Worthwhile

Despite my hectic schedule yesterday, during one of the breaks before my next patient came in there was a knock on my door unexpectedly. "Come in.."

And there she was. Those bright shiny eyes.
Those eyes that should really be filled with loads of laughter, shining heavily with joy.
I will always remember those eyes.

"Hi Ms Miza. I've news for you."

I've not seen her for weeks. In fact, she had peeked into my busy mind early that morning left me wondering where could she be. She's having holidays, I thought smartly. She has an appointment with me scheduled for today in fact so I'll be seeing her. So seeing her yesterday was a delightful surprise.

"I'm going to Egypt in September. Dentistry."

My heart swelled.
My chest felt like bursting.
She held a box and handed it to me.

"This is for you. Thank you for everything."

You see, this bright girl had suffered in silence for years. A victim of domestic sexual abuse. With only one person she'd confided into. A friend whom is in Melbourne now. Mom is out of the question. So all she had was her studies. Which she excels tremendously. And rewarded her with a ticket out to "safety".

"..I remember what you said. About moving out to safety. So I decided to go."

Dear H****, my thoughts are with you always. Thank you for being vulnerable with me. I feel honoured being able to share your life experiences. I am grateful for your open-ness and allowing me inside your doors. For truly, that is also an experience gained and life lesson learnt for me. I hope we keep in touch. And I hope you'll be able to find yourself in Egypt, now that you're no longer living at "home". May Egypt be your new home now and you'd feel more comfortable in "your own skin".

Love always.
xx

I gave her a huge meaningful hug. I rubbed her back. I told her I'll miss her. And I told her I'm very proud of her. I also told her to keep in touch. And she'll post me the book I gave her to write as a diary. When she had felt it was not safe to keep such diary in her home, she can give it to me as safe keep.

I think I'll leave the box on my table for a while. It is wrapped with a red ribbon. With a little card note. A reminder of another success story. And perhaps as a forgiving symbol to those I've lost in my counselling career. This is to make up for the others.

And this is why I love my job.
It makes my life worth living.