A Dragon Cried — a meeting of souls
… there’s nothing worse than seeing a dragon cry
Connection
A few years ago I became involved, as resident author and a judge, with the Safe Space Writeathon. The project patron was Iain Banks, and I had the privilege of being on a writers panel with him when the Writeathon was launched.
As resident author, I met a group of survivors who found healing through writing. We talked we shared, ran out of time and went out for a coffee … this is the story mentioned in Your Shell xxx.
Keep Breathing by Mariana Sing, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Café
A cheery cluster of friends sit round a table. We converse, laugh and sip hot drinks in a bright windowed café. Behind us the clatter, hiss and bang of coffee-making punctuates our conversation. The door opens and closes as people come and go.
A strand of the content is unusual for me: these grown people are survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Range as our talk might, we return to the topic from many angles.
How do ordinary folk deal with a most traumatic of life experiences; dark cruelties and circumstances one can scarce imagine. This isn’t a TV show, it’s real life.
The Ever Open Cellar
With my companions, the conversation sparkles, yet sometimes we descend into a hidden cellar of dark deeds and betrayal. Is this a theme our fellow citizens may find uncomfortable and avoid? Here … a tale of prolonged cruelty. There … a story of maternal denial and nowhere to turn. Threats, fear, assault, pain, anguish … the erosion of self-esteem … the start of wild self-destructive (sometimes antisocial), sometimes behaviour. Silent screams of mental anguish often locked in an emotional pressure-cooker with no release.
How comfortable are we knowing of murky beasts inflicting terror and anguish in rich, poor and in-between homes, today and every day? Worldwide.
What about the victims? Do we pass by on the other side and turn away from a powerless, children child caught in the sticky grip of evil? What makes the victims deserving of our uncomfortable disinterest? Our averted eyes? Society’s avoidance? … Straight answer? Nothing … not a sodding thing!
Power of Love
Such children, teenagers, adults deserve our support, love, healing and more. Can we give them the chance to become like the people I met, laughed, teared-up and enjoyed time with. The survivors, everyday folk getting on with life and the journey to recovery. Ordinary persons supported, in Dunfermline, by Safe Space an extraordinary helper.
This dark, insidious and destructive evil needs the light, our light and understanding to burn it away. Can we each into our hearts and stand against the dark.
Mac Logan
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