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Reeva laughed. “Honestly, I have no idea. But considering our parents both seem to be clinically insane, it makes sense we’re all quite, um, different.”
“I think we should talk about Dad,” announced Jaya. “My therapist always says it’s important to get stuff out in the open, and I feel like we never do that.”
Sita spread her hands. “Fine. Let’s talk.”
“I just can’t believe he was an alcoholic,” said Jaya. “We never even thought of that. I guess because he’d stopped drinking by then.”
“Yeah,” said Sita. “Almost killing his youngest daughter is definitely a rock bottom.”
“It was an accident though,” said Jaya. “He didn’t see her. It’s not like he shoved her down the stairs on purpose.”
“It was his fault,” said Sita. “He should have been more careful, but he wasn’t because he was drunk.”
“He punished himself enough for that,” said Jaya. “And it’s not like Reeva died.”
“Uh, guys?” said Reeva. “I’m not sure I’m really into you both analyzing this whole situation in front of me like this.”
“Sorry,” they apologized at the same time.
“Uh, thanks,” said Reeva, surprised. “I should really tell you what I think more.”
“So, how do you feel about it?” asked Jaya. “I mean, you ended up in acoma. You could havedied.It must have beenseriously traumatic.”
“Uh, yeah. I guess I’m just... trying to make my peace with it.”
“If I were you, I’d be hanging out in the anger stage of that grief cycle for decades,” declared Sita. “Fuck acceptance. Your dad almost killed you.”
“It’s actually a lot healthier to work through all the stages of the cycle,” pointed out Jaya. “I read a meme about the dangers of getting stuck in anger.”
Sita raised her eyes to the ceiling, muttering, “ ‘Read a meme’?”
“Why do you always need to put me down, Sita?” snapped Jaya. “Just because I’m more emotionally intelligent than you are.”
“Hey,” interrupted Reeva. “Let’s not argue about this. I kind of need to talk about it. Properly. It’s not exactly the kind of thing I can casually share with people. Although I journaled earlier.” Jaya clapped her hands together in glee. “Yeah, it really helpedme accept what happened. That I almost died because I got caught up in Mum and Dad’s argument. It’s really not ideal parenting.”
“No shit,” muttered Sita.
“I am angry,” admitted Reeva. “It’s not fair that happened to me. But at the same time, I can’t fully blame Dad. I mean, he must have been in so much pain to drink that much. I’m starting to realize nothing is black-and-white. It’s all just very gray. And blue. Or red.”
“I’m sorry, what?” asked Sita.
“Uh, it’s hypnotherapy stuff.”
“Oh my god,” shrieked Jaya. “You did hypnotherapy! With Marissa?! Please say yes! How was it?!”
“If you say ‘I told you so,’ I will kick you out of my bedroom right now,” warned Reeva.
Jaya mimed zipping her mouth shut.
“Fine, well, I did it. And... it was good. It helped me understand a bit more about why he did it.”
“So, you did an hour of hippy crap and what? You forgive him for almost killing you?” asked Sita. “Just like that?”
“More like three hours,” said Reeva. “And no. I definitely do not forgive him. I’m just starting to realize that I need to understand why it happened—you know, context. Otherwise I’ll repress it and end up blue. Or worse, red.”
“What’s with the primary colors?” asked Sita.
“Long story. It just means I don’t want to end up like them. Mum and Dad. She used to be really sad and angry too. I never realized how much she must have struggled.”
