Cheesman Chronicles

Content warning – this story discusses rather adult themes, including war, domestic violence, and dead bodies.

“Good day, Senator Smith,” Doctor Michelle said. “Please, sit down.”
“Thank you,” the politician, Senator Smith, said. His hands shook slightly as he laid himself down in the comfortable couch.
The therapist gave a warm smile to him and nodded quietly. She pulled out a small notebook and a pen, sitting up and looking down to him.
“I’m glad you could make it,” she said. “Now, you told me you were concerned about something. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” he said, fiddling with his fingers as if there were something on them. “I… I think I’ve started to go crazy or something.”
“Now, now,” the therapist said. “We don’t like to use that word. Why don’t you start from the beginning? What was it that made you feel like things weren’t working properly.”
“Right,” Senator Smith began. He cleared his throat and stared up at the calming ceiling. He took a deep breath and began: “It was a few months ago now. Right after we declared war with those dissidents. It was going well enough. The first few weeks are either the most bloody or the calmest. Both sides need to get their resources together, after all. But sometimes one is prepared. Thankfully, it was calm. No shells fired, no guns shot, no one wounded. But then…”
Smith shuddered for a moment, taking a quick drink from the glass of water set out for him.
“The first person died,” he said. “Not on our side, thankfully enough. A soldier, medium build. Short brown hair. Green military fatigues. Small nose and eyes, but wide lips that looked more suited to smiling than fighting. He couldn’t… he couldn’t have been older than twenty, either.”
“And how do you know so much about what this soldier looked like?”
“Because you never forget the first dead body you see,” he trembled. “I saw him. In the halls of parliament. At first I thought it was a protester of some kind. The draft hasn’t exactly been a popular motion. But someone just lying there. I tried to turn them over, tell them to leave. That’s when I… I…”
Smith took another drink of water again, this one much deeper and faster. The therapist simply nodded her head and waited for him to continue.
The senator set down his glass and sighed again.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just… it was a lot to see.”
“It’s okay,” the therapist said calmly. “Take all the time you need. We still have thirty minutes left.”
“Thank you,” he said. He took one more gulp, finishing off the glass, before continuing. “I went to report the body immediately, of course. But before I could even leave the hallway, a group of security personnel arrived and carted off the poor boy as soon as I left. I saw them take him and just… chuck him outside. I tried to find where they threw him, but he was gone. That boy was gone.”
“So you thought this was a hallucination?” Doctor Michelle asked as non-threatening as possible. “That you imagined this man?”
“I guess,” the senator said. “Perhaps it was the stress of it all. I used to have such a strange imagination. I was worried that maybe I was seeing something I didn’t want to think about. I am by no means happy of this war. But I must admit, I support what we are doing. I do hope we are making a difference. Though it is stressful.”
“It sounds like this happened a few months ago now. Why did you only schedule the meeting last week? I could have helped you go through this earlier.”
“I didn’t think to ask you, to be honest,” he shrugged. “I just tried to ignore them. Not worry about it while I was still working. Being a senator is a hard job. I didn’t… I didn’t want to spend time away from the office.”
“So why do you come now?”
“Because I kept seeing bodies,” he said. “Every. Day. I walk through the halls of parliament, and they pile up high, stinking away in the air as harsh light piles down on them, decomposing their flesh into a putrid filth. And it’s more and more every day. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s everywhere. At home. At work. Through the streets. At friends houses. They all ignore them but I swear they are there. Each body is unique. I’ve never seen the same soldier twice. And yet, I still forget each of their faces. Am I going insane? Is there something wrong with me?”
“Senator Smith,” the therapist said. “Please, calm down. What you are describing is normal for a politician.”
“Normal?” Smith asked. “What… what do you mean ‘normal’?”
“Seeing these bodies,” she said easily. “All politicians see them. It’s a strange thing, to be honest. Some initiative has been set up to make sure that the people who send those to die can actually see the effects they are having on people. A number is not as effective as a body, you must imagine.”
“But… but… why?” Senator Smith pleaded. “Why are they so calm about them?”
“Because they have a job to do,” she shrugged. “Some take prescriptions to ignore them. Some actually rather like them. I won’t name names due to client confidentiality, but some have started making bets on how many they can stack up in their office before it explodes.”
“How can they do that? That’s immoral!”
“I’m not sure. I try to help people cope with the hand they’ve been dealt, maybe even explain why they see things that way. I don’t question how they do it. Unless it is a danger to others. But as they are at war, there’s not much I can do to stop them. There is already enough danger.”
“Then how?” he pleaded. “How can I stop this?”
“Stop this war, I guess,” she said. “The bodies disappear during peace time. Obviously, peace is a relative term here. All parts of the world have conflict at one period or another. Different areas of government see different bodies as well. The domestic violence task force, for example, have seen many bodies themselves.”
“Why don’t they do anything? Why can’t we stop this?”
“You can,” she said. “Just end this war. Find a solution. Cut out the middle man of a million dead boys and reach an agreement.”
“But we can’t do that, the other side will kill us all!”
“They see the bodies as well, you know. You can work at that. Maybe then peace can be reached once you both realise you are actually the same. But until then, our time has finished. I have an appointment scheduled with you for this time next week, so we can continue to work through your bodies issue. Good day, Senator Smith.”

Thumbnail credit: BBC