It was her habit to watch the late night news before going to bed.
She had not slept well for a long time. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she got a full night’s sleep without it happening, the hovering ball, that’s what she called it. Jeepers! Now that I come to work it out, she thought, it must have been going on for over a year! She knows how run down she is, and she’s aware of the fact that her health is gradually getting worse. She knows that she needs help. They say that’s half the battle, don’t they? Just knowing that I need to overcome any embarrassment I feel, it has to be faced. I’ll make an appointment with the doctor, she thought. He’ll probably give me a referral to a psychologist or someone. I’ll make sure it’s the nice old gentleman at the practice, I’ve always been able to talk to him. Oh! Well. It has to be done. I‘ll call the surgery tomorrow.
In the surgery the following day she was telling the old man about her ongoing malady. She explained about the frequent appearances of the great hovering ball that floats over her when she’s in bed. She explains that she finds it hard to go to sleep with it there and it often wakes her up, because she knows it’s still there. She tells him that the horrible thing floats just below her bedroom ceiling. It kind of quivers from time to time, and it rotates very slowly. She says she remembers seeing an illusionist once on TV. He had a ball that he could make float. He would put a cloth over it, then hold onto the corners of the cloth, while the ball underneath would slowly rise. It defied gravity. Her hovering ball was just like that.
After listening patiently while she talked about her constant nightmares, the elderly physician asked, “I see. Can you describe this ball in more detail for me?”
“Sure. It’s like I said, it’s an ugly ball and it has these hideous little spikes sticking out all over it.” She looked uncomfortable. “I suppose you can recommend a suitable psychologist for me?”
He sat back with a smile. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” he said. “I think I can help you there.”