There were usually more people there.  On this night, however, it was only the two of them.  As always, there were folding chairs out for everyone.  The man sat across from the woman. Besides the two of them and the extra folding chairs, the room was bare.  “You’re uncomfortable,” the woman said.

               The man finally spoke.  “No, it’s just… I haven’t been here before and since it’s just you and me, I… I don’t really know what to say.”

               “That’s quite alright.  I’m not sure anyone knows exactly what to say at first.”

               “Yeah.”

               “So.  How about we start with you explaining how you got here?”

               “I guess how everyone gets here… I don’t know.”

               “Well, it’s different for everyone.  We all may have similar stories as we’re all here for the same reason, yet each story is different and I can bet that your story is quite different than mine.”

               “I guess,” the man said.  A moment later, he spoke again.  “For God’s sake, though, where is everyone?”

               “Hopefully nowhere they shouldn’t be.  I pray they aren’t.”

               “The weather’s pretty shit.  It’s probably that.”

               “I bet,” the woman responded.  “So, would you be willing to explain how you got here?”

               “I mean.  The only reason I’m here is because I always end up in that place.”  The man fell silent, falling into the recess of his mind seeming to forget he wasn’t alone.

               The woman filled the silence.  “Would you mind describing that place for me?”

               Returning from the place his mind had gone, the man jolted up.  “Sorry, I was just thinking about a friend of mine. Or - I thought he was a friend, at least.”

               “That’s quite alright.”

               “I never know whether to blame him or forgive him for getting me into this mess.”

               “Oh, that type of friend.  Well, before you forgive him, I think you should forgive yourself.”

               “True.”  The man began to fiddle with his thumbs.  “Anyways, another friend of mine said coming here ‘moved mountains’ for her.  So here I am.”

               “I don’t think anyone comes here because they simply want to.”

               “Definitely not.”

               “So, then.  Why are you here?”

               “I just told you,” the man exclaimed.

               “You’re dealing with the same issue everyone else who comes here is dealing with.  Plus, you’re friend told you it helped.” The woman held eye contact with the man, studying his emotions.

               “Right.  And?”

               “So what I want to know, then, is why you - yourself - decided to come here.”

               The man closed his eyes for a minute, collecting his thoughts.  Opening his eyes, he spoke: “I don’t want to be who I am today because… because the person you see is the person I hate.  He’s the person I thought I’d never be. The person I see in the mirror each morning isn’t me. He’s someone else. Someone I don’t even know.”

               “Who is the person you know?  Deep down, underneath everything.”

               “That’s someone I haven’t seen in years.  I don’t think I could ever be him again.”

               “You know this,” the woman said.  “You could never be him again.”

               “The person I was wouldn’t recognize the person I’ve become.  Or be able to forgive me, for that matter.”

               “Would he at least be able to understand what he saw, though?”

               “I don’t know...  I hope so.”

               “You should know that the person you were still is the person you are.  Though I wish sometimes we could, no one has the power to completely change themselves.  We can change parts of ourselves - such as the reason for your being here - but we can’t change our core identity.  You must do is forgive yourself. Push forward and work on being the person you know you are. It may seem impossible now - I’ve been there, myself - but it can be done.”

               The man whispered a response: “I’m just not sure I can control myself anymore.”  He looks at the woman and continues, “I know I need to stop and, trust me, I’ve tried.  I just can’t.”

               “Everyone has the power to overcome,” the woman replied.

               “I can’t control myself.”

               “You can.  You just haven’t found a way.”

               The man sighed.  “I guess that’s why I’m here.”

               “That’s why we’re all here.”