Intake
The waiting room looked more like a luxury hotel than a medical facility.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the glittering skyline of San Aurelia, a city of glass towers, autonomous trains, and neon advertisements drifting across the evening sky like artificial stars.
A woman in a silver uniform sat behind a desk.
On the wall behind her, illuminated letters glowed softly.
THE REMEMBRANCE INSTITUTE
Obsession is not destiny.
Three people sat in the waiting room.
None of them knew they were there for the same reason.
None of them knew they were all trying to forget the same person.
⸻
ELI
"State your name."
The psychologist didn't look up from her tablet.
"Eli Mercer."
"Age?"
"Twenty-six."
She finally glanced at him.
"Twelve years. That's what you wrote on the intake form."
Eli nodded.
"Tell me about her."
His stomach tightened.
There was no need to ask who.
There had only ever been one girl.
"Her name is Madison Hart."
The psychologist waited.
Eli stared at the city outside.
"I've known her since preschool."
"And you've dated?"
"No."
"Friends?"
"No."
The psychologist blinked.
"No?"
Eli laughed softly.
It sounded pathetic even to him.
"She barely knows I exist."
The woman's fingers paused above the screen.
"Yet you've been fixated on her for twelve years."
"Fourteen, actually."
Silence.
Eli rubbed his palms together.
"She was always there."
"Explain."
"We went to the same schools."
He smiled despite himself.
"Every year I'd tell myself I'd talk to her."
The memories arrived instantly.
Madison laughing with her friends.
Madison at football games.
Madison at graduation.
Madison holding another boy's hand.
Always another boy.
Never him.
"I figured eventually she'd notice me."
"And?"
Eli shook his head.
"She never did."
The psychologist leaned back.
"So why seek treatment now?"
Because he was tired.
Because every relationship failed before it started.
Because every woman he met became a comparison.
Because no one was Madison.
"She's still in the city."
His voice was quieter now.
"I see her sometimes."
"Have you spoken to her?"
"Twice."
The psychologist raised an eyebrow.
"In fourteen years?"
Eli nodded.
"What did you say?"
"'Excuse me, you dropped this.'"
The psychologist stared.
"That was one conversation."
"It was."
"The second?"
"'Sorry.'"
She closed her eyes briefly.
Eli couldn't blame her.
It sounded insane.
Because it was.
The woman typed something.
"What outcome are you hoping for?"
Eli swallowed.
"I want to walk past her and feel nothing."
⸻
MADISON
"Your file says the obsession has lasted eight months."
Madison Hart crossed her legs.
"That's correct."
The psychologist studied her.
Madison was beautiful.
She knew it.
Most people knew it within seconds.
The confidence radiated from her effortlessly.
"So tell me about the subject."
Madison groaned dramatically.
"He's impossible."
"His name?"
"Noah Bennett."
The psychologist waited.
Madison rolled her eyes.
"He lives across the street."
"And?"
"He's a firefighter."
Of course he was.
Even saying it sounded ridiculous.
The uniform.
The broad shoulders.
The stupid smile.
Everything about him annoyed her.
Mostly because it worked.
"He helped me once."
"How?"
"My puppy got out."
Madison smiled despite herself.
"I locked myself out chasing him."
The memory appeared instantly.
Noah climbing her fence.
Noah opening a second-story window.
Noah carrying her terrified puppy back downstairs.
Noah laughing.
Noah thanking her for the lemonade she'd given him afterward.
That should have been the end.
Instead, it had become the beginning.
The psychologist studied her expression.
"Married?"
Madison sighed.
"Unfortunately."
"Children?"
"A newborn."
"How do you feel about his wife?"
The question caught her off guard.
She hesitated.
Then answered honestly.
"I envy her."
The room became quiet.
Madison hated admitting that.
The wife wasn't glamorous.
She looked exhausted most days.
Sometimes she walked around in oversized sweatshirts.
Sometimes she looked like she hadn't slept all night.
Yet Noah looked at her as though she hung the moon.
"I don't understand it."
The psychologist remained silent.
Madison continued.
"Men always notice me."
There.
The ugly truth.
"Always?"
"Usually."
"But not Noah."
Madison laughed bitterly.
"Not Noah."
The psychologist typed several notes.
"And that bothers you."
"Yes."
"Because you want him?"
Madison looked toward the window.
Below, hundreds of flying taxis crossed the skyline.
For months she had tried convincing herself it was just attraction.
But attraction didn't make people lose sleep.
Attraction didn't make people watch for a neighbor's car.
Attraction didn't make people feel defeated by a woman carrying a crying baby.
"Yes," Madison whispered.
The psychologist nodded.
"And what do you hope the pill will do?"
Madison looked down at her hands.
"I want him to become ordinary."
⸻
NOAH
"Do you love your wife?"
The question came immediately.
No introductions.
No warm-up.
Noah almost laughed.
"Yes."
The psychologist didn't react.
"Immediately?"
"Without hesitation."
"Yes."
She watched him carefully.
"Then why are you here?"
Noah looked at the floor.
Because love and temptation weren't the same thing.
Because he was ashamed.
Because every day had become harder.
"My wife had our son six months ago."
The psychologist nodded.
"How has that affected your marriage?"
"She's exhausted."
Noah smiled softly.
"She still gets up every night when he cries."
His chest tightened.
"She's incredible."
"Yet."
That single word hung between them.
Noah exhaled.
Across the street sat a woman named Madison Hart.
She seemed to belong to a different universe.
Always laughing.
Always dancing.
Always glowing.
As if life simply happened better around her.
And he hated that he'd noticed.
He hated that he continued noticing.
The psychologist waited.
Noah finally spoke.
"I caught myself looking."
"At Madison."
"Yes."
The word came out rough.
The memory still made him sick.
One evening.
One accidental glance through an open window where she was undressing. Her skin was smooth as silk, as if untouched by a day of labor. He feared the bath towel would scratch her delicate body.
One moment he should have turned away.
Instead, he had looked too long
Long enough to feel guilty.
Long enough to realize the direction his thoughts were heading.
Long enough to scare himself.
The psychologist folded her hands.
"And since then?"
"I avoid her."
"Has that helped?"
"No."
Because avoiding someone only made him think about them more.
Like trying not to picture a fire.
Like trying not to scratch a wound.
The thoughts kept returning.
And every time they did, he felt as though he was betraying someone.
Someone who trusted him completely.
"Tell me what you want."
Noah closed his eyes.
He saw his wife holding their son.
He saw her tired smile.
He saw the life they'd built together.
Then he saw Madison.
Bright.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
"I want my mind back."
The psychologist nodded slowly.
On her screen, three files sat waiting.
ELI MERCER
MADISON HART
NOAH BENNETT
Three candidates.
One obsession.
One woman.
Outside, the city lights flickered to life.
Tomorrow, if approved, all three would take the pill.
And tomorrow, everything would begin.
