After one client had canceled an appointment out of nowhere, telling Jason that she ‘was simply too tired to come in’. She was too tired to come in? She canceled the appointment that was two weeks in advanced and he skimmed at the calendar and saw that she was in the last time with him. It bothered Jason that he couldn’t always remember, fuzzy memories and all of that, because his memory was impeccable. He could usually remember things from those weeks… unless. Unless. There was now not a doubt in his mind that Crane was using his old methods, methods that Jason couldn’t even begin to understand and he sighed, searching his office for the notes. What he found instead, well, it was quite puzzling. It was a letter, addressed to Jason, perfect handwriting, with no return address. It was clear that a woman wrote it.
The way he opened the letter was slow and methodical; he didn’t want to rip a single thing, and when he unfolded the letter he felt his stomach drop. It had taken him a long time but he had recognized the handwriting of the letter the whole time and he wanted to crinkle it up, throw it on a ball in the trash. Or better yet, it belonged in a fire, no trace that it was ever there, just up in smoke where it belonged. However, he read it. He didn’t want to but his morbid curiosity of the situation, what she had to say, the fact that she was still alive after all of these years, he was morbidly curious as to what was going on.
I’m sure you’re wondering why on earth I’m writing to you after so many years. As I sit to write this, I wonder myself. The truth of the matter is, Jason, I could care less what is going on with your life right now. You left the flock long ago and that was never my responsibility. Your mother might have thought otherwise but my daughter was never the brightest woman on the earth.
Yes, I’ve referred to her in the third person, since you’re mother has passed. She succumbed to her struggles with alcohol and, later on, pills. See Jason, after you left, she spiraled even further down a rabbit hole that she could not escape from. She survived, thanks to me and my excellent care of her. She even went to rehabilitation for a while, with the hope that it would make you want to see her again. It was such a pity she was not that bright.
I could have written you countless times about many things and she died ages ago, it had to be at least ten, but now I am dying. It is time for me to be with the Lord. In fact, by the time you read this letter, I’ll likely be righteously in heaven where I belong. It’s not too late to save your own soul, Jason, even though I know you never will. You were always like him, like your father, a wretched man who destroyed my daughter’s life. In fact, it was you who killed her. If you had never left, she wouldn’t have been entirely bad off. I hope you can live with that for the rest of your life.
They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
The fire was the best place for this little note, which she had even refused to address or sign. It had been over twenty years since they had been in any sort of contact and now she decided to write to him. Perhaps he was better equipped to handle it now, sure, but now while he was dealing with Crane, with this other side who hid things from him, who made him forget parts of himself. That was exactly what she had done years ago. That was why he needed to get out all those years ago. After turning his office upside down with no luck, he gave up. His vacation was fast approaching and now he wasn’t even sure how he was to handle that, as a man who didn’t vacation. He supposed he would try and make the best of it but time would tell. It always did.