Her face began to contort, showing her discomfort. “Are you alright babe?” came a voice she had never gotten use to, at least not in this context. “Are you?” the voice echoed when she realised she had not replied, this time as emotionless as the first.

“I don’t want to ...” she forced those words out of her dry throat. The figure stood there without moving or responding so she attempted to finish her sentence “I don’t want to do this, Simon”, this time easier than the first.

What felt like a big relief only lasted long enough for her to regain feeling in her body once more until the eerie silence began to make her feel like she did something wrong. In her mind eighteen minutes had passed until the voice replied, “Yes you can, I believe in you.”

She stared at where the eyes of the figure were meant to be for a while, her lips trembling. She forced a smile on herself and gave the slightest nod which was almost instantly acknowledged merely by a “Good”, like a praise one would give a pet hamster – shallow and meaningless.