I enjoy doing these kinds of stories, dialogue only. It's a good exercise to make the two characters different, without even dialogue tags. Enjoy!
***
"Welcome, Anne. Have a seat. This says this is your first time in therapy."
"Uh, yeah. I, um...never..."
"Relax. It's perfectly natural to be nervous. Understand that you're in a safe space."
"What am I supposed...how should I start?"
"Start however you would like. What makes you the most comfortable?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure."
"You could start by telling me why you made this appointment. That's pretty easy, isn't it?"
"My friend said I should go talk to someone."
"Sounds like a good friend, like they're really looking out for you."
"I guess. I tried, um, well, I tried talking to her, but she, um, she said it might be better if, well, if I talked to you. She said you've...that you've done a lot for her."
"Some subjects are better left to the professionals, wouldn't you agree? It wouldn't be very smart to have your friend rebuild your engine, no matter how good a friend they are."
"That's something weird I've tried asking before."
"Pardon? This really does work better if you speak up. Remember, I'm on your side. You have nothing to fear from me."
"I asked her, once...I asked why more people, um...why not do things for themselves."
"That's a very interesting question. Would you like to expand upon it?"
"Maybe."
"Anne, this is not a place of judgment. This is a safe space. You can express whatever you want, and nothing goes any farther than myself."
"It's just, like, uh, well, just, I wondered...why don't more people, you know, well, do things for themselves? Like cook, or sew, or fix their car."
"You don't sound like you're merely questioning. That sounds more like you want someone to ask you what you think. Do you already have an answer?"
"Not an answer, exactly, but I have, um, I have a theory."
"Would you feel better if we talked about that?"
"It's weird, and I can't stop thinking about it. It's just that, I think, maybe, people would be happier if they did do things for themselves. I think, you know, that they're just being taught that they, um...just programmed to believe that, you know, can't take care of themselves. They're just being made to be weak."
"That's an interesting theory. When did-"
"And when someone like me does do something all by themself, it's thought of as this big deal, no matter how small or easy it is. Like, I made cookies for my coworkers, and they all kept telling me how great I was, and how I shouldn't have put so much of my own time into it, and all I did was add eggs to a bag of powder. I didn't actually do anything. Not like my grandmother could."
"You must have looked up to your grandmother. Did she-"
"Someone was late to work, and it was because they had to wait for roadside assistance to come change their tire, and I asked why they didn't just do it themselves, and they said they didn't know how, and when I asked them why not, they stared at me like I was the crazy one."
"Nobody is saying you're crazy. Do you feel-"
"The very idea of doing anything for yourself is scary, and it's like I can't say anything about that without someone trying to tell me how weird I am. I just make my own washcloths and use them for cleaning my house instead of disposable towels. Not like I keep my own piss in a jar or collect toenails."
"Anne, you don't need-"
"The strawberries from my garden taste so much better than the ones from the store. My dog is less stressed if I brush him instead of some stranger. I don't-"
"-to get so excited. Anne, please! Attempt to control yourself. Let's talk about all this at a reasonable volume."
"Even this, this whole therapy thing, is people believing the programming that they need someone with a pretty piece of paper to tell them how to feel, when they could solve their own problems if they just put a little personal effort into it!"
"My, that sounded cathartic. I certainly hope you're feeling better."
"I'm not. I don't. I, uh...I just want to feel normal. I don't, you know, want to feel crazy anymore. I don't want to have all these weird thoughts all the time."
"Not to worry, Anne. I have some very recent prescriptions that will help immensely with your problem coping."
"Thank you, Doc. Just, like, thank you so much."
"You're very welcome. That's why I'm here. And I'd like to see you at least once a week for now. Deborah in reception will help you get all set up."
