She contemplated the situation. This was the first time something like this had happened in all her years as a psychologist.

Meanwhile, Trevor continued: “Amanda, you and I need to figure out what is happening to me. Or to him… Well, we need to figure out who is who.”

Amanda listened, growing even more confused. Her eyes were wide open and she did not understand what she was hearing.

“Well, and who might you be then?” she finally asked.

The idea of a split personality came to mind and she tried to recall the symptoms of the disorder. The thought calmed her a bit, since she could rationally explain what was happening.

“I am Robert,” the voice answered, “Robert from the other life of Trevor.”

“Robert?” Amanda asked again. “What other life?”

“A very real one, but another. At least, that’s what I think. Although sometimes I am not so sure. But right now, you are my dream. And everything that is happening to Trevor – that is my dream, do you understand? And you are also my dream. Oh my God, I am talking to my dream! Unbelievable!”

“You are talking to your dream?” Amanda asked, confused. “How long has this been going on for?”

“This is all very strange and complicated. For so long that I can no longer understand who is who.”

“Trevor, I don’t think I quite understand.”

“Amanda, I am Robert, I am, like, inside Trevor’s consciousness, I mean, he is inside mine. Well, not exactly inside me. He exists in my dreams. Well, how do I explain this… But this is the first time this has happened! I’ve never experienced this before.”

“Ok, fine. You are Robert. But you say everything is very complicated. Can you explain to me clearly from which dream you are talking to me?”

Amanda regained her composure and decided to end the session.

“I only have one dream and one dream only, and that is the life of Trevor. Please, just listen to me without interrupting and, maybe, you will understand.”

The voice from the recorder told the incredible story of Robert’s life on the other side of the dream, the diaries he kept, recording everything that was happening to Trevor, the feelings and doubts of the reality of his world.

This was the second time Amanda had listened to the story, but now she was looking intently at Trevor. She was confused, excited and intrigued by what she heard. A completely different person was living inside Trevor, about whom he had no idea and who had been observing this from inside his dream for nearly thirty years. Robert truly believed that he was sleeping at the moment and dreaming. He could not influence Trevor’s life and actions in any way, couldn’t reveal himself in any way, as what usually happens in split personalities, but he wanted to figure out for himself what the reality was and what the dream was.

“… My world is almost the same as how I see Trevor’s world in my dreams,” continued Robert. “But we are so different, living in different countries, having different circles of friends and acquaintances, different professions, jobs, and at the same time I see my world as reality every second and every minute. I haven’t seen any other dreams in my life. Only one – about Trevor."

Amanda was so captivated by the conversation that she completely lost any sense of time, while the voice kept talking. There was something fascinating in his story, but it was a story of a healthy, it would seem, person, who objectively evaluates everything around him, a person, seeking a way out of the situation he is in.

Amanda tried to stop the session, but the voice kept asking her not to. He needed to speak; he was seeking answers to his questions. Amanda was encountering this phenomenon for the first time, which was why her only guess was split personality. She could not think of any other explanation for the moment.

Right, it must be dissociative identity disorder, but in some weird, incredible form, thought Amanda, while the voice inside Trevor told about the other side of his life.

Suddenly Amanda said: “Robert, if your life is so realistic, are there psychologists or psychiatrists in your world?”

“Of course, there are… I guess. I hope there are,” Robert answered unconvincingly. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

“No, Robert, of course not,” Amanda replied quickly. “Here’s what I thought… I’d like to propose something to you… in the other, your life. But you have to treat this very seriously. I have an idea here. Let’s conduct an experiment, but I will need your help for this… and the help of a professional…"

Amanda had no doubt that she was seeing dissociative identity disorder and she wanted to check if there were any other personalities inside Trevor’s subconscious. In some people, different, sometimes diametrically opposed personalities co-existed, including those that consider themselves experts in psychology, and they were usually the ones who helped establish and identify other personalities existing in the patient’s subconscious. Amanda decided to summon this personality from Trevor’s subconscious. She explained the experiment to Robert. However, she also believed that there could be another, negative consequence of this experiment. The situation could swiftly deteriorate, and then it would be very difficult to go back, even impossible.

“Robert, you must understand that during such a session everything could get out of your… your psychologist’s control. If your condition is what I think it is, there is a risk that you will disappear as a personality from Trevor’s subconscious for some time.”

“What do you mean disappear? I don’t understand. Disappear where?”

“You see, as a result of direct interference, a kind of replacement could happen in Trevor’s subconscious, where one personality will replace another. Maybe that is when we will find the answers to your questions. But you, Robert, could disappear for a while.”

“You believe this is dissociative identity disorder?”

“I don’t believe anything right now. I am only dealing with the facts as I see them: I have a patient on my couch in a state of hypnosis, while somebody, who does not identify himself with my patient, never manifested himself in his life, but only observed him throughout his life from somewhere inside his subconscious, is talking to me.”

“Can separate personalities of one and the same person really live separate lives beyond their consciousness, have their own history, separate worlds?”

“Well, that’s what we need to figure out. You, as someone who identifies himself separately, should understand that if there are other personalities in Trevor’s subconscious, you could disappear for a while with your world, history and life, which you feel is real. Somebody else could replace you. It is totally possible."

“You think that my life in this… in my world is not real? Just Trevor’s imagination?”

“If I think otherwise, then all my answers and your communication with me are just a creation of your brain. This would mean that me and this world and our conversation exist merely in your imagination.”

“How will a psychologist help us?” Robert asked after doing something thinking.

“With his help we will try to at least identify you and identify other personalities in Trevor’s subconscious, if any. You see, no matter how you identify yourself, for me you are the one living in Trevor’s subconscious. I’d like to experiment with your psychologist. Maybe, you won’t even find him. But if he does exist, maybe, that is just another personality. There may be many personalities. We need to define their number and then we will be able understand what, or, most likely, who we are dealing with.”

“That just doesn’t make sense, Amanda. I have a completely different memory than Trevor. I live my own life here and up until today I could not manifest myself in Trevor’s life in any way. I have a job here, fiancée, friends, circumstances, ultimately… Trevor’s life is my permanent dream, and nothing more. As for his life, I am just a bystander in it.”