It Was Love That
Changed Him
by Richard
Harker
Aged 16, Tom
was a boy in great trouble. Having been an
excellent student, he declared he was stopping
school one day, which worried his parents a lot.
They had no choice but to take him to a doctor.
What a handsome boy he was! Though rather run
down, he looked very determined and, while
stepping into the doctor’s office, he gazed
at the door card: Inquiry Room of Psychotherapy.
There, inside,
was the young doctor with whom his parents had
made an appointment. She raised her head and
smiled at them. Then she poured a glass of water
for him. And his mother took out his diary and
put it on the desk. After asking the boy for his
permission, she began to look through it very
attentively. Perhaps because it was the first
time that a stranger had read his mind, Tom
lowered his head. The woman doctor noticed this
and explained that it was natural for a boy of
his age. She added that she had had the same
experience as him at school. Her words melted his
icy exterior and somehow he started to cry. It
was a sad cry. She handed him a white
handkerchief, which comforted him a lot. She gave
him her number and told him to call her whenever
he liked. He smiled. When they left, both his
parents seemed so grateful to the doctor that
they shook her hand warmly for a long time.
Since then he
concentrated on his lessons and soon he became a
good student. He kept himself to himself and few
girls dared speak to him. In his third year, he
applied for enrollment at every possible medical
school. As soon as he got permission to study as
a doctor, he dialled the number which had been
given to him three years before. It was this
number that had encouraged him to be good and, it
was this number that had offered him perseverance.
The young doctor felt very proud but little did
she realise that the boy had fallen in love with
her three years before.
One sunny
morning the doctor’s office door opened and
in came Tom. She didn’t recognize the
handsome young man who had come to her for help
three years before. He was sitting quietly in
front of her and she took him for one of her
patients by mistake. Again he saw the same smile
on her face as three years ago, which had often
appeared in his dreams. She asked for his name
and opened the record, which was made three years
ago. Now she knew who it was but he looked out of
the window, pretending not to have realized
anything. There, in the garden were so many
different kinds of flowers, where, as usual, boys
and girls would explore love. And in his class
all the boys had marked down possible girls -
except him. He had refused again and again. And
he paid frequent visits to her, for he had never
met a more beautiful girl than her before.
How time flew!
Four years had passed! At college he had been a
top student and when it came to deciding whether
he should go abroad for further study, he made a
surprising choice - he chose to work in the same
hospital as she did. When he walked with her,
some people thought they were just sister and
brother, but most believed them to be in love
with each other. However, neither of them had
enough courage to speak it out.
One afternoon,
a patient was sent to her office. It was a hot
day but he was wearing a thick gauze mask. She
read his record carefully: he lost his lover a
few years ago; he had much difficulty in social
life and was afraid of meeting females. So she
was about to play some soft music to create a
happy situation for him when he dived towards her
and embraced her from behind. She tried to get
rid of him but in vain. So she shouted for help.
Tom rushed in from the next room, and helped her
out. She couldn’t help throwing herself into
his arms. She could smell his manly behavior. He
took a chair near her desk and stared at her.
When their eyes met, an appointment was made. So
that evening they went to a nearby café where
they talked for more than three hours.
Although she
was a few years older than him, they seemed to be
the most natural couple ever. They sat there in
silence. Then she said that the naughty boy had
become a strong man. He looked up, fixed his eyes
on her and then said in a very low voice that he
had fallen in love with her at the age of sixteen.
She replied how she could not have known that.
She added that it was only because of him that in
the past years she had refused so many boys. He
reached his hands to hold hers. There was no need
for words. Only the handshake meant all. Suddenly
he put both her hands on his face because he
remembered that it was these two hands that had
passed on a white handkerchief to him. Tears came
into to his eyes.
Now he was no
longer her patient and she was no longer his
doctor.
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