DAY SEVENTY SIX

The Whisper

A young man entered the doctor’s office. From his face, it was clear that he had not come for ordinary medicine.

“Doctor...” he said quietly. “Please help me. My wife and I have been married for years, but we still don’t have children.”

The doctor looked at him carefully. He did not rush to write a prescription. He did not ask the usual medical questions.

“Where do you live?” he asked.

“In a village.”

“What is around your village?”

“Cornfields.”

The doctor nodded.

“Does your wife work?”

“Of course. From morning until night. She takes care of the cows, milks them, and then goes to the market to sell the milk.”

“And when was the last time you gave her a gift?”

The man looked confused.

“I don’t remember...”

“Flowers?”

“No.”

“Earrings?”

“Never.”

The doctor leaned back in his chair.

“Then listen carefully. I have a special method. I call it ‘The Whisper.’”

The man moved closer.

“Buy her a beautiful pair of earrings. Let her dress nicely. Tell her you want to take a walk together — just like you did before you were married.”

“And then?”

“Walk beside her. Talk to her. Hold her hand. Make her feel that she is not only your wife, but the woman you once fell in love with.”

“And the earrings?”

“Give them to her in a quiet place, away from everyone else. Let the gift be not a duty, but a declaration of love.”

“Is that all?”

The doctor smiled.

“No. The most important thing is still left.”

“What is it?”

“Whisper to her.”

“What should I whisper?”

The doctor smiled again.

“That is not medicine. Your heart must tell you.”

The man left the office, carrying the doctor’s unusual advice with him.

One year later, he returned.

In one hand he held a bottle of cognac, and in the other — a bottle of vodka.

The doctor smiled.

“So? Did my treatment work?”

The man put the bottles on the table and laughed.

“Doctor, it wasn’t your treatment that worked...”

“Then what was it?”

“The whisper.”

The doctor looked surprised.

“I don’t understand.”

The man smiled proudly.

“Now, in our home, there are three people whispering: me, my wife... and our son.”