Alone at Winter

Faith

Oscar and Anne had been spending their time waiting nervously for the return or even some kind of news of Alex. The two were in a state of panic and unrest as the days dragged along; so did the weeks. They were both scared and unknowing of what could Alex might be going through, unless he had died in the blizzard. They both didn't want that to become the truth, Oscar was more so affected by the loss of his husband. He didn't take kindly to the fact that no attempts were being made to search the now abandoned city.

When Anne enrolled back in school in the new area; Oscar found it difficult to find any type of job that would slot him in at all, his physical and mental health were slowly declining so a friend of Oscar suggested to him that he needed to visit a phycologist in order to get his head back into place. Oscar was reluctant at first to speak to anyone after he thought he had been told time and time again that Alex was dead. But soon enough he agreed to see the phycologist after days upon days of asking; he went.

He entered a section of the local hospital and searched around for a specific room. He continued until he came across the room that had the number listed on a slip of paper given to Oscar by his friend. He knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes before he heard a female voice tell him to enter the room; he walked inside to see the woman sitting by an oak desk. She wore a formal suit with some red lipstick to supposably bring out the darkness of her short, slick, black hair. He sat in opposite her.

"You must be Mr Richards, well I'm Doctor Faith Almend. Pleasure to meet you." She placed her hand outward in front of Oscar who shook it slowly as he looked at the woman.

"Now, Mr Richards, would you like to elaborate why you came to see me today?" She took out a black pen along with a large notepad and flicked through some pages while she awaited Oscar's answer.

"Well, a friend recommended me to see you about my personal health, Miss Almend." Oscar said as he intertwined his fingers together nervously, she looked up at him.

"Oh, you can just call me Faith, Mr Richards. I'm not your boss." Faith smiled as she looked at Oscar, who was still frowning and looking down at the floor. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, what do you feel caused you to stop taking care of your health?." She asked.

"The loss of my husband in the blizzard. Everyone thinks he didn't make it and I'm beginning to believe that." Oscar got some tissues from his coat pocket and wiped his unshaven mouth with it.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Oscar. Wouldn't he want you to still be taking care of yourself while he's gone?" She asked sympathetically. Oscar simply nodded his head in sadness as he stared at the carpeted floor.

"Is your mental health or your physical health worse?" She asked quietly.

"My mental health has been a lot worse. I get all these thoughts of wanting to hurt myself. The thoughts of not being here but being up there, with Alex." Oscar began crying. He wiped his tears as he breathed heavily. Faith reached out and took Oscar's hand that rested in the table.

"I'm here to talk, okay? I will always be here as a shoulder to cry on when things get rough. I know it will be hard for you but you need to move on so that you can become healthier. People love you and need you in their lives." Faith stared at Oscar as she stood up and took his hand. Oscar stood with her and Faith wrapped her arms around Oscar's waist and brought him close for a hug. He buried his face into the crook of her shoulder and cried. The hug lasted a few minutes before Oscar stepped away and wiped over his face yet again.

"Thank you, Faith. I promise I'll try and get better." Oscar said as a smile stretched across his face. Faith looked up at Oscar with a smile.

"It's no problem. How about you come to visit me in two weeks time to give me an update? Sound good?" Faith asked as she went back over to her desk.

"That sounds good. But do you anywhere want to come over for food at some point today. As a thank you for listening?" Oscar suggested awkwardly. Faith looked out of her window in surprise of Oscar's suggestion. She slowly turned to face back at him.

"Of course I will. I need to go somewhere otherwise I'll go insane." Faith laughed and Oscar smiled at the realisation that someone who most likely cared for him was going to be spending some time with high him and Anne. Oscar didn't notice but he had just found an amazing friend and an amazing support system in his time of need. They both looked at eachother and Faith began to gather her things from her desk, Oscar simply stated on at Faith as she continued to gather her stuff. The two then walked out of the building together to Alex's car with silence.

"Will it just be us or?" Faith asked as she smiled widely, Oscar started the car and looked over at her.

"Oh no, my daughter and one of her friends are going to be there two. Most likely in her room playing or watching a movie." Oscar said as he began to drive to the main road. Faith looked over at him with a smile.

"A daughter, that's sweet. I don't have any kids of my own sadly. But I love them to death." Faith smiled as she laid back into the seat.

"I'm sure that Anne will like you. You seem like a really good person and maybe a person she can visit once or twice aswell. But for now let's just get back to my hotel room, I'm starving."