... what it is.

This person was a study in power. She could rivet initial attention. A skill honed over decades. She, a second born, was subject to the lost syndrome. Interests subordinated to the system in an unhealthy way. Surely there was a cultural component. It was amplified by the circumstances of her historical time and place and how her significant others coped.

Confusing a declaration and its inverse was a repeating response to stressful situations (perhaps a key lay here). Secrecy playing a special roll in undermining creativity and adaptation, a seeming waste. Middle children were ostensibly more suggestible than their siblings, this held true for her.

Misunderstood by those that wanted to be close to her, she had developed a remarkable capability to parrot the connection protocol. Coupled with an engaging smile she was liked, even loved - but only to a certain degree. When the 'chips were down' she did not count on the presence of others.

What lay underneath this qualified 'charm'? A constitution of steel, he was to discover. A remarkable ability to tie an interested party in knots at will even in her second language. But she seemed to regret doing so, needing considerable time to 'settle down'. It was as if she was responding to a battle routine she did not understand and did not support ... with her heart. Seldom crying or showing anything but a steely strength she was often jealous of those who could really feel in the presence of their friends.

And yet, here they were, highly dependent on this woman of considerable potential. Several things had worked to a degree in penetrating the hard shell. She was a mother and had a nurturing capacity that betrayed her naked power.

Powerful and suggestible. Now there is a combination, and all too familiar. So when the new opportunity arrived in the form of a deeply intelligent but inexperienced young female it was all hands on deck, so to speak. For all the right reasons, this was the time to break through that steely shell. The foundational bond was as natural as nature had to offer.