You probably would not know much of her, even if you knew her. She has arrived at that age where you’re not really sure what you are, but there are a dozen things you want to be – and you suspect that you’ll never be any of them. I’m told that this dilemma is worse for the woman than it is for the man – but that might just be the ability of one gender rather than the other to better articulate the dilemma.
In the end, for Tamsin, it was a simple thing. Sometimes she did not want to be seen or observed, but at the very moments when she was overwhelmed with such feelings, she was convinced that her fear was visible – as visible as if it were displayed on a large screen for others to observe, or painted on the wall like a mural. She regretted it terribly, because deep inside she knew that she had gifted others with an awesome power – she realized that she was living in the shadow of their disapproval.
It’s hot in Texas, and sometimes you have no option but to retreat into the shadows – yet even so, there are some shadows into which you should not retreat.
