A Ronin’s Journey: Chapter 2

August

Some names are changed to initials since they were kids at the time.

August

The week after the memorial was the hard one with the numbness wearing off to reveal churning emotions. Writing was the only way I could really relieve the pressure somewhat. Still, it was all overwhelming, and frustration began to set in. With everyone gone but us five, it was lonely, especially since I had to return to work. 

I directed my energy toward getting Casey, my wife, into counseling as soon as possible. Together, we had gone to one session at the church and then used EAS to get her into psychotherapy. With a mix-up in the numbers, she was able to get in first, while I would just suck it up as long as necessary. She had a lot of pain at the time which had me worried about how she would handle it, increasing my stress. I could not help but feel forgotten with my head in a mess.

Then the flashbacks really got started, strong enough that my stomach churned and I felt sick. At this time, paranoia came to th…