"Steven, have you ever considered that your conjectures might just be your imagination, and the reality could be completely different from what you thought?" Shiller tapped the table lightly with his signing pen, pulling Strange's attention back to him. Strange looked at him as if he was a lifesaver.
"The problem between you and your father lies in communication. How long has it been since you had a calm and peaceful conversation?" Shiller asked
Strange glanced away, saying, "It's probably been a year .... no, maybe it's been three years. We argued again during the phone call two years ago ..."
"So, over the past three years, every time you two communicated, it ended with a fight, and you couldn't rationally understand each other's situation, and you had no idea about each other's career and emotions?"
Strange was reluctant to admit it, but he eventually nodded. Shiller lightly pointed forward with his signing pen and said,
"Many parents and children misunderstand communication. When children are young, parents often establish their authority by using power, always commanding and scolding them to get things done."
"But in reality, parents have put a lot of love into their actions, but children only feel the power and don't gain any sense of security from their love, only feeling the ubiquitous threat."
"At the same time, they take their love for their children for granted, underestimate it, and feel no need to express it."
"I remember something you mentioned earlier, your father used to cough at night due to bronchitis, causing your sleep and grades to suffer. Later, he moved to sleep in a small room next to the warehouse."
"Did he ever tell you why he did this? Have you ever thought carefully about why he did this?"
"Or do you think it's natural for him to sacrifice his living conditions for your good sleep and you have no idea what he actually sacrificed for you?"
Strange paused for a moment, but he still said, "Maybe, he didn't do it just because of me ..."
"Children growing up in such a family environment tend to reject emotional investment from others. Because no one has ever explicitly expressed love to them, they always question when someone shows affection to them, 'maybe it's not meant for me'."
"Some parents always do more and talk less, tough on the outside but soft on the inside, but this is not necessarily a good thing. They underestimate their love to the point where they feel no need to express it, and you constantly doubt yourself because you have never received explicit love, leaving you insecure."
Strange felt that Shiller had hit on something, but he couldn't organize a logical line of thought to figure out what Shiller had hit on.
"The fact that your father doesn't want to see you is just the result, but all the reasons you have summarized are actually your own speculations." Shiller pointed out the key point that made Strange so troubled.
"If you really want to know why your father doesn't want to see you, you can ask him, or, he has already formed a mindset and doesn't want to communicate with you, but you can go find your younger brother."
"You mean... Victor?" Strange revealed a resistant expression, he hesitated and said: "Since Donna died, Victor .... okay, I understand, it's the same reason, I haven't contacted him for about three or four years."
"You should know, I'm a Supreme Magician, I'm so busy with interstellar exploration, I really don't have time to stay in touch with my family, I..."
Under Shiller's calm gaze, Strange couldn't finish the rest of his sentence. In the end, he said with some disappointment, "Okay, I get it, I shouldn't make excuses when facing a psychiatrist."
"You and your father may have developed this pattern of communication, which is not easy to change, but there might still be room for communication between you and your younger brother. You can go talk to him and ask what's going on."
In the end, Strange left burdened with concerns. Although he didn't say it aloud, he had accepted Shiller's advice in his heart.
He was somewhat hesitant to face Eugene, his father, but when he was younger, his relationship with Victor was good, even better than his relationship with Donna.
However, Victor later reached the rebellious stage, idling every day on the farm, doing nothing, having poor grades, and no interest in reading. Meanwhile, Strange was in the prime of his academic career, his mind focused on how to enter the best hospital in New York, and as a result, the two gradually had less and less to talk about.
After leaving Arkham Sanatorium, Strange called Victor, learned that he was in the hospital, so they met in the office at Elder Council Hospital where Strange used to work.
Even after becoming the Supreme Magician, Strange still had not given up his path as a surgeon. He used the Time Gem to rewind time and did many things, but he specifically did not want to rewind the process of surgery.
Even if he had countless opportunities, if a surgery doesn't go well, he could do it again, but he doesn't want to give himself an escape route. He would develop a perfectionist personality, partly because, for surgery, there is no room for mistakes.
The two brothers met and fell silent because they both found that the other had changed too much.
Victor had transformed from a rebellious young countryside man to someone very similar to his father, looking more like a mature farm owner. The harsh weather had roughened his skin but his eyes and demeanor were just like the mature farmers in Philadelphia, brimming with vitality.
But Strange no longer had his previous air of pride and ambition, he looked very defeated, his hands still trembling, completely unstoppable, he couldn't even steady the small paper cup handed to him by the nurse. Half the cup of water spilled on him and he didn't even have the time to look at it.
"Steven," Victor spoke first and to Steven's surprise, his brother's voice had become much deeper but still carried the familiar Philadelphia accent.
"How have you been lately?" Strange was still polite but Victor looked into his eyes and said: "I know what you want to ask, Eugene doesn't want to see you, he even doesn't allow me to meet you."
"You want to know why he would rather endure, and not come to New York, knowing his eldest son is the best surgeon but still reluctant to contact you for the surgery..." Victor said all these while Strange stared at him.
"Steven, do you know? After you went to New York University, when you returned the first time, we were all shocked, you had changed a lot." Victor spoke, his mouth tightly closed, "We hardly recognized you."
"You lost your accent, stopped wearing plaid shirts, instead wore white shirts, and had a very beautiful suit. You said it was given to you by your mentor. You could write in cursive English and could understand those complicated drug names posted on the walls of the town hospital. These all weren't things we farmers could do."
"Dad was surprised but actually, he was quite happy. Do you remember? He invited his farmer friends over to meet you, the brilliant student from New York University Medical School."
"But that day, you said you were busy with...a thesis? You left without saying much, we all could tell that you were unwilling to talk to us, you felt like there was nothing much to discuss with manual laborers like us."
Strange on the other side covered his face, his voice choked and hoarse, "No, don't say anymore, I just…I just…"
He took a deep breath and said: "Alright, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been dismissive, I shouldn't have acted differently from you all, I should've been more enthusiastic. It's all my fault…"
But Victor shook his head and said: "No, Eugene and I both know it's not easy for a small-town boy to be a success in New York, especially when your family couldn't provide any support..."
Strange was struck speechless.