He was running as fast as his tiny
feet could carry him, tears rolling down his cheek. A couple of pebbles
were thrown in his direction which hit him on his back, but not hard
enough to hurt him. The other children were roaring with laughter behind
his back.
"Coward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he heard someone yell.
"What a girl, look at him run holding his skirt." another voice said.
Amit
did not look behind. He just wanted to run away from everybody. They
think he is a coward? Let them. They think he is not manly enough? Let
them. When he grows up, he'll show all of them what he is made of. He
would be a bigger man than they would ever have dreamt of. But till
then, he had to get away. Away from all the teasing, bullying that he
had been experiencing ever since he made friends with them. He knew he
was physically weak, but one day he would show them brain always
prevails over brawn. As of now he just wanted his mother.
"Amit, wait!" a voice shouted
behind him. Without stopping he turned around to see tiny Vidya in her
usual pink frock trying to keep pace with him. He was so full of anger
that he didn't bother to wait. He couldn't wait. His head was boiling
with anger, eyes sore with crying and all he wanted was his mother's
arms. He continued running out of the park and across the street into
the compound of his home. Just as he opened the gate, there was a loud
screech behind him followed by a shrill scream. He turned around to see a
mass of pink drenched in red lying in front of the car which couldn't
stop in time. Everything suddenly seemed to move slowly as the crowd
gathered and Amit was frozen at the porch.
*************************************************************************
Amit woke up his face dripping
with sweat. It was still dark outside. He checked the time to see that
it was just 3:20 a.m. He took a sip of water into his parched mouth and
laid back on his bed thinking about the dream he just had. The very same
dream that had been haunting him ever since the incident happened when
he was a seven-year old kid running away from his bully friends. Vidya
was his only friend back then but she did not survive that accident. As a
toddler, it was one Vidya who came to his aid when he needed a friend,
and now at another turning point in his life, another Vidya had become
close to him. Too much to be a mere coincidence. Maybe this was the way
God played his games.
He pulled the rug to cover his shoulders and thought about his last conversation with her.
"I hope you realise your
priorities soon. You are totally messed up Amit." These were her last
words before leaving him. It was a clear message that he could either
have the one person who had been his friend and stood by him throughout
or the one girl who had stolen his heart, his mind, his life. Why did he
have to make a choice, damn it! Why can't he have both, a friend as
well as a partner. He new life was all about choices, but never thought
he would be at such a juncture where whichever choice he makes,
ultimately he would lose a part of himself.
He then pulled the rug over his head and closed his eyes in a vain attempt to catch some slumber which had long gone.
********************************************************************
S-C-H-I-Z-O-P-H-R-E-N-I-A
Payal typed on Google. She had
to know about it. Was it really a mental illness that Amit was suffering
from, or rather, was she in love with a lunatic? Could it be cured? If
yes, How?
A million questions had crossed
her mind ever since she discovered that Amit's closest friends were
actually imaginary. Why did he have non-existent friends? How come
nobody realised what was wrong?
".....a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of the process of thinking and of emotional responsiveness.
It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or
bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is
accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction. The
onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood......."
The computer screen displayed.
"I
really don't know what to do, Neha." she told her roomie who was
sitting next to her reading the information on the computer screen.
"Do you really think that you
are in a position to do anything?" Neha asked. "Get a grip over yourself
Payal. This is a psychiatric case, and you are no doctor. I feel its
better you let it go, the earlier the better."
Payal sighed. Maybe Neha was
correct. But should she give up without a try? Maybe she would, but
first she needed to know more about his condition and she continued
browsing the hundreds of web pages that google had thrown back to her.
************************************************************************
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