He sat there, Dr Jinx, in his black leather armchair, leaning forward with his leg resting on his knee, his fingers planted together. He was the embodiment of Sherlock Holmes, although he was here to deduce another mystery.

Jonathan Hill.

Dr Jinx's most curious patient had been sleepwalking, but not to the kitchen of his own house or even the neighbours garden. He had trekked across towns, cities and even countries. Somehow his subconscious unknowingly manipulated him to travel beyond the seas of his own London home, and then awakening him in a foreign place. This was most disturbing as Jonathan had no recollection, what so ever, of appearing there.

As the frustrated patient spoke of his unintended midnight adventures, the Doctor began to contemplate. He gave Jonathan a look which he could only describe as quizzical…very quizzical. This story sounded like the stuff of fiction and yet none of it was a lie.

The stiff silence in the room was broken by the sound of ticking and it seemed to reverberate. The distraction was coming from an antique grandfather clock hung in the corner like a ghost. The room itself was dark and the only illumination came from the sunlight peering in from the thin slices of space between the closed shutters. The lamp on the massive wooden desk was just a collector for dust, the green shade fluffy with the stuff. It almost seemed like the continued ticking was coming from the good Doctor’s head as he rummaged over the details, attempting to synthesize a “proper” explanation.

“And this strange occurrence has been ensuing from the moment you have lived on your own from your mother’s and father’s residence, yes?” The doctor asked, hands now resting against his chin with his fingers still pressed together. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead as his brow furrowed. He was still speculating and Jonathan had still not responded. His heart began to race with nerves, sweat developing at his temples. In all honesty, he thought to himself, no one has believed me so far. I sleepwalk around the world!

The doctor sensed the distress from his anxious patient and continued. Was Jonathan’s desperation that obvious?

“You have appeared on almost every continent on this planet without any recollection of how you achieved that, claiming you go to sleep one night in your own bed and awaken…somewhere…else, almost every evening?” Jonathan was speechless with nerves and so only nodded in response. The Doctor’s eyes widened with fascination. His patient had been prescribed with a wide range of medication to assist in restful sleep, which was not the problem at all. It seems that past doctors have misidentified his issue. Jonathan slept like a corpse but he somehow managed to travel over land and sea and appear in the most strangest of places.

“I assume your travels are pleasant?” Asked the doctor and his patient hesitated then shook his head. There was Sudan, Russia, Australia, Thailand and not to mention his mortifying appearance in Las Vegas. Despite finding himself stranded in the middle of a war torn country with only a missing sock to worry about, he had been to some of the most exotic and beautiful places imaginable.

Jonathan must have lapsed into a recollection as Dr Jinx snapped his fingers loud enough to rip anyone out of a reverie, and attempted to regather his patient’s attention.

“Do you have any clue as to what may have caused this condition? An emotional reaction to an event or individual or even a third party perhaps?” Jonathan shook his head and the doctor responded with a monotonous hum. He began to flip through his patient’s records and personal information as well as notes he had taken during the time, carefully listening and deducing. Doctor Jinx’s scrawl was unreadable from Jonathan’s angle and he felt a pang of mystery settle. What had the doctor written about him? His ‘Sleep Walking Traveller’ persona had a scientific term and Jonathan was ready for it.

The Doctor sighed and began his explanation.

“I believe that there is an obvious cause for your condition. An emotional catalyst known as NSS or Non Sunt Syndrome which translates into Not Belonging Syndrome from Latin. Now, the cause of this is childhood trauma and is extremely rare. There has been only one other known case besides yourself,” he said, leaning forward once more.

“The reaction is formed when there is a lack of a sense of belonging, continuously from a young age ranging from infancy to adolescence.” Jonathan now leaned closer, as if hearing a scandalous secret. This information was news to him.

“Your parents moved continuously during your childhood, at least twice a year, from city to city, country to country and so on.” Jonathan listened intently as Doctor Jinx explained his patient’s history. How Jonathan was unable to make long term friends; how he never had a childhood home or close family friends. Never could he share his secrets with anyone special or fall in love. He did not have a childhood. He never belonged to any one place. He never felt like he could belong at all.

“You had no place to settle down; no place you could call home.” The statement lingered in the air for a while as Jonathan absorbed the overwhelming information. There was more.

The Doctor continued to explain how the condition worked. How Jonathan’s subconscious was still searching for a place to belong to and to settle. Jonathan was not accustomed to remaining in one place for an elongated period of time. He was still seeking for that sense of belonging. All this time he had put up with the loss and disappointment for his family because they expected him to.

“My advice is to visit your family and sort out this unrest you are experiencing. You belong to your family, that is your true home…I understand that it is a cliché but there is some amount of fact in it,” he said with a smile and small laugh escaped Jonathan’s lips, his anxiety calming with his racing heart and rapid breathing. He wiped the sweat from his brow and stood to shake the Doctor’s hand, thanking him for his help.

He stepped out of the practice, satisfied and relaxed for the first time in a long while. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the salty breeze from the harbour. Waking up in Sydney this morning changed his life and for once in his days, Jonathan Hill understood where he belonged.