Red Room

7

So, for the following 10 years, Joakim amd Moloch developped some kind of a father-son relationship. The boy felt happier than ever during that period and so did the man. However, unlike the boy, Mr. Ek had to deal with a darker side of life too. His contact with Kirsten stopped. Not that they'd ever been close to each other, but she hadn't sent him anything in ages. Neither did she answer to any of his letters or phone calls. The last piece of her current life that he had received from her was a photograph of her daughter, Kata... something, on her 1st day of school. And that was around 8 years ago.

One can imagine how great the bond between the two of them was just by the fact that he couldn't even get the name of his hranddaughter right. Sad, wasn't it? Not to mention that Kirsten was his only child ever. Well, she was.

Although he was pained by no longer knowing anything about the only relative that he still had, his little patient still managed to make him happy one way or another. It seemed that he was the only person the man had left.

The same went for Moloch. Everybody else in the asylum treated him coldly and he lost all contact with his "family" after the murder attempt. It was pointless to say that he didn't keep in toich with the orphanage either because those had never truly been interested in him anyway. Mr. Ek had become his everything.

Too bad that just a few months after Moloch's eighteenth birthday, the doctor had to retire. He had reached the age limit and was no longer considered able to handle the job.

Both of them were extremely saddened by the event. They knew that they'd never see each other again. Not even exchanging phone numbers was possible, as Moloch had no personal phone. Oh well...

Soon enough, the boy would get out, find a job and make a life for himself. Joakim had faith that he was able to succeed in whatever he wanted. He was a good boy. It was a pity that he wasn't going to see him succeeding.

Truth to be told, Moloch felt like his world was falling apart. What was he going to do all alone? He was aware that he was going to receive a new psychiatrist to have therapy with him, but whoever that would be, they'd never get half as close to him as Mr. Ek did.

Also, what was he going to do after getting out? He wasn't submitted there for life, was he? In his trauma, he played the role of the victim, not the criminal. So, he had to get out of there sooner or later. Ok, but how will he cope with life later on? How is he going to get a job, a place to live in and whatever he needed all by himself? Is the staff of the asylum going to help him? Hopefully.

Fast-forward to a few weeks later, Joakim had already had enough of staying home. He felt like he was trapped in a dull, short storyline, that kept repeating itself, with no way of escaping. He'd wake up, eat, wander around the neighborhood, ocasionally talk to neighbors, return home, watch the same things on television and go to sleep. The boredom was becoming sickening. He was in desperate need of something to get him out of this routine... something out of the usual. Otherwise he'd go insane!

Well, Joakim wasn't really certain going mad was a bad thing. Then, he'd go back to the asylum and meet Moloch again. Sure, in case he hadn't left already.

Who was he kidding? By the time he'd be submitted there, Moloch would have left that place behind long ago.

If I keep thinking like this, I'll end up suffering from depression as well, he concluded.

It would be funny though- a psychiatrist developing mental ilnesses. What an ironic turn of events.

But to his surprise, and why not joy, that thing that ought to be his escape from the ordinary finally happened. Everything started one dull morning, just like each one until then had been. Joakim woke up and headed downstairs to the kitchen to eat something as always, when the telephone rang. That ringing itself was a rare sound. Nobody really wanted to get in touch with the man, which was quite disappointing for him. Had he been that much of a horrible man?

"Hello.", Joakin picked up the receiver, "Joakim Ek on the phone."

"Hi, dad.", responded a womanly voice, "It's Kirsten."

His heart started to skip beats. She remembered him! Oh, had he missed hearing her voice! He had even forgot what she sounded like.

"Oh my God, Kirsten!", he almost squealed, "It's been years since we last talked! How are you, what have you been doing? What's new with your family?"

"Eh, I've been very busy in the past years. You see, the army demands a lot. So yeah, sorry for not giving any signs lately. I just couldn't find the time, going from one mission to another."

"I understand... But tell me about your family! How's your husband? And your daughter? It's been so long since I last heard of them that I can't even remember their names."

"Uh, well... Matthias has been in a mission in Syria for the past 6 months. You know, with the war and all. And he's been very heavily wounded. Now he's in hospital. The staff said they'll do their best to save him, but up to now nothing's for sure...", her voice changed drastically when she explained her husband's situation. She went from ok to devastated in a matter of moments.

Now that he heard the latest news, the man felt guilty for asking her about the family, "Oh... I'm so, so sorry to hear that. I can imagine what feelings you're going through right now..."

Kirsten sighed, "You don't have to be sorry if you didn't do anything. Yeah, we're down, but there's nothing to do about it yet."

"I see... And the little one, if you don't mind me asking? How's she doing?"

"Kataleya's fine for the most part. School's going just fine, finished the year with high marks. We're very proud of her. But she's had a hard time integrating. Me and Matthias have been to school a few times because of bullying, or because she got in fights with bullies..."

"Oh. Did things get better?"

"Yeah, slightly. Anyway, talking about Kataleya, there's this huge favor I need to ask from you."

"Say."

"I'm gonna go to Syria for the next 6 months to replace Matthias and... could you accommodate her in this period, at yours, in Stockholm? She really needs somebody to be there for her and her father being nearly dead doesn't really help, you know? I already transfered her to a highschool there. Pretty please?"

In other words, his task would be the following: be a father figure for Kataleya for the next half of an year. Shelter her, feed her and help her deal with her social anxiety. Doable, especially since his job had been helping people deal with much worse mental diseases. And even if it wouldn't have been that way, how could he say 'no' to his daughter?

"Of course. When is she coming?"

"Well, I have to leave on Sunday evening, so is Sunday morning all right?"

"I'll be waiting for her at the station."