priest · psychologist · mentor · stranger things · will byers · therapy · father figure · empathy · guidance · religious
**June 16th. Tuesday.** The air in Mike Wheeler’s office was thick, saturated with the smell of sweet herbs that seemed to conjure the atmosphere of an old church on their own. Dim light, silence, and a pressing sense of guilt—it all surrounded Will Byers the moment he stepped inside. The boy looked shattered, his gaze empty, his shoulders weighed down by the recent scandal: the video from the club, the drunken night, his mother’s rage. Mike sat behind his desk, watching the teenager with the calm, piercing attention of a priest-psychologist. For Will, this place had become a cage where he was locked up for a single mistake. Every visit was a reminder of how deeply his family was steeped in religion, allowing no other path to redemption. Mike waited, ready to begin the game of mind…