" I miss him and regret not having done more, not having trusted what they told me and not doing more to save his life. I imagine him arriving safely at his house," Mariana cried inconsolably.
Only one person could hear her, and it was her psychologist Victoria; she listened attentively, taking notes in her notebook. She nodded occasionally as her patient cried desolately. She was a woman in her thirties with her hair tied back in a ponytail and glasses. She had a friendly demeanor that made everyone open up to her in therapy.
"Go on, let it all out. Why do you think it's your fault what happened to your uncle?" Victoria asked, looking at Mariana.
"Because I could have done more. I could have shown more interest in his stroke case and taken him to a more competent hospital. As a doctor, I had the responsibility to help him and provide better care, but I was too busy," Mariana shed tears that seemed never-ending. "It has been five days since he passed away. His daughters and his wife cry as much as I do. I could have prevented that."
Victoria stopped writing.
"You told me about five minutes ago that you see yourself reflected in this. Explain that to me."
Mariana wiped her tears but continued to cry inconsolably. It took her a few minutes to continue.
"Yes, my father is older than his brother. So, I see myself equally reflected, I don't have enough to cope if something like that happens," Mariana settled comfortably in the armchair she was sitting in. "I fear that, to be powerless. I think that's it, not having the means to help when the occasion arises."
Victoria continued writing.
"Yes, money is what gives us that stability, and when it's not there, fear overwhelms us. It's a reasonable fear given the country's conditions," Victoria put down her pen and notebook on the table. "We have talked about this before, you are affected by all your patients, and in each of them, you see yourself reflected. Your uncle is a family member, so the empathy you feel is greater. You focus on it in a way that affects you. However, no one is exempt from being affected by the death of a family member."
"But we weren't that close. My uncle didn't talk much to my father, they argued and stopped speaking since then."
Victoria looked at the clock in the office, there were five minutes left.
"I would like you to come next week. Nowadays, technology is very advanced, and there are some methods that I think will work. Would you like to give it a try?"
The girl seemed to be around 22 years old, but she was 26 and had gone through several episodes that filled her with stress. She was pretty, but the lack of sleep was evident on her face.
After thinking for a while, the girl nodded.
"Well, perfect. See you next week."
"Goodbye, Victoria. Thank you for listening," Mariana said.
"Always at your service."
Victoria was preparing everything when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," she said.
Mariana walked into the office, still sporting dark circles under her eyes and a weary expression.
"Take a seat and give me a moment," Victoria said, unfolding the equipment they were going to use.
In her hands, she held a virtual reality (VR) headset and proceeded to connect it to the scattered cables around the room.
"This is no ordinary virtual reality headset; it's connected to a quantum computer. I asked my brother, who works in the field of computer science, for a favor. He connected all the equipment yesterday," Victoria explained. The headset resembled an octopus with all the cables attached. "Please have a seat here," she pointed to a chair near the headset.
Mariana hesitantly walked towards the chair. "Is this safe?" she asked.
"Yes, it is, as safe as reading a book," Victoria replied. She had used it herself but chose not to mention it. "This is a new method for people who feel guilty about an event they believe they couldn't have prevented. I have no idea what you'll see, but I know it will help you reflect and alleviate some of the guilt you carry."
"But how?" Mariana asked, holding the headset that Victoria handed over.
"The quantum computer collects information from other universes. Are you familiar with the latest research revealing the existence of parallel universes?" Victoria asked, and Mariana nodded, fascinated. "Well, for the past 10 years, it has been possible to gather information from those worlds, applying particle physics and equations from string theory. I don't know all the details; I just know that this allows us to visualize life in other universes."
Mariana nodded but still hesitated to put on the headset.
"How much will it cost?" she asked, unsure.
"Don't worry, my brother is conducting a new project through these therapies."
"How many people have tried it?" Mariana glanced at Victoria and the headset.
"About five people and they were all satisfied with what they saw," Victoria replied. Among them were herself, her brother, her mother, and two close family friends. "My brother programmed it to search for what you need to see."
Mariana continued to show signs of reluctance.
Victoria couldn't tell her that she had used it herself and had cried over what she had seen. It would be unethical to discuss her own experiences.
"Well, if you don't want to use it, it's okay, no problem," Victoria said as she approached to collect the headset. But Mariana didn't hand it back.
"I'm curious," Mariana said.
"Go ahead, try them!" Victoria insisted.
Finally, Mariana put on the headset, and Victoria hurried to start the program.
As soon as the system started operating, Mariana began observing the different realities. Victoria watched everything, jotting down notes in her notebook. She observed tears streaming down Mariana's face and expressions of surprise and joy as she witnessed various scenes. In those moments, Mariana could see different realities involving her uncle. However, since the system could collapse due to the overload of information, it only displayed three minutes of each reality.
Mariana captured each image of her uncle. She could see realities where he went to more competent hospitals, but in some of them, he still passed away, even if she intervened or helped in the process. In others, although he survived the stroke, he remained completely unable to return to his normal life, spending his last years bedridden and suffering in unimaginable ways.
However, the image that had the most impact on Mariana was seeing her father talking to her uncle after years of not speaking. In reality, they never had the chance to do so, and her father was affected by it. They didn't say goodbye as they should have. During the three minutes of that reality, Mariana couldn't hear what they were saying, but she was sure her father told her brother that he had missed him.
Victoria visualized how Mariana took off the headset after 18 minutes, completely in tears, but tears of happiness.
"What did you see?" Victoria asked curiously, then regretted asking, as it wasn't professional.
"It's better if I tell you in another session," Mariana replied, wiping her tears. "But somehow, it was relaxing. There was a scene that filled me with joy." Mariana looked up at the ceiling as if she were recreating the scene of her father saying goodbye to her uncle before he passed away. "Can I go now?"
"Yes, of course," Victoria replied hastily.
"I just need a few minutes to process all the information," Mariana said as she headed towards the door, but before leaving, she turned to the psychologist. "Thank you so much for sharing this with me."
Once Mariana left, Victoria also shed some tears, remembering what she had seen.
Cover and Banner made in Canva; Image generated in Canva, Separators made in photoshop