×Two Women Hugging

I recall when, long ago, my five-year-old son looked pensive and frightened as he curled up in my lap.

“Dad, I'm scared," he whimpered.

“Of what, bunny?"

"I don't know. I'm just scared."

What can I do?" I asked.

“Hold me."

Feeling Scared?

Much later, a new client named Jack nestled his 40-year-old frame into the love seat in my counseling office, looking as pensive as my son. “I know this sounds lame coming from a grown man, but I'm scared,” he told me.

"Of what, Jack?"

"I wish I knew. It started when I was a kid. I was always afraid of the dark and still am. Now, I’m a middle-aged man who needs a night light," he explained.

Jack lived alone and didn’t have a life partner, so there wasn’t anyone to hold him like I held my son. Instead, in a fashion, he held hi

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