Once Bitten, Twice Shy

An hour later, Samantha reached the entrance of a prestigious medical clinic.

During her time as an anchor abroad, she interviewed an extremely famous psychiatrist and had always maintained good contact with him. He just so happened to be working in that clinic.

Samantha entered and told the front desk that she had made an appointment. A nurse led her to the door of a clinic and politely said, "Dr. Dancy is already waiting for you inside."

"Thank you." Samantha nodded.

She knocked on the door lightly, then pushed it open and walked in.

The psychiatrist, Milton Dancy, was around 50-years old, but since he had taken great care of his body and exercised all year round, he looked like a man in his thirties.

His temperament was gentle and elegant while his smile was extraordinarily warm.

"It's been a while, Ms. Larsson," Milton stood up and greeted her.

Samantha smiled in return. "Dr. Dancy, it's been a while."

The two of them took their seats.

Milton looked at her and smiled when he noticed her good complexion. "I couldn't believe it when I heard the news of your passing, and then I heard the news that you're still alive. In any case, I'm very glad to hear that you're still alive."

"I'm just as glad to see you again while I'm still alive," Samantha said self-jokingly.

Milton shook his head and laughed.

After the initial pleasantries, Milton went straight to the point and asked, "What brings you here to see me today? Are you here for a consultation or another interview?"

Samantha knew that his time was precious and answered straightforwardly, "A consultation."

"Oh?" Milton frowned slightly and asked with concern, "Is something the matter? Are you feeling unwell?"

Samantha replied, "It isn't me. It's...a friend of mine. He seems strange and I thought I'd ask you since I don't know much about it."

"Sure, go ahead."

Samantha phrased her language before saying, "My friend, his temperament has changed abruptly and significantly in the past few years. He became extremely cruel, almost as if...he's an entirely different person altogether. What do you think…could be the reason?"

Milton had a rather puzzled expression. "Is that...all?"

"... Is that too little detail?"

Milton smiled. "Yes. It's hard for me to make a judgment based on what you told me since it isn't nearly enough information."

"There are many possibilities as to why a person's temperament can change greatly. He could have been stimulated, suffered severe trauma, or he wants to live another life. Humans are emotion-driven, and human emotions are the most uncontrollable and complicated aspects of human life. I can't give you an analysis without getting any specific information."

He shrugged and expressed his inability to help any further.

Samantha was well aware that it would be difficult for someone to analyze what little information she provided. Milton was a very professional doctor, and doctors were generally rigorous enough to not make conclusions on a whim.

Milton saw her distressed appearance and could not help but make another remark, "Ms. Larsson, you said that this friend of yours seemed to have become a completely different person?"

Samantha looked at him and nodded. "Yes. I'm not the only one who thinks that way. Other people around him feel the same too."

If it was just based on what she perceived, she would not be that rash as to pay Milton a visit.

Milton tapped his fingers on the table and said, "In this case, there might be another possibility... Your friend may have dissociative identity disorder."

That unfamiliar term made Samantha bewildered. "Dissociative identity disorder?"

"Yes. Multiple or split personalities are a symptom of dissociative identity disorders. Perhaps your friend has multiple personalities."

The phrase 'multiple personalities' was not unfamiliar to Samantha and yet it was always something that seemed distant to her, in the sense that she never expected something like that to happen to someone she knew.

Her head went blank for a moment.

After a long while, she recovered her voice and said in disbelief, "It shouldn't be possible... He was always in good health and something like this has never happened before. How does this disease come about?"

Milton explained, "Generally speaking, there would usually be some major trauma during childhood. Patients will develop a separate defense mechanism to protect themselves. A few patients have abnormal neurological traits due to genetic factors, which easily lead to the emergence of multiple personalities."

Timothy did not have any childhood trauma, so could it be genetics?

If it was, it would be unlikely because she never saw Timothy suffering an attack even after knowing each other for so long and living together for the same amount of time too.

Samantha thought for a while and asked, "Is there any chance a person might suffer from it after becoming an adult?"

"When a person reaches adulthood, their personality and psychology have already matured. To be honest, it's relatively difficult for such a situation to occur, unless the patient is under huge social pressure or there was a stress response that had not been relieved. This leads to a vicious cycle where there is ample chance of developing such an illness," Milton said.

Therefore, it would be quite far-fetched to say that Timothy had only suffered from the disease in the past three years.

Where did he get such enormous social pressure? His life had been smooth sailing after he became an adult and one could even say that he walked through life like a breeze.

What was going on?

Samantha felt that her head was about to burst.

Upon seeing the situation, Milton shook his head. "Rather than wondering about it here, why don't you bring your friend to do a professional examination and test? A person with this illness can switch between personalities in just a few seconds, making it difficult to detect with the naked eye."

Samantha thought helplessly to herself, 'Why would I have to think about it all by myself here if I could bring Timothy for an examination?'

Milton looked up at the clock and said apologetically, "It's time for my next patient's appointment, Ms. Larsson."

Samantha hurriedly said, "Thank you for today. I apologize for taking so much of your time. Please go ahead and attend to your patient. I might have to trouble you to send me a copy of any information you have on a dissociative identity disorder."

"Sure, that won't be a problem." Milton got up and saw her off. "Please feel free to look for me if you have any further questions."

…

Samantha hailed a cab and went to the hospital.

Along the way, she called Rochelle and told her all about the conversation with Milton earlier.

After all, whenever one's brain power is limited, it would be good to have another person to share the burden of thinking about it.

Samantha said, "Do you think Timothy has multiple personalities? Could the Timothy in front of us, which we are all unfamiliar with, be a second personality?"

Rochelle was similarly worried. "It's hard to judge. If there are multiple personalities, why does the second personality always manifest? What about the main personality? Why doesn't it appear all the time? This doesn't make any sense!"

Her words gave Samantha a sudden realization.

The main personality was mostly dominant under normal circumstances, but all she had seen since her return was Timothy's brutal side. The main personality had never appeared!

Multiple personalities usually take turns manifesting in a person's consciousness and actions.

In that case, multiple personalities might not be the answer?

Rochelle said, "We don't have any other way of finding out right now. It's not like we can knock Timothy out and drag him to get an examination. The only way is to observe Timothy from a close distance, right? But we can't do anything right now to get close to him."

Silence ensued and Samantha massaged her tired eyebrows.

Samantha then turned around to look at the passing scenery outside the car window. A sudden flash of light appeared in the depths of her eyes and she said, "There is....a way for us to observe Timothy up close."