Week 10 Story: Therapy Session #1
Okay. Okay. It's this office right? Did he say 401 or 104??
I guess the only way to know is just to go in.
Uhhhhhhhh.
Okay. I got this.
ONE.
TWO.
THREE.
*pushes the door open*
Children's Counseling Office
Phew. Okay now just sit and wait for the lady.
Man? Lady? I guess he never said.
Man am I thirsty.
I'm probably even paler than I normally am. Gosh.
Is she? Is she coming to get me?
No.
Okay. It's okay. BREATHE.
*closes eyes*
Children. Human children.
Running. Screaming. Water. Splash.
Sun. Blink. Blink. Warm against my ears.
Is that an eclipse?
No. A man. In a big box that other humans are carrying.
wait. WAIT. NO. DAD!!!
"Eric?"
Woah. where'd she come from?
"Yes"
"Follow me"
Okay. Eric! You've got this. We're walking. Two feet in front of the others.
"Can you tell me why you're here?"
"I had another panic attack last week. The king thought this would be best."
"And what do you think?"
"I'm not sure." *squirms in chair* "I guess I have a lot of questions"
"What about, Eric?"
"Why I'm here. You know. Like.
ugh.
Not here. here. Just like. With the king?"
"How do you think you got there?"
"Well I remember going to work with my dad. He had been working with these forest handymen? I'm not sure why.
Yeah
And then I was taking a break
Well I was playing
I shouldn't have run off"
*thump thump thump thump*
"Eric. Eric! It's okay. Would you like to take a break?"
*deep breath*
*shakes head*
"I guess I just want to know if my dad knows where I am?"
"Have you gotten to talk to him?"
"No. The king doesn't seem too interested in helping me either. But my palace nurse, she told me to write my dad letters even though he will never probably get them."
"Do you have them with you?"
"I've only written one."
Dear Dad,
It's me. Eric. I guess you'd know that.
I don't really remember you. People tell
me I have been at the palace for years now.
But I still remember you taking me to work.
I think about it a lot actually. I guess
all I really want to say is it hurts. It
hurts so much, dad. And I wish you were here
I wish I could talk to you instead of
these humans who know nothing. They only see
me as a hunting prize. A beauty to look at.
I miss you. I miss the other elephants. I
wish you would come take me away from this
place. It just hurts too much.
Love,
Eric
"Well I think this has been enough stress for one day?
Hm?
Why don't you leave this with me and we can discuss it at our next meeting?"
"Yeah. That would be good.
And
Ma'am? How do I get out of here? I had enough trouble getting in."
*laughs* "I'll walk you out."
. . .
author's note
This story was partially inspired by the first time I went to see a therapist and partially by the story about the King's White Elephant. I was just flabbergasted that the king just took the son and there was nothing after that. You know? Like no "and the father searched for his son until his death" or "the father was glad his son could have a better life". Nothing!! So I wanted to write a story about the son trying to seek closure and comfort in this strange world he has found himself in.
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Hey Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteWell that was a strange combination I wasn’t expecting. Your use of color to indicate who the speaker was worked well, I think, though I still would have appreciated some more typical “said”s, etc. And maybe it would interrupt the flow a little less if you used full descriptive sentences in place of the *...* thing?
Thanks for the story,
A.M.
Hey Lindsey!
ReplyDeleteWow! This was such a unique story. The sentence structure, the use of color, and even the font all added so much character to your work. I was confused at the start. I wasn't sure where your story was heading. But I liked that. I enjoyed your work and that it wasn't a typical story. Great work!!
This was an interesting read. Once I caught on that the color of the text indicated who was speaking, I thought it was really clever. Though, the spacing and punctuation combined with the short sentences made it feel choppy and a bit stilted. I do appreciate that we get to see the narrator's inner monologue. I can definitely relate to the anxiety of being in a new place and being hyper-conscious of everything you're doing.
ReplyDelete