Good girls don’t snap back.
The moment Rebecca entered the doctor’s chamber, she met a stupefied man!
“Oh My God! You’re so overweight..!”
Rebecca was taken aback.
‘Didn’t I enter the right room?’
She saw the doctor’s nameplate. She cross checked. Yes, indeed. It was he.
‘Then, how could he…!’
The doctor was least bothered about the purpose of the visit. He went on,
“… But first you must lose weight!”
‘What!’ Rebecca was about to blurt, but somehow she didn’t. She chose silence over speech.
“Fast or eat one meal a day, and you will reduce your weight faster than you can think.”
‘Who made him a psychiatrist?’ Rebecca was shocked. ‘Going by his disposition, he appears to be in this field for a long time.’
She still made a feeble attempt to speak, “I.. I…” but even words refused to come out of her mouth. She surrendered to his incessant blabbering.
“You should have already taken steps to reduce your weight.”
At that instance, Rebecca felt like slapping him hard, and making him sit and listen to all her suppressed stories.
‘Doesn’t he understand how one single moment can influence a person? Does he treat all his patients like this?’ Rebecca kept on thinking.
Nevertheless, she didn’t utter a single word. She didn’t feel like sharing her secrets anymore to this crazy man.
‘Who is counselling whom?’ Rebecca wondered, and smirked slightly. He was going on talking about every other topic other than what was necessary at that point of time.
‘Does he think he is attending a seminar? Is he a speaker or some honoured guest at some function?’ Rebecca was paying less attention to his endless prattling.
“I have oats, and eat a wholesome meal only at night. I often go for intermittent fasting..” He was proudly rambling.
Body shaming remains a favourite genre. Everyone seems to be an expert.
“You are young. If you start acting now, you will easily lose weight within a year.!”
‘But, right now I need a solution for something different.’ How Rebecca yearned to tell him that but chose reticence for the sake of her peace.
Although they were currently standing in 2023, the doctor drifted to COVID. However, nothing was related to its impact on mental health or overall well-being.
“It was so difficult to wear those N-95 masks.. We required bottles of sanitisers…”
‘Why.. Why.. Couldn’t that virus take away such crap?’ Rebecca was fuming inside but silence made a clear sweep.
“People were making up. One slightest movement, and they were screaming ‘depression’ and making me crazy!” He guffawed.
‘This self-conceited megalomaniac..! Look! He doesn’t even respect the field he specialises in.’ Rebecca couldn’t take it anymore. She prepared herself for a decent exit. She was about to get up when he suddenly realised that she shouldn’t leave empty handed.
Hence, he quickly prescribed a sleeping pill for whatever Rebecca was facing.
“Take it at bedtime. Nothing to worry about. You’re absolutely fine. Next month, I want to see that you have lost 5 kgs of weight.”
‘Whoever is coming to him again!’ Rebecca simply took the prescription from him, coldly smiled at him, and quickly left. She didn’t even said a formal ‘thank you’.
Finally, Rebecca got up in her car. She started ruminating.
‘Why did I come here? Maybe all the so-called mental health practioners are like this. Arrogant, insolent, and good for nothing.!’
As her car moved through the light and noise, Rebecca pondered deeply.
Rebecca saw. Rebecca felt. Rebecca smelled. Deep within, however, she simply sighed.
‘All are same. Selfish, biased, and horrendous.’
Although she returned to the same world with more pain than there was, she still felt different. Even though she reached the dead end, she didn’t feel like quitting.
‘Strange! Even the doctor’s betrayal couldn’t convince me to act orherwise! Have I become that lazy?’
Rebecca’s patience and silence that day perhaps won the divine, and it came to her rescue.
It was a test. She had made it. Now she would receive better.
She magically entered a refreshing chapter of her life. Her silence finally spoke and broke the loop she was in.
She mindfully vented her emotions through journalling and writing. She even got connected to an amazing transformation coach. How the old wounds got healed!
She felt. She saw. She smelled. This time different.
‘Maybe that doctor couldn’t release his unhealed past..’ She could forgave that man, and now that terrible wound didn’t hurt her any longer.
‘Silence saves and enhances your energy.’ She had learnt the hard way.
‘I’m finally free. I’m doing pretty well in my life. I’m so proud of myself for hanging on.’
Today, she was proud of her silence. Yes, ‘good girls don’t confront’ for they were preserving and protecting their energies, and redirecting and empowering themselves.
Now, amidst all the cacophony and mayhem, Rebecca could silently look up at the sky and feel its vastness within. She observed those unnamed tiny birds and bright flowers, and smiled from the depths of her heart.
Image Courtesy:https://www.pexels.com/@rdne/
If Rebecca’s story touched you, share your thoughts in the comments below. Sometimes silence carries the loudest stories of healing.
– Amrita Mallik
About the Writer
Amrita Mallik is a writer and creative thinker based in Kolkata. A homemaker by role and a storyteller by heart, she turns to writing as a quiet refuge from the noise of everyday life and as a way to listen more deeply to herself. For her, learning is a continuous journey—one she embraces with curiosity, gratitude, and joy.
