Doctor-patient confidentiality... It was important enough to garner its own term. This is reassuring. She watches him spin his pen across his scarred and uneven fingers and unconsciously touches the scar on the back of her own hand in sympathy, wondering.

"Three years ago, now, I was very sick," is an easy place to start. This part never feels to Gela as if she's lying when what she's really doing is omitting truths (anything to hold the guilt off a little longer). "And I have recovered since, but I find I'm still affected by it. Not every day, but enough that it's difficult for me to deal with... I was hoping you could help with that. If you can."

Because many, many other people could not.