Well... quoth Sondheim:
"And it came to pass that all that seemed wrong was now right, the kingdoms were filled with joy, and those who deserved to were certain to live a long and happy life, ever after."
Simon really
don't play, so Simon immediately set about research into how to fix her issues on Wednesday. By yesterday, my valuables had been evacuated from my house, my landlord had been roughly informed of the situation, and my brother was issued an edict to leave. I used
@Ragdoll Circus's line. Worked like a charm. The only extra thing I added, after many text message diatribes, was, "I have nothing to say to you. You need to leave."
My brother, for his part, was hard at work attempting to gain sympathy or resources from my friends, which got him nowhere. He insisted both of me and friends that he needed a ride. My best friend, kind and compassionate person that she is, was even starting to feel a little soft, asking me how I expected him to get back to his town if he didn't have anyone to give him a ride. I told her I didn't believe for a second that he couldn't con someone into getting him, and I was right. Sometime between 7pm last night and 9:30am this morning he had vanished.
So far, I can't ascertain that he's stolen anything, although there wasn't a whole lot left to steal. I think he may have taken my minispeaker ($10 Walgreens) and possibly a handcrafted shillelagh (less irreplaceable than it might sound). Aside from appliances and a very old, small television, anything with any value in that place would have been unrecognizable to him as valuable (designer clothes, rare and signed books).
This was a somewhat expensive mistake, although not all
that expensive in the long run, and I actually feel really good. I think taking control of the situation sort of... made me feel empowered? Maybe? I'm not really sure what it is, but I'm in excellent sprits for now.
This experience also taught me a lot about myself, my trauma, my grief, the nature of my confusion about my identity, and other aspects of my emotional/spiritual (if you will) life that were unexpected and unforeseen. I suspect emotional fallout may result from this in the near future, but for now, I'm just trying to process it all at the pace I can handle, and I'm basking in the positive stuff.
All in all, there's a part of me that feels like what I've gained in experience and self-knowledge (not to mention a deep understanding of the lengths my friends will go to for my very best interests) has cost me radically less than the amount of therapy I would need to arrive at a similar place.
I can't tell you what the support here has meant for me in this situation. I don't often posts threads anymore, and when I asked for this community's help, I was really floored by how many were willing to spend their time and energy advising and supporting me.
Edited to add: my last post was strange because a) I wasn't sure if he would seek me out here in an effort to communicate/investigate when I was not speaking to him at all and b) I wasn't sure if this would become a legal issue that would be ill suited for public online discussion.
:)
"And I know things now
Very valuable things
That I hadn't known before
Do not put your faith
In a cape and a hood
They will not protect you
The way that they should
And take extra care with strangers
Even flowers have their dangers
And though scary is exciting,
Nice is different than good
Now I know, don't be scared
Granny is right, just be prepared
Isn't it nice to know a lot?
And a little bit
Not"
