‘Can I ask what happened?’
He hadn’t moved from his spot, and she was grateful for the distance that remained between them.
‘There was a fire in my office building and I got caught in it. Badly.’
‘I see.’
‘I’m sorry. You don’t need to hear any of this, you don’t even know me!’ She desperately looked round for the quickest way back inside.
‘I asked you the question! You’re simply doing me the honour of answering it.’
Alice smiled.
‘I guess so.’
‘Can I ask you another question?’ There was such frailty in his voice that it made Alice want to bundle him up and get him inside for his own safety.
‘OK …’
‘What do you see when you look at that tree over there?’
She saw his dark figure point in the direction of a giant gnarled oak tree standing tall in the centre of the front lawn.
Maybe I’m not the only crazy one around here.
‘I’m not really sure … I just see a tree.’ Alice was starting to panic. Maybe he was insane. Was she safe? Should she run?
‘OK. Well, how would youdescribethe big tree over there?’
Alice looked harder at the twisted branches, the flaking bark and the giant roots bursting through the earth.
‘Wise. Majestic. Powerful. Beautiful.’ As she spoke the words, her body began to relax. Mother Nature really was an artist.
‘Exactly. You don’t look at that damaged, weathered, worn-out tree and see it as flawed, do you? Our scars are simply the marks of our stories. They show we’ve lived our life, and most of all that we have survived it. Don’t hide your story away in the shadows.’
The words hit her like bullets. She felt the ground beneath her shift as waves of emotion crashed over her one after another, relentless and unyielding. The rawness and vulnerability of his words had blindsided her. She hadn’t been prepared for it and she found herself unravelling right there and then.
Without thinking, Alice stepped boldly out of the shadows. The orange haze of the streetlights washed over her, and she saw the old man move tentatively towards her.
‘Ah, just as I thought. You have a wonderful story to tell.’
He bowed ever so slightly and then turned to leave. Alice watched his tiny figure disappear into the endless darkness. She stood there until her fingers turned numb and the sun began to rise.
It seemed the kindness of strangers would save her once more. Maybe it was time to close the book on her old life and start a new chapter.
69
Alfie
‘Hi Alfie. Thanks for joining me today.’
‘No problem at all. I’m paying for it so might as well show up, right?’
Idiot.
Rule number one: don’t joke with therapists.
She offered him an awkward smile at least. ‘So. It says in your notes that you’ve been suffering with depression since your accident. Is that right?’
