The Therapist’s Touch: 10. Craving and the Mirror

She didn’t expect a reply so late, but it came within minutes.

 Healing requires honesty, Evelyn. Craving is the body’s way of avoiding truth. We’ll talk at your next session.

There was no warmth in it, yet the sight of his name on her screen made her pulse quicken. She almost answered, almost asked What truth?, but she stopped herself.

Instead, she sat in silence, the glow of her phone lighting her face, until the words blurred.

The next day, she caught herself scrolling through his professional website, reading his biography as though it might offer clues. His credentials, his published articles, the list of speaking engagements—all precise, distant, immaculate. Yet between the lines, she imagined the man behind them: the tone of his voice, the shadow of his smile, the way his presence filled a room.

It was not love. She knew that. Love asked, offered, gave. This was need—a consuming gravity that turned her into orbit.

That night she tried