you know; I'm trying to help you."

Bennett nodded and spoke rapidly, as though trying to finish before he
could stop himself. "She was a woman who exactly fitted an image I've
had in mind for as long as I can remember. She was tall, fair--though
brunette--very beautiful, very vivid, very well poised. I seem to have
known her all my life, but only in my dreams, from my very earliest
ones to the present. She's never changed in all that time."

He halted as suddenly as he had begun to talk, either having nothing
more to say, or unwilling to say it.

"Have you ever married, Mr. Bennett?" Hall prodded gently.

"No, I never have." Again, Bennett stopped, adding nothing more to his
blunt answer.

"May I ask why not?"

Bennett turned his face away. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that. It
makes me sound like a romantic kid." He looked at the doctor almost in
defiance. "I've always felt that some day I would meet this girl, or
at least someone very much like her. I know it's not a rational
feeling--maybe I've even used it as an excuse not to get married--but
it's like spilling salt and throwing a pinch over our shoulder; we
aren't superstitious, yet we don't take any chances."

Dr. Hall didn't comment. He ended the questioning period and put
Bennett through a series of tests. Then they sat down again and Hall
offered his diagnosis.

"The neurological examination is essentially negative, Mr. Bennett. In
other words, there is no organic reason that I can find for your
headaches. That leaves only one other possibility--an emotional
disturbance. I'm a neurologist, remember, not a psychoanalyst. I can
only give an opinion about the cause of your complaint."

Bennett waited expectantly.

"Headaches without organic causes are generally the result of
repressed anger," Hall went on. "That anger can stem from any number
of traumatic situations or attitudes, all deeply buried in the
unconscious, of course, or they would not have the power to hurt us.
From what we know of you, however, it seems to be the result of
frustration. In other words, you have created a fantasy image of a
completely unattainable woman, and therefore none of the women you
meet can fulfill your expectations. Since she is unattainable, you
naturally feel a sense of frustration."

"But who could she be?" Bennett asked anxiously.

"Someone you knew in childhood, perhaps. A composite of real and
imaginary women. Usually, it is an idealized image of your own