Dr. Arlington's Answer - An Adopted Son's Haunting Confessions

"I was adopted into a loving family shortly after I was born on Valentine's Day 1962. My adoptive parents never kept it a secret from me, although they had no details on my birth parents. In those days, adoption officials were bound by law to keep my file sealed. I enjoyed what can only be called an idyllic childhood, so my interest in my biological parents was virtually nonexistent until after I had raised my own family. I was thirty-nine when I began a search for my birth parents. I would meet my birth mother in mid 2001, followed by my birth father in early 2002. My friends and wider family were always very curious about how I felt during this period of reunion. Over and over, I would try to explain the emotional roller coaster and how the reunion process affected me directly. It was difficult for me to explain the range of feelings that I went through and further, my conclusion of my birth parents overall. I found it hard to express in words how I reacted to it all; this from a man who writes as part of my profession. There is absolutely nothing easy about the adoption reunion process. One is not only concerned about the three primary actors, but also a host of half-siblings and unrelated spouses. Some will be positively affected and some will not accept the reunion at face value. Added to all of this is the fact that most birth parents, having given up their child for adoption, then almost universally keep that child a secret to everyone, even immediate family members. The result is, and was in my case, that the immediate family of birth parents are surprised by the sudden appearance of a 'child from the distant past.' Most importantly, I found that all three of us in the core reunion brought into the process all their personal issues, history and the many stresses that we all face in our modern world. My elder sister started to look for her birth parents at the tender age of sixteen; with very tragic results. I decided to write my own story only after many years of struggling internally with myself on how to proceed with the narrative. The result is a suspenseful story around a doctor and his patient." Mark is haunted by his adoption following the reunion with his mother. His good friend Rob, also an adopted son, recommends the mysterious Dr. Arlington as the man to listen to Mark's confession. Now, however, Rob has disappeared. Mark hopes that Dr. Arlington can shed light on the dark path his life has taken since the adoption reunion. It is a narrative told both from a present standpoint and a flashback perspective of significant and colorful characters from Mark's past. Many people from Mark' past have had a great influence on how he turned out as a man. Mark's reunion experience sadly coincides with the passing of some of these people and thus, affects his thoughts and actions during his later interactions with his birth parents. In the end, his reunion experience is not a happy one, though much has changed in the time leading up to his first appointment with the mysterious Arlington. The mysterious Doctor's office occupies a solitary room within a decaying old house set far off above the city. Mark is quickly caught up in a high stakes game of cat and mouse as the Doctor questions Mark on his past recollections. Mark must wrestle with his demons while trying to determine what has happened to Rob. Mark relates a story about his reunion and his subsequent experiences immediately following the discovery of his birth parents. Mark needs answers and he may have finally found them. Can Mark finally reach down deep to tell the Doctor everything, or keep holding onto past secrets too dark to reveal? Most importantly, can Mark handle the truth of his own demons while trying to determine Dr. Arlington's real identity? What about Mark's warning that adopted people should beware of secrets and unseen dangers in finding out your blood parents? "For all those adopted sons and daughters out there and anyone curious, re