Chapter 12: Three Wishes
"Would you say you love your father, Eric?"
"Eric?"
"Eric, can you hear me?"
Eric was daydreaming, like he had been for the last five minutes. He was always daydreaming about his future these days.
"Eric?"
He was finally broken from his trance after the third persistent calling of his name.
"Ye...yes?" he questioned unsure of what his new psychiatrist, Mrs. Walker was going on about!
Mrs. Walker was a small kind of women with wavy long brown hair and kind emerald eyes. She wore a light brown suit jacket and a long brown skirt. She was quite slim and had a warm smile, which reminded Eric of his own mother's smile.
"I asked you if you love your father, Eric"
"I thought I did" he half whispered and half mimed.
But being a psychiatrist she was very good at listening and heard exactly what he said.
"You thought, you mean your relationship or feelings towards your father have changed. Would you say you do not feel love towards your father any more?"
Eric fell silent for a few seconds. He didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth to say something but the words wouldn't come out. So he just gave up and sat there, staring at the pale blue ground beneath his feet.
"Ok, Eric, maybe we'll go back to that some other time" she stated smiling sincerely.
For a moment Mrs. Walker slightly reminded him of Ms. Brumewood. She didn't seem the way he had pictured her. He thought she'd be sitting there, staring at him and waiting for an answer, showing no actual care towards him.
"Eric, if you had three wishes, what would they be?"
Eric was puzzled by this question. Not because he could not answer it but because he thought it was a pretty weird question to be asked by a psychiatrist.
"I don't know...I guess I would want a million dollars, my own TV show and Olivia Newton-John as my girlfriend," He said letting a smile form on his lips.
"Is that so?" She said chuckling slightly. "I hear your something of a comedian! Do you think we could be serious for a second?"
"...Sure" he answered.
"I guess what I would really want would be..." he thought for a few seconds, his cheeky grin fading.
"I would want my mum to be awake, and my dad not to be ill and treat me with love and compassion and...and I would want to be the way I was, before my dad got...ill" He stared down at the floor again, trying to conceal his pain.
"Well, sometimes wishes do come true, let's just hope some of your wishes come true!"
"Yer" he mumbled back.
Mrs. Walker was still smiling slightly. "What would you call your TV show then?"
Eric's smile began to reappear.
"Well I did always want my own TV show called 'My Crazy Life', or something like that, and I'd be the star of it, and get really famous, then everyone would take more notice of me!"
"Really, and is that you want, to be noticed more?"
"I guess"
"Even getting noticed for being famous has its problems you know" she commented and then paused.
"I know, but it has to be better than my life"
Mrs. Walker sighed for a moment before speaking again.
"Eric, it's not our problems that make our lives, it's the way we deal with them, there are some things in life we can't control that aren't our faults, but there are a lot of things that you can control, remember that."
Eric looked up. No one had ever given him advice like that before. He nodded in reply and glanced around the room not knowing whether he should say anything in reply to what she had just said.
"Sometimes it's hard to get over our problems and get on with our lives, but it's not impossible. But the only way I can help you is if you talk to me. Are you ready to talk about what happened to you, Eric?"
He nodded again avoiding Mrs. Walker's eyes.
"Alright then, Eric"
As she sat in the big green woolly chair opposite Eric's bed she leaned over the arm of it and ducked her hands into a small black briefcase slumped to the side of Eric's bedside table. When she pulled hand out of the bag a small notepad lay in her hands a long with a black silver rimmed pen.
"If you want to stop at any time just tell me, Eric"
Again he nodded.
Eric noticed that every one of Mrs. Walker's speeches or questions ended or begun with his name. He thought it to be quite humorous and grinned slightly to himself.
"Now, Eric, can you tell me when you began to notice something wrong with your father?"
His grin had faded as he begun to answer.
"Well, probably when he first...hit me" Eric gulped at the thought. He hated having to think about it again.
"Did you tell anyone about him hitting you, Eric?"
Eric shook his head slowly.
"Why was that, Eric?"
"I don't know, I just didn't want to get into trouble, I thought if I just behaved as well as I could then he wouldn't do it again...I guess I was wrong"
"After this happened why did you think he had hit you?"
"Because I tried to stand up to him, he was always bullying me and making me do chores every minute of the day, I just told him I was sick of it, but then he..." Eric felt a lump in his throat and stopped his sentence abruptly.
"Did you have a bruise from where he hit you, Eric?"
He nodded sheepishly.
"And, Eric, didn't anybody notice this bruise?"
"Yes"
"What did you tell them had happened?"
"I told her a tree had jumped out in front of me," Eric said smiling to himself.
Mrs. Walker also smiled.
"And who is this she?"
"My best friend, Donna"
"And why didn't you tell your best friend what had really happened?"
"I didn't want her to know, I didn't want anybody to know"
"Why didn't you want anyone to know, Eric?"
"I don't know I just didn't, I thought it was just a once off thing, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it"
"But it wasn't just once off thing was it Eric"
Eric shook his head again. "No"
"How often did your father hit you, Eric?"
Eric's breathing began to get heavier and he could feel the sting of tears beginning to wash over his eyes. He felt slightly queasy and trying to change the subject asked:
"Di...did you know that every time you speak you say my name? No offence but it gets slightly annoying after a while."
"Well, I'm sorry if I've annoyed you Er..."
Mrs. Walker trailed off and laughed slightly.
"Oh, yes I see what you mean, I hadn't even noticed, well, if you want to know my fore name it's Angela, Angie for short" she smiled warmly.
"I'd really like to stop now if that all right" Eric asked pleading with his eyes, which were slightly moist.
"Ok, we've almost run out of time anyway, I'll see you tomorrow then, Eric!" She said emphasising on his name deliberately.
"Thanks" he said as he watched her leave.
It was hard, but he'd get through it no matter what it took.
Well this is the whole of chapter 12; sorry it took so long my Internet wasn't working, it still isn't I'm updating this from a friend's house! Well hope you enjoyed it, I'll put more up as soon as possible! Cya, luv, Cesca, x
"Would you say you love your father, Eric?"
"Eric?"
"Eric, can you hear me?"
Eric was daydreaming, like he had been for the last five minutes. He was always daydreaming about his future these days.
"Eric?"
He was finally broken from his trance after the third persistent calling of his name.
"Ye...yes?" he questioned unsure of what his new psychiatrist, Mrs. Walker was going on about!
Mrs. Walker was a small kind of women with wavy long brown hair and kind emerald eyes. She wore a light brown suit jacket and a long brown skirt. She was quite slim and had a warm smile, which reminded Eric of his own mother's smile.
"I asked you if you love your father, Eric"
"I thought I did" he half whispered and half mimed.
But being a psychiatrist she was very good at listening and heard exactly what he said.
"You thought, you mean your relationship or feelings towards your father have changed. Would you say you do not feel love towards your father any more?"
Eric fell silent for a few seconds. He didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth to say something but the words wouldn't come out. So he just gave up and sat there, staring at the pale blue ground beneath his feet.
"Ok, Eric, maybe we'll go back to that some other time" she stated smiling sincerely.
For a moment Mrs. Walker slightly reminded him of Ms. Brumewood. She didn't seem the way he had pictured her. He thought she'd be sitting there, staring at him and waiting for an answer, showing no actual care towards him.
"Eric, if you had three wishes, what would they be?"
Eric was puzzled by this question. Not because he could not answer it but because he thought it was a pretty weird question to be asked by a psychiatrist.
"I don't know...I guess I would want a million dollars, my own TV show and Olivia Newton-John as my girlfriend," He said letting a smile form on his lips.
"Is that so?" She said chuckling slightly. "I hear your something of a comedian! Do you think we could be serious for a second?"
"...Sure" he answered.
"I guess what I would really want would be..." he thought for a few seconds, his cheeky grin fading.
"I would want my mum to be awake, and my dad not to be ill and treat me with love and compassion and...and I would want to be the way I was, before my dad got...ill" He stared down at the floor again, trying to conceal his pain.
"Well, sometimes wishes do come true, let's just hope some of your wishes come true!"
"Yer" he mumbled back.
Mrs. Walker was still smiling slightly. "What would you call your TV show then?"
Eric's smile began to reappear.
"Well I did always want my own TV show called 'My Crazy Life', or something like that, and I'd be the star of it, and get really famous, then everyone would take more notice of me!"
"Really, and is that you want, to be noticed more?"
"I guess"
"Even getting noticed for being famous has its problems you know" she commented and then paused.
"I know, but it has to be better than my life"
Mrs. Walker sighed for a moment before speaking again.
"Eric, it's not our problems that make our lives, it's the way we deal with them, there are some things in life we can't control that aren't our faults, but there are a lot of things that you can control, remember that."
Eric looked up. No one had ever given him advice like that before. He nodded in reply and glanced around the room not knowing whether he should say anything in reply to what she had just said.
"Sometimes it's hard to get over our problems and get on with our lives, but it's not impossible. But the only way I can help you is if you talk to me. Are you ready to talk about what happened to you, Eric?"
He nodded again avoiding Mrs. Walker's eyes.
"Alright then, Eric"
As she sat in the big green woolly chair opposite Eric's bed she leaned over the arm of it and ducked her hands into a small black briefcase slumped to the side of Eric's bedside table. When she pulled hand out of the bag a small notepad lay in her hands a long with a black silver rimmed pen.
"If you want to stop at any time just tell me, Eric"
Again he nodded.
Eric noticed that every one of Mrs. Walker's speeches or questions ended or begun with his name. He thought it to be quite humorous and grinned slightly to himself.
"Now, Eric, can you tell me when you began to notice something wrong with your father?"
His grin had faded as he begun to answer.
"Well, probably when he first...hit me" Eric gulped at the thought. He hated having to think about it again.
"Did you tell anyone about him hitting you, Eric?"
Eric shook his head slowly.
"Why was that, Eric?"
"I don't know, I just didn't want to get into trouble, I thought if I just behaved as well as I could then he wouldn't do it again...I guess I was wrong"
"After this happened why did you think he had hit you?"
"Because I tried to stand up to him, he was always bullying me and making me do chores every minute of the day, I just told him I was sick of it, but then he..." Eric felt a lump in his throat and stopped his sentence abruptly.
"Did you have a bruise from where he hit you, Eric?"
He nodded sheepishly.
"And, Eric, didn't anybody notice this bruise?"
"Yes"
"What did you tell them had happened?"
"I told her a tree had jumped out in front of me," Eric said smiling to himself.
Mrs. Walker also smiled.
"And who is this she?"
"My best friend, Donna"
"And why didn't you tell your best friend what had really happened?"
"I didn't want her to know, I didn't want anybody to know"
"Why didn't you want anyone to know, Eric?"
"I don't know I just didn't, I thought it was just a once off thing, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it"
"But it wasn't just once off thing was it Eric"
Eric shook his head again. "No"
"How often did your father hit you, Eric?"
Eric's breathing began to get heavier and he could feel the sting of tears beginning to wash over his eyes. He felt slightly queasy and trying to change the subject asked:
"Di...did you know that every time you speak you say my name? No offence but it gets slightly annoying after a while."
"Well, I'm sorry if I've annoyed you Er..."
Mrs. Walker trailed off and laughed slightly.
"Oh, yes I see what you mean, I hadn't even noticed, well, if you want to know my fore name it's Angela, Angie for short" she smiled warmly.
"I'd really like to stop now if that all right" Eric asked pleading with his eyes, which were slightly moist.
"Ok, we've almost run out of time anyway, I'll see you tomorrow then, Eric!" She said emphasising on his name deliberately.
"Thanks" he said as he watched her leave.
It was hard, but he'd get through it no matter what it took.
Well this is the whole of chapter 12; sorry it took so long my Internet wasn't working, it still isn't I'm updating this from a friend's house! Well hope you enjoyed it, I'll put more up as soon as possible! Cya, luv, Cesca, x