The smell of coffee woke me up. I was lying on the ground, a cushion under my head, in the therapist’s office.

Pierre had explained the situation to the others while I was out, not at all bothered by the fact that his friend was senseless at his feet. He was as oddly calm as a winter morning. Abby was near hysteria.

“I’ll be okay, Abby. You can stop shaking me now. Seriously girl, stop shaking me or I’ll puke all over your new sweater.” I felt really nauseous, so it was not at all an empty threat and it must have showed on my face since she finally let go of me.

I sat up and took the cup of coffee that was offered, sipping it quietly while the others returned to their conversation as if nothing had happened. It was odd, but kind of reassuring at the same time. These people were so used to their own strange reactions that mine didn’t scare them. Good to know.

“Alright folks, now that M. is with us again, I can finally explain the thing. Our fainty friend here wrote a book, that some of you might have read. For those who haven’t, let’s say it’s a fantasy fiction featuring two rats and a lot of traumatising experiences. The purpose of the book is to talk about how people with PTSD and their families are affected by this disorder, and show that with proper treatment it is somewhat curable. All clear?”

Pierre was a straightforward guy. He got to the point without flourish, and apparently all was clear, since nobody asked any question. He continued.

“Abby and I decided to make a film out of that story in order to reach a larger number of people, since we agreed that raising awareness of mental health disorders had to be a priority. The more people know about it, the less stigmatization there will be, and the easier to detect and cure these diseases. Now, I’m a script, Abby’s an actress and M. is completely disinterested. We need help. Any of you feel up to it?”

I nearly choked on my coffee. What the hell! This wasn’t a way to ask people for help, it looked like he was giving them orders! Or worse, challenging them! What had happened to the terrified boy that was so pale at the idea of meeting these people less than an hour ago?

Even Abby was speechless after Pierre’s little act. If we wanted help, we had to react and explain it all in a different, more understanding and calm kind of way. When I say “we”, of course, it means “I”... Darned useless friends…

“Thank you Pierre, you’ve managed to terrify us all. If I may explain it a little more…? Thank you. Okay. Let’s start by introducing myself, shall I? I’m M. As Pierre said, I wrote a thing, and they want to transform it into another thing. But mostly, we want to help people suffering from all sorts of mental illnesses to get their voices heard. Now, I know you folks are not the most self-confident people, but trust me when I say : I know what you’re going through. I know what you think of yourselves, and let me tell you : it’s wrong. You can do it. I don’t know any of you personally, and yet I know all about you, because we’re in the same boat together. And we are stronger than we think.”

I started encouraging them the way I wished to be encouraged, telling them the words I wanted to hear, making them believe in themselves despite everything else. The only way it could work was to show them that there was something in there for them, some healing perhaps, or at least other people who could understand what they went through daily.

In the end, I’m not sure if I talked to them, to get their help, or to me. But it didn’t matter : after 20 minutes of speech, they all agreed. They put their skills and experiences at our disposal, and promised to do their best. We couldn’t ask for more.

There were an accountant, a history student, a vet assistant, an ex military officer… All kinds of different people, all kinds of different expertises, all of them ready to help us make this dream come true.

We divided our motley band in groups of two to four depending on expertise and set to work. Some had to find other members, some more equipment, some filming locations, and others had to monitor our crowdfunding and try to raise as much money as possible. We gave ourselves two weeks to have achieved our respective goals and meet again for the next phase.

Our goal, of course, was discovering and organising the next phase. First, Pierre sent his script to everyone so that they knew what they were talking about and could give us feedback. Then, I posted a message on my creator’s wall in the app that my book was published on, asking for people willing to play a part in the movie. Even if they came from afar or didn’t speak French, it didn’t really matter. We had plenty of non-talking characters. We needed as much support as possible.

That’s the moment when someone reached out to tell me that the same project was underway in the USA, and that they wanted my authorization to film. They were at about the same stage we were in at the moment, meaning they had a script and a core crew. They were serious about this project.

It took me more than 5 minutes to process the content of the message. I just didn’t believe it. I mean, it was weird enough that Abby and Pierre wanted to do that, but other people? From another country?

I showed the message to my friends and asked them what they thought of it : it was, after all, their idea. Abby shrieked and Pierre started laughing like a maniac. I concluded that they were happy.

When they finally stopped behaving like lunatics and I recovered the use of my ears, I had them explain to me how they wished to proceed from there. It was already complicated finding what we needed for one crew, but for two would be the worst possible challenge and I wasn’t entirely sure that we were up to it.

“You have to stop being so negative. You never believe that you can do anything, and yet look at all that we have achieved!” I refrained from telling them that technically, we had started something but not achieved it yet. It would only prove their point.

“I don’t care if it’s hard, it’s too important not to try. And I’m sure that together, all three of us, we can figure something out. Well, you’re the brain of the team so… Did you figure something out yet?” Damn you Pierre!

As I hesitated between laughing and punching my friend in the face, Abby decided that my silence meant acceptance and caught me, completely unprepared, in a bone-cracking hug. Seriously, I’m certain that I heard a crack.

“Thank you M.! I knew you were kind-hearted behind your bear-like grumpiness. It’s gonna be awesome, you’ll see, you’ll make a hell of a job! And the cool part : we’ll get to practice our english.”