You can go there through that door.” Dr. Rorschach walked up to the door he had gone through a few minutes ago to fetch an ice bag for Chloe. He then opened it and said, “Come here. Go through this door toward the west, and you will see Oceanus. If you cross it, you are almost at the Cimmerian land. Although it is located far from Oceanus, distance is virtually nonexistent in this world. Just continue to go toward the west. Kip will be there.”
Chloe also walked up to the door and curiously looked beyond it, but there was only complete darkness. “I cannot see anything...”
“Don't worry. Your pendant will lead you there.”
“Really? But I am scared...Can you come with me, Dad?” Out of fear, she already forgot he was not her real father.
“No, I can't. As I said, I am actually not your father. I am just an immanent being here. And sad to say, Hermes wants only you to come.”
“But I don't want to go there alone. Please come with me.”
“You should go there by yourself. Well, regardless of the fact you don't want to go alone, you will go there by yourself. That's what the god wants you to do, and you will obey and act as the god wills.”
There was a silent moment while Chloe remained indecisive and hesitant.
But the cow that was again peeping into the consultation room suddenly broke up the silence.
“Moooo!”
The cow was driven into frenzy by Chamae whose body had now turned red after seeing the red picture plate. It started to lunge at Chamae furiously just like a fighting bull in Spain. The dog immediately tried to hold down the cow, but it was too late.
“Chamae! Run!” the dog shouted at the moment the cow escaped its grasp.
Chamae turned its face in surprise and exclaimed, “Wahhhh!”
He jumped up onto the desk in a panic at the very moment the cow violently bumped his head against the desk. He desperately hopped onto the next desk, ran on only his hind legs like a frilled lizard, and threw himself onto Chloe's bosom. “Help!” He clung to her shirt in fear and buried his head in her bosom, like an ostrich in the sand.
The cow then turned around and started to rush at Chloe.
“Nooo-o-o-o!”
Chloe screamed in fear, but Dr. Rorschach remained calm and didn't take any action. He simply stood beside the door, holding it open. The nightingale and the bat were scared into flight to avoid the trouble and just shouted, “Chloe! Run!”
Chloe had no choice but to run through the door into the complete darkness, so she desperately ran holding Chamae tight in her bosom.
