All Comments on 'Healing'

Brilliant work! Had a great time reading this one. So wholesome!

I really want to like this story, as it has several things that succeed, like Rudra's patience, slow attention with Nikki, being careful with her, washing her and hugging her. However, some other things never materialized that would have benefitted this story tremendously.

First, Rudra was painfully shy--almost to the point of being unable to function socially--that he exceedingly feared Nicole would reject him, despite them being best of friends. Second, all we know about Nicole is that she's Black, with she and Rudra together in a college movie club. The story states he met her parents, but you needed to describe them at least in terms of their general temperaments, professions and expectations for Nicole. So when later in the story they reveal they KNEW Rudra loved her and Nicole had zero clue, it's the PARENTS that are half to blame for not telling Nicole about Rudra or at least to stay away from Tom (it was neglect). Third, the average Black woman I've known (and in general) usually defends herself quite well with her nails and even fists, can be a bit stubborn, is a bit feisty at least but definitely doesn't tolerate physical abuse and will hurt a guy enough to slap the tar out of him. It was almost like this Tom kidnapped her and she suffered Stockholm syndrome to be able to continue tolerating that flogging and scratching--to say nothing of raping her and repeatedly subjecting her to that BDSM--because he abused her in the extreme. Fourth:

while the authorities threw him in jail, the story missed a chance to give him payback, where he dropped the soap in the shower and a bigger guy made him his "bitch". So when she shows up the first time to see Rudra, the fact she covered herself gave away extreme abuse, either in self-mutilation, burning or scarring...couple that with the refusal to be touched intimately insinuated a rape. Fifth, Rudra (despite knowing this once she confesses) still insists on trying to lick her anally and bite her? The first thing you do NOT do is repeat touching the abused spots! In reality, no woman would have tolerated that at all until probably 1 full year had passed and after the new man showing TONS of love, affection and patience to said woman; that she wants to try it 2-3 days after confessing doesn't fit. Sixth, for Rudra supposedly to have only lost his virginity, how did he gain the experience to turn her on and how which spots would make her squirt? That only results from a few good trysts with other women--but the story reveals he waited for Nicole and never sought other female companionship to replace her. So that doesn't add up. Seventh...see comment above again, but any self-respecting male will at least have a nice trimmer on hand or at least some good safety trimming scissors to cut hair off ears, out of his nose...why wouldn't he use the trimmer with a guide to trim down her bush and armpits FIRST, then shave them? He'd see what was left and wouldn't have a regular razor choking it's way through all that!

Just by being the good guy, Rudra would have won her over. However, there needed to be far more time spent courting her as a woman first, to gain her trust because of that extreme abuse, then bring out small gains over the next 6 months-1 year, then maybe really make the sex sizzle. The story didn't fail to detail the body washing nor intimate contact, but it insisted on visiting areas Nicole in reality probably would have not accepted addressing until much farther down the road. Tom brutalized Nicole far too much and by the account, broke her; that's not something a woman rebuilds from in just 7 weeks or so--not even close.

The best I can rate this is 2, for all the missed details that would have made supreme differences in how the story unfolded. It should have avoided or greatly minimized the BDSM/abuse too.