Shop

Shop. A simple word. Except in this context it meant something different to the usual meaning. He didn’t want to. But professionalism demanded it. And his profession was at times frustrating, annoying, but fulfilling at the same time.

Even if that cost him his closest friends.

A range of interesting experiences during his upbringing meant he had a particular talent for empathy. His school life and eventual degree from university was almost a set path. His destiny?

Thankfully all the mushrooms in his 20s had helped. Thankfully also the medical and psychological professions were beginning to catch up to what indigenous cultures already knew: nature provides us with everything we need to explore the world around us.

His ego death had been uneventful.

But it had infused him with a persistent and consistent drive to do what he saw as right. A strength of integrity and single-minded will that laid out his next action.

It was inevitable.

At first he had ignored his instincts. This was his best friend. He’d been present at the wedding. He’d congratulated them on their first child. But over the past three years his unease had grown. The way anyone with a deep knowledge of something develops instincts. A sixth sense. An ability to detect patterns in a way that seems supernatural to others.

After 20 years as a child-protection social worker, he knew the signs.

He’d already spoken to his supervisor in their weekly meeting.

He picked up the phone and dialled 999.