Chapter 5
Silence hung in the air uncomfortably as her answer took eternities to register with him. He had thought it possible that she was a part of him, but there was one glaring issue that he couldn’t reconcile, and so he did the only thing he could think of to do.
“If you’re a part of me, well……well then…..” he paused, trying to come up with a way to not be offensive though in the end, he decided to just forge ahead “Well then, why are you, well, a ’She’?"
She thought about this for a moment, trying to come up with an answer that wouldn’t shock him too much. After careful consideration, she replied.
“Well, to be honest, I’m not completely sure? But, I don’t think that matters that much. What I can tell you is what I am.”
“Ok, well, now you’ve got my attention. What are you? And for that matter, what is He?” he asked, gesturing to nothing and no one in particular.
“I guess you could call me your inner child?” stated the Inner Child, “And I guess that makes him…well, he seems stuck up, no fun, and all business so… he’s your maturity?” She posed questioningly, getting a rather loud “Harumph!” from Maturity, who, despite that outburst, stayed silent.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” she giggled before continuing. “I’m the part of you who wants to play, to have fun, and to help you forget about how bad the world can be. I can help you, if you let me.”
The sincerity in her voice was genuine, he could feel that much, But this was all just so much to take in. True his life wasn’t where it should be, and he was suffering more and more depressive episodes lately, but he figured this was all cyclical and he would come out of it in the end just like he always had. Although each time was getting more difficult. If she really was offering a lifeline, a way to help him feel better, then maybe the wise choice would be to listen, to take her up on her offer. It seemed easy enough after all. All she wanted him to do was get a stuffed animal, not that he really knew how that was going to help, and it was a simple enough request. Yet something gnawed at the fringes of his mind, and that familiar doubt began to take root….and in that moment, he could have sworn that he heard something, something less than a whisper, but still there. He tried to focus, to make out that sound, but as he strained, it vanished and the doubt began to recede.
“Ok. You say you can help me? Alright, I don’t think you’re asking too much from me here. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen…it’s just a stuffed animal, right?”
“Yep! That’s all you need!” she exclaimed happily. “For now anyway.” she whispered, barely audible.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” he asked, suddenly concerned.
“Hm? Oh sorry, I was thinking aloud, you can ignore me. Just me bein a little silly goose.” she laughed.
He didn’t really know whether or not to believe her at that moment. But as he mulled it over, he chose to believe her. After all, she hadn’t given him a reason to believe that she would hurt him. While “Maturity” had been very reserved with his information, and forceful in his instruction, she was kinder, softer, gentler, and very forthcoming when it came to answering his questions.
“Alright, well, how do we go about this then?” He asked, wanting to get this over with.
“Look, I appreciate your eagerness here, but it’s late, and you’ve had a lot happen today. You need to rest. Tomorrow is a Saturday, so get some rest and we can keep going in the morning, ok?”
It was pretty late, he was very tired, so he conceded “Ok, fair enough, we can pick this up in the morning. I guess I’ll see you then?”
He waited, but she didn’t respond. I guess she’s done for the night, he thought to himself, and proceeded to get ready for bed. As he laid down, he got the distinct feeling that something was coming. Something big, but at this point he couldn’t tell if it was for better or for worse and that made him anxious, but also excited. As he drifted off to sleep he heard “Maturity” muttering under his breath.
“……..terrible idea……..why did I let him talk to her………they’re not going to like this……”