15 for 15 Contest --- Closed

JUNE 17-ICE

“Morning, Kai.” Dr. Jasper Harding said quietly as he watched his patient slog across the office, retrieve his blanket from a small closet and settle himself on the large couch. “Rough night? You look a bit ragged, talk to me.”

Kai shrugged inside the heavy deep blue blanket and sighed. Yes he’s had a rough night, but four out of seven of his nights were as Jasper put it ‘rough’. He hated that the man kept asking him stupid questions. Therapy was supposed to help they had told the struggling twenty-three year old; was supposed to get him in touch with all the bad memories, in touch with all his insecurities, in touch with his mother’s gross neglect, in touch with the trauma of his father’s vicious attack on him three months ago but it seemed to Kai that all therapy had done for him so far was open him up to more pain, more fear and more nightmares. If he could he’d stop seeing Jasper and happily go back to getting knocked around by his dad a few times a month and reading his books for escape.

“Yea bad night; so what’s new?” He shot back hoping to sound mad but failing. What good did mad get you anyway.

“Kai tell me something.” Jasper began, “If you could compare yourself to anything, anything at all what would it be?”

Stupid question the young man thought, very stupid but he figured he’d better come up with an answer. He pulled the blanket up tighter around his shoulders cursing the office for always being so cold and thought for a moment.

“Iceberg.” He mumbled. Good he thought that ought to throw him.

“Interesting. Why? Explain that choice to me.” Jasper said intrigued and surprised by the choice. “Aside from the fact that you are always cold.”

“Simple, they fall off glaciers right. They’re ‘birthed’ from huge barren, unforgiving frigid hunks of ice that support little or no life. They drop off into a frozen sea, never to touch home again then spend their frozen miserable lives floating aimlessly, with now way to control their direction and for the rest of their existence until little by little by little they melt away leaving no trace and for the most part never having been seen by anyone, recognized by anyone they are completely alone, completely abandoned completely just frozen. That’s me; just a great big chunk of frozen, gray, colorless meat drifting around falling apart bit by miserable bit. My mother was a sociopath without feelings for me or possibly anyone and everyone else just watches me shrivel up and vanish.”

“There are some who find glaciers and icebergs very beautiful.”

“Sure and there are people who collect dog shit and sculpt it into statues, but dog shit’s dog shit. And do not throw some ice sculpture analogy at me either because no matter the beauty they melt.”

“True but I was focusing more positively. You are capable of steering your life Kai. And yes ice sculptures do melt but conversely Kai if we gather the water we can refreeze it and start again, as many times as we wish. Second chances Kai third chances that is what is special about the ice. Take those chances.”