At 5:30 p.m., the last visitor was sent away and it was time to leave work. I changed into my white coat and was just about to go out when the phone on my desk rang.
”Hello, this is the psychological consultation room of the People’s Hospital.”
”Doctor, I called 114 to ask for this number, can you listen to me talk about myself?”
”Yes, it’s already after office hours, you can talk briefly, and if you need to communicate in detail, you can make an appointment for tomorrow’s consultation.”
”That’s not necessary, I’m at the end of my rope and just want to talk to someone.”
”What has happened to you? Where are you located?”
”I’m on the outer ring, I’ve come to the end of my life, don’t try to save me, no one can save me, I won’t give you a chance. I just want to be able to have someone who can listen to the last words of my heart and let me go in peace, can you?”
” Then, yes, you speak slowly, I will listen carefully.”
She began to talk about the pain she had suffered, from childhood domestic violence, to teenagers fleeing their families, from babysitting to odd jobs in sales, from independent business, to married husband and children, from a brilliant career, to unjustly imprisoned, from divorce, to remarriage
I was very impressed with the way she was able to get her career back on the rise, to being sued by her parents in court, to struggling desperately to exhaustion.
I listened to her carefully while encouraging her to keep the conversation going for more than an hour.
She said, “Thank you for listening, I’m tired, and you should get off work.”
”I can hear that you still have a lot to say, if you want, you can come to the clinic to talk face to face and talk about it, I’ll wait for you here , how about it?”
”Okay then, I’ll take a taxi over.”
Half an hour later, I received the lady downstairs. After going upstairs, I poured her a cup of tea and guided her to continue her story.
She was sobbing and grieving, gnashing her teeth and burning with anger, resenting the world and cursing the injustice of God.
I kept handing her tissues while guiding the direction of her conversation, and gradually changed the topic from her parents and ex-husband, to her current husband and daughter, and her emotions slowly calmed down.
I looked at the wall clock, it was more than nine o’clock, I proposed to call her husband, so that he and her daughter would not look for her all over the world. She hesitated for a moment and gave me her husband’s phone number.
I dialed her husband’s number, briefly described his wife’s situation, and told him in detail the exact address of my place.
Ten minutes later, her husband came to the clinic, comforting his wife while thankfully inviting me to dinner.
”You’d better take her home in a hurry and go see your daughter!”