Just Curious

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In my job it is often just as important to read what is not written as to read what is.

This is why the letter which asked what action we would recommend in explaining suicide to a child weighed heavy on my heart. The details were heart-breakingly vivid, and the depth of emotion made me wonder whether the writer were parent, grandparent, or older sibling.

I sat for a long time, carefully crafting a letter, trying to address the needs of any of the potential scenarios I imagined.

Finally, I signed my name to the letter and sent it off.

I was not expecting the reply that came quickly back. "Thank you for answering my question. I hopefully won't ever have to be in that situation, but I was just curious."

"Just curious"? That answer works just as well here as it does to the question "Why did you stick thumb tacks into your sister's fingers?" or "Why did you pour bleach on the dog?"

There is that old cliche "curiosity killed the cat". Maybe the truth behind this statement is not an indictment on the cat. Maybe the cat was quite happily curled up in the sun and it was the unchecked curiosity of some anonymous passerby that resulted in her early demise.

Comments

caedmonstia said…
Yeah, it's stinky to have your heart wrenched out for no reason. But on the other hand, you could look at it this way: it's a tragedy that didn't happen, which is good news. And we need more good news in the world.
4:34 PM
Sylvia said…
Most assuredly, if curiosity killed the cat, it was because someone was being mean to the cat... :)
7:23 PM
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