Touchy Feely

In a modest suburb where a family dental office sits between quiet streets and bustling cafés, the world feels both familiar and oddly poised for quiet miracles. Paul runs the practice with a mix of stubborn tradition and a lingering fear of change, his days measured by the steady rhythm of chairs turning and drills humming. Across the hallway of his life, his sister Abby spends her hours coaxing tension from muscles as a massage therapist, yet an unexplainable aversion to physical contact has begun to shadow every session she offers.

When a routine appointment reveals that Paul can ease a patient’s deep‑seated jaw pain with a simple, almost intuitive touch, a ripple of curiosity spreads through the clinic. The discovery hints at a hidden well of empathy that could transform his struggling business, prompting him to explore practices beyond the conventional—anything that might amplify this newfound gift without compromising his modest world.

For Abby, the resistance to touch is more than a professional inconvenience; it is a personal barricade that distances her from loved ones, especially her boyfriend Jesse, whose affection she can no longer comfortably return. Her internal struggle turns everyday interactions into a delicate dance, and she finds herself searching for ways to reconnect without violating the boundary that has taken hold of her senses.

Together, the siblings stand on opposite sides of an invisible line: one eager to expand the reach of his healing hands, the other hesitant to let anyone near hers. Their divergent approaches to comfort, intimacy, and the quiet art of caring set the stage for a poignant exploration of how we touch—and are touched—by the people closest to us.

Last Updated: August 10, 2025 at 06:14