Necrophilia

Cassie tidied up the files her boss had left behind. He stacked them together, then put them in a black plastic binder. After being neatly tucked away in one of the drawers of the file cabinet behind him, he still took the time to tidy up the flowers in the vase.

Ting..., ting..., The sound of a tiny bell ringing when the door was opened. There is a tassel just below the bell. Everyone who passed through that door would have taken the time to look at it. Funny. His boss bought the bell during a visit to Japan.

"Greenlife Clinic, can I help you?" Cassie asked, adjusting her hood. He saw who was coming. A emaciated, conical-faced man who looked confused. He looked at Cassie with a strange look.

"Good evening, sir! Can I help you?" Cassie asked calmly and looking restrained. This is the second month he has worked here. Meeting strange people is his daily meal. The worst thing was last week, when a patient came --- a manic depressive sufferer --- who suddenly ransacked his registration desk. If the situation is very urgent, usually Cassie will press the secret button under her desk drawer. A few seconds later, Tim, a security officer, will come. He will take care of the next problem.

"I want to meet Erwin Stark!" the answer is short. His tone was mysterious.

Cassie smiled. Everyone who comes here of course wants to meet dr. Erwin Stark, Ph.D, clinical psychologist and supervisor.

"You made an appointment, or..."

"I want to see you soon!" said the man impatiently.

Cassie nodded politely. To be honest he was so tired today. This morning he took one of his boss's clients to refer him to a psychiatrist. Even so, Cassie can still control her emotions.

"The person you mean is inside. He is also having guests. I hope you will be patient and wait for him." Cassie handed him a slip of paper. "This is a form, please fill it out first! You can fill it in the seat over there!" Cassie said politely.

The man snorted. But he wanted to do it too. He fumbled in his shirt pocket.

"Here's the ballpoint pen! Please!" Cassie put the pen on the table. The man looked straight at him. He wondered, why didn't he hand it over to her directly? It was as if he avoided touching her hand. Was the girl afraid of him?

The man hesitated a little to ask. But that intention was undone when he saw the genuine smile on Cassie's lips.

"Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?"

The man was stunned and hastily refused. "Eh... uh..., n... no!" he said, and his face turned red.

Cassie's brows furrowed. "Not?"

"No.... I mean just tea!" the man stuttered. He hid his red face.

Meanwhile Cassie, seemingly oblivious to her charms, turned around. Within minutes, he had a cup of tea in his hand. He was surprised to find the man still standing where he was.

Cassie was pale. Has the man been watching his back? And suddenly he felt uncomfortable. But he quickly controlled himself so that the feeling didn't show on his face. And those fears left him speechless for a while. His hand moved under the table. He is ready to press the secret button if things go wrong. All kinds of people with psychological disorders come to this place. He observes each client's facial expressions and matches them with the disorders they have. But this one seems different. Does he have some sort of maniac sex disorder? Or.....?

Astaghfirullah.... suuzhan! Cassie hurriedly chased away the bad thoughts, though she remained wary. His body shook.

"The pen... the pen is dead!" said the man, holding up his pen.

"Sorry!" The man scribbled his pen on the paper. There are no ink streaks, just the stressed part of the paper.

"Oh...!" Cassie felt like biting her tongue. He handed me a new ballpoint pen. The man walked over to the chair Cassie had pointed at, sat down, and began to write.

Cassie watched him for a few minutes. He then laughed --- laughed at himself. He remembered what his boss said. At that time he reminded himself to always be vigilant, but not to be too paranoid.

He felt his prejudice was too much. Luckily he didn't push the button. The situation could be more dire. Even so, he still felt ashamed of himself. But what exactly was the man suffering from, eh? Cassie became curious.

***

"Necrophilia."

Cassie raised her eyebrows. "Some kind of pedophilia?"

In front of him, Erwin Stark signed the file Cassie had brought. He watched Cassie for a moment. He loved the twinkle in Cassie's eyes, full of intelligence and enthusiasm. Another person fascinated by Cassie. Erwin always joked in his heart. If only he were thirty-five years younger.

"Paedophilia and Necrophilia are a group of disorders of a kind of pathological type. Philia is a kind of tendency of a person --- an excessive liking for something."

Cassie's face brightened. "Philia and phobia are opposites aren't they? Ummm....., I mean, if philia means liking, then phobia means hating. I see, right?"

"You read a lot, apparently!" praised Erwin, making him blush. Lately, he often brings psychology literature books to his house and spends time studying them.

"Paedophilia and Necrophilia can also be categorized into sexual deviance disorders. Patients will feel satisfied when they have sexual relations with children, while Necrophilia is in the dead."

"What do you mean corpse?"

Erwin Stark's face turned red. Looks in contrast to her hair which has completely turned white. "You know what that means? Having sex with corpses. Dead people, of course."

Cassie squealed. He hastily covered his mouth. He prays repeatedly. "Is this possible?"

"Are you also going to ask if it was possible for Neil Armstrong at that time to set foot on the moon?"

"But this one is disgusting!"

Erwin Stark got up from his chair and walked towards his study door. He looked out of the small hole in the door. There are no waiting clients.

"Your client, Mrs. Raya, canceled an appointment for a consultation today. I think I left a note on the table while you were on your lunch break."

Erwin Stark slapped his forehead. "Yeah..., yeah!" And he sat back down on his soft leather chair. "Where was it? Oh yes..., the cause."