And so it goes.
I heard from men, women, vampires, humans, human servants of vampires, people who were funny, sad, lost, and angry. The problems ranged from silly to terrifying. Stories of people trapped in lives they hadn’t expected, couldn’t escape from. A lot of the time I didn’t know what to tell them. I was totally inadequate to dispense advice— I could barely take care of myself. Early on, though, I’d learned that a lot of the time people just needed to talk. And they needed someone to listen. Right from the start, I’d discovered that people were desperate to talk about this—and many of them didn’t have anyone to talk to.
Talking about it made a thing—a problem, a weakness, a fear, a hope—more solid, and easier to confront. Easier to control.
I would do well to remember that in my own life.