Thirty-Third Session

Richard was in a very good mood and said he was pleased to be with Mrs K. on a Sunday; clearly this represented to him a special privilege…. After a while he said that ‘X’ was very quiet on a Sunday morning—like a grave; but he was glad that there were no children about. At the same time he was on the look-out for people to pass and expressed regret that there were so few of them. He said that when he woke up that morning he felt very happy in spite of not being at home on a Sunday. He thought that the work was doing him good after all. He felt so much more brave. He said all this with conviction. He added that he would like to tell Mrs K. about the battles he used to fight at home with other boys. This morning, feeling bolder, he made up his mind that when the war was over and they moved back to their home (in ‘Z’), he would not be afraid to fight his enemy Oliver. (He had mentioned this boy earlier—Twentieth Session—and on some occasion had told Mrs K. that Oliver's mother had died a month before.)

Mrs K. suggested that it was a relief to Richard to think he would be able to fight and need not pretend to be friendly while he was afraid of being attacked.