Terror Bonding

Gaslight me this gaslight me that who is afraid?

Terror Bonding.

Just a day like any other -- sitting down here at a Café admiring the different cycles enacted by the passers-by; on the adjacent tables -- a theatre of Café-life.

The couple holding hands clearly getting closer by the minute; ready to put lip upon lip….

How endearing, I thought.

The old and refined gentleman with a well mannered beard, reading a book about The Renaissance with some elegant bifocals --a relic from the olden days.

How cute is his demeanour? I wondered.

The two businessmen clicking their Life astray onto laptops and other handheld devices -- an allegory for modern life demands.

Busy- busy- busy, I whispered.

You had a café latte and I had the café machiatto and you asked me:

“How are you feeling since he is gone?”

I confessed to you that I miss him like crazy -- Tom is my life, my partner, my constant craving " “but Kathy, don’t you think you are better off without him in your life?” You asked. Which took me back to the first time I met him. Tom was tall, Tom was tanned, Tom was handsome as f**k. I remember getting into cheerleading only so I could see him playing football on the field. He invited me out that night and we ended up f*****g In his car.

“Yes, Kathy, but he was so rough, so hard you ended up in A & E.,” you said. I told you, he Is mad about me, Tom is ‘rough-and-ready,’ that’s why… he didn’t really mean to hurt me. And that other time when we went to meet his parent and I had that lovely dress, specially made and it was expensive too. His parent were so proud that Tom was going out with such a lovely girl. “Yes, Kathy, but wasn’t that the night when he hit you for talking too much,?” you interrupted. Well, yes, but that was an accident, you know accidents happen. He didn’t like the dress and he made me take it off on the car and my zipper got stuck and he was pulling it and that’s why… he didn’t really mean to hurt me.

The little old lady on the side was knitting a lovely tea cosy -- the floral display; it was so intricate.

“That’s lovely,” I said to her.

“Thank you, dear,” she replied.

At the back the students laughing, enjoying the anecdotes about university times.

“Those days,” I said in reminiscence.

“Kathy, I’m your friend and I care about you. Tom systematically embarrassed you and put you down, acted in ways which scared you and the rest of us, took your money and at times refuse to give it back, made all of the decisions for you and you say he didn’t mean to hurt you?” You questioned.

I know Tom comes across as overwhelming, but that’s just because he wants to show me how much he cares, I don’t know what I would do without Tom in my life. It’s been nearly seven years " you become accustomed. We all have good sides and bad sides. Even that time when I came back late because I had a few drinks and while I was getting off the taxi and about to pay, my skirt got all tangled up " it’s my fault for wearing such short skirt " Tom came out to help…

“To help? Kathy, he accused the taxi driver" which name was Mr. Robson " of looking at you in a sexual and inappropriate manner, and that it was his fault "‘your taxi, your f**k up, mate,’ the witnesses heard him say. Kathy, he hit him in the face and the Police came, they took him an he got done for common assault. He was lucky it was only his first offence,” you remembered.

“Didn’t he cut the dress with scissors and made you watch while cutting it?” you asked. Yeah, well, as I said it was my fault " dress too tight.

“Kathy after ten years we all knew it, just most didn’t want to interfere,” you confessed. “Despite what many believe, I know Tom’s abuse is not caused by him ‘losing control’ over his emotions. In fact, the abuse is a deliberate choice used to control you " his victim,” you emphasized.

You guys just don’t know him like I do:

I identify with him from the inside out.

I can see when he is overly preoccupied with me--he is doing me a favour by controlling me.

Without Tom I’m alone, he is the only one that really understands me and knows what I need.

“Kathy it was all a matter of Time" one day it was going to happen" the Police were called because the neighbours heard screams coming out of your house. The police found him, knife in hand, you were severely cut "it was the twelfth time" Kathy,” the tone of desperation made me cry.

Yeah, but he didn’t mean to hurt me.

“Kathy Section 20 doesn’t lie " unlawful and malicious wounding of a person. In short, anybody deemed to ‘unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict GBH on another person, shall be guilty’. The judge gave Tom twelve years pending on psychiatric evaluation,” you said.

We stood and began walking through the city. It was a lovely day in Stockholm " what better time to walk through Skansen open-air museum " the birds chirping, the frogs leaping, the radiance of the sun streaming.

“He will get better right Emily?” I asked.

“He really doesn’t mean it when it gets bad,” I reassured her.

“Kathy very soon it will be time for your therapy,” you said.

Coming out of the open park. It was a day like any other and we walked to Ms. Wolfsen the therapist " life was bursting out " it was a festival of nature’s gentle stride.

“Kathy”, you said while holding my hands.

“I will be here with you,” you promised me.

“One day at the time, Kathy?

One day at the time,” I said. As I head to my appointment.

Reviews

[Dust That Drifts Throug..]

I hope Kathy will get the therapy she needs

[M. Wellon]

There's both a story, and some good writing. Although I identified with Kathy enough to care about her character, you did a good job of keep me at bay by placing both her and Tom squarely in Camp Pathology. Your indirect characterization of Kathy's friend worked pretty well for me.

I stumbled a little on the dialog formatting. When you went from, "'Kathy', you said while holding my hands.', to, "'I will be here with you,' you promised me.", I expected a different character, not a continuation of dialog from Kathy's friend. Minor point, and could be argued as stylistic license, but it took me out of the story for a moment.

Good job!