A sadistic bent

7/8/17

The father had a sadistic bent. He thought of taking away his daughter's teddy bear. Suddenly when he was sleeping off his high, he felt shame, guilt. Just because he had stuff he cared about, loved- taken from him capriciously did not mean he had no choice in stopping his compulsion to go on and on repeating the same pattern. He felt love for his infant daughter who was now five. He felt love for her as she is now. He felt compassion, sadness for himself and his long-suffering wife and colleagues. Why had they not fired him? He was so inconsistent. Perhaps he had more value than he gave himself credit. Usually Morton was lost in reveries of envy and self-absorption. His mental rollercoaster was a machine often verging on being out of control.

What did his daughter, Margherita need? What did she want?

Food, clothing, shelter, love, consistency and…

… the embrace of her stuffed cuddly teddy bear.