Chapter 5 - The First Breakthrough
The court-mandated child psychologist, Dr. Adam Avery, was a gentle man with a room full of toys and art supplies. Emily sat on the floor, clutching a plush bear, refusing to speak or draw. I sat in the corner, allowed to stay only because Emily panicked whenever I stepped out of her line of sight.
"Emily," Dr. Avery said softly, rolling a small ball toward her. "You don't have to talk about the house. Can you tell me about your favorite thing to do with your dad?"
Emily didn't look up. She just kept stroking the bear’s fur.
Twenty minutes passed in absolute silence. I felt my chest tightening, thinking about Brenda’s threat of foster care. If Emily shut down completely, the court would judge me as an incapable guardian.
Then, Emily caught sight of a small wooden box on the shelf. It had a tiny brass padlock on it, meant for a children's treasure game. She went entirely still. Her breathing became rapid, shallow.
"Em?" I called out softly, wanting to rush to her, but Dr. Avery signaled for me to wait.
Emily slowly crawled toward the box. She didn't open it. Instead, she picked up a blue crayon from the floor and began to draw furiously on a piece of blank paper. She drew a large, black square with thick, heavy lines crossing over each other—a cage. But then, she picked up a bright yellow crayon and drew a massive, messy circle right over the top of it.
"What is the yellow circle, Emily?" Dr. Avery asked gently.
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Emily looked up, her eyes finally locking onto mine. For the first time in weeks, a tiny, fragile spark of life returned to her face. "It's Daddy's car," she whispered. "The yellow circle is the light from his car. It broke the dark."
Dr. Avery looked at me, a profound look of respect in his eyes. He wrote something down in his notebook, then turned to Emily. "Your dad has a very bright light, Emily. And it's going to keep the dark away forever."
