Ｔｈｅ Ｌｅｇｅｎｄ Ｏｆ𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐲 - ON GALATEA

THREE

Evening 2,575

She played with her hands nervously as she sat in the circle with other women. Amanda was giving her testimony while all of them listened and eventually would provide their support. She was in this support group for years. It didn't help much, but she knew coming here eased the worries of her family.

So every week– every Friday –she would get into her car, get a coffee, and walk into the building. She'd grab her chair, move next to a woman, and sit down, listening to their horror stories.

Lea couldn't finish. She started to sob. No one yelled at her. Everyone understood. They said comforting words to her, and she requested another to go.

Looking behind her, she knew that there was another group, just like this one. Except the one in the other room was for men who experienced a similar situation as them. Sometimes she would hear screaming coming from a guy. She knew it was because someone said something that hit a nerve. Other times, she would hear absolutely nothing, and on those nights, she knew that hardly anyone showed up.

In this group, the women always showed up.

She looked back at Amanda who was absolutely losing it. She stood and walked to the blonde. "Hey, let's go to the bathroom. Running some water over your face would be nice."

"I'm okay," Lea sobbed softly.

"No, you're not," she responded, moving a strand from her eyes, "but that's okay."

The two women walked into the restroom. Lea went to the sink, cupping some water and splashing her face, She sighed softly, her hands cupping the sink counter. Lea stared down at her hands.

She stood a bit away, following Lea's eyes. She could see cuff marks around her wrists. Lea rubbed the old wounds as the other woman handed her a paper towel to dry herself.

Lea sighed softly. She wiped her face. "They won't fade. Silver's a bitch."

"Sometimes certain herbs may help lighten them."

Lea remained quiet. She threw away the paper towel. "You're so quiet during session."

"Talking doesn't help me much anymore. And I don't quite feel like it's my place."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been a part of this group for years, and I'm still fucked."

"It doesn't get easier?"

She looked at Lea with a sad face. She bit her lip, shaking her head slowly. "It gets normal."

The women returned to the session where another person was explaining their feelings. A few more minutes and the session ended. The girls walked each other out to their cars. While everyone left, she remained in the dark protected by her car's locks. She didn't want to go home. Going home meant seeing her parents. Seeing her parents meant their sad gaze on her, filled with pity. And then she would go to bed, only to wake up and go to another group counseling session. Sundays were her days of rest. Mondays she had her psychiatry, Tuesdays she had her other therapy appointment, Wednesdays were their family session, Thursdays were her physical therapy appointments.

It was never-ending, yet never helping. She was still terrified of everything. Scared to be alone, scared to be with people. Scared to trust herself, scared to trust others. Scared of loud sounds, scared of the penetrating silence.

She took medication. Medicine for her depression. Medicine for her anxiety. Medicine to help sleep. Medicine to help her mood swings. Medicine for the pain.