Page 96 - Musings 2022

I love my daughter more than anything. The thought that she would be taken from me kept

hitting me in waves that night. I was reminded of the other person whom I had lost and I
couldn’t bear to feel that once again. The feeling of helplessness, of pain. So, I decided to end

it once and for all. At the very last second, just before we were about to hit the pole, I came to
my senses and veered off at the last second. If I hadn’t done that neither me nor my daughter

would be alive today.”

The man broke down. Tears streaming down his face now without any dam.
“I am going to lose the case, aren’t I?” he asked the therapist

The therapist hesitated before moving her head in a slight nod.
The sobs got louder, the man: all over the place.

“Listen, It’s all right! You have much bigger problems than losing a custody battle. You can’t

take care of your daughter, if you can’t take care of yourself. Based on your profile, it is highly
probable that you are suffering from PTSD and anxiety. If left untreated, it could have

devastating consequences in your life. You must take serious professional help. I would be
more than happy to refer you to a very good doctor, a friend of mine.”

“I am not a nutcase!” the man said revoltingly.
“I am not saying you are. Look!” She scribbled a name and a number on a piece of paper and

extended it towards him.

The paper lay dangling in the space, the man eyeing it suspiciously and the therapist pushing
it ever so slightly towards him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the man extended

his own arm, gingerly and accepted the paper.
“Good. Be sure to follow up on it. I’ll be checking with him to see that you are” the therapist

said as she closed his file and put it on a pile among countless others.

The man nodded defeatedly. He emerged from the club chair that pulled him back and wrangled
his feet out of the office. The lungs filled themselves with the fresh air of the outside world,

the eyes beheld the beauty it had to offer and the mind felt only one thing- hope.

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