On the power of communication

Let us call her Frederica for the sake of anonymity. I had been the family doctor for many years, and had attended to her late parents as well as her siblings. She was a 40 year old unmarried woman with a great zest for living, a unique sense of humour, and a modest awareness of her physical beauty. She spent her annual summer holiday basking in the hot sun of the Côte d'Azur, whence she sent me a breezy picture postcard with her own inimitable funny remarks.

Though our relationship was …