DR. YASHIR
A Short Story By KRITHIK RAJ
1.THE FIEND COUNTERPART
‘Let me help you with this, alright? Just calm down and—come on
here.’
‘I’ve lost it dad, I’m so doomed. It’s all over. I mean I….’
Sachu said sitting on a chair. his thighs and legs trembling so much.
‘I’m here, I’m telling you…just calm down…and come on here.’
said Nithesh Kumar, his dad with a bit firm voice standing few steps ahead of him.
‘Out of nowhere I know about the company…about mom…about a du…doctor called Sathya.’ he poured out words slowly.
His fingers kept twiddling joint together.
Nithesh looked shocked, perplexed. He clasped his hands behind his head and sighed in a confused way.
The wind howled through the windows of the room. They were just two and there was some one more hiding, and couldn’t speak. His wrath didn’t let him.
‘Sachu…I got you, okay? Just relax and…come here.’ Nithesh said slowly stepping towards him. Slow as in really slow.
‘I’m hell bount to do something dad. I feel it in my bones. And….’ sachu started crying.
‘You know how special you are right, boy? I trust you so much.
‘Just….relax, dad’s with you. I’ve called, one of my workmates is coming, we’ll take you to the hospital, okay?’
‘Please dad, I know what happens and you don’t understand…PLEASE DAD.’ he yelled and grunted.
The night had come. That was one ghastly atmosphere he thought would happen some day. The anger, the misery of the hiding shadow is all that mattered, and it’s the reason
behind this whole show.
‘I’ve never let you down, Sachu. I know…I understand totally what you’re going through, more than anyone.’ Nithesh said in a soothing way, or atleast pretended to make it that way.
He got near him and held his hands.
Sachu looked up to him. His eyes were red, tears flowing along his cheeks, ‘Dad…’ he uttered, stood up and hugged him. Nithesh hugged him back.
‘I know how confused you are, man. Just don’t get yourself dangling with those thoughts, those lies. Believe what’s true, Sachu.’
Sachu let his hand slowly inside his trouser pocket.
‘It’s the truth that scares me dad. But, the thing is…you’re more scared of it than me.’ he whispered and stabbed his dad really hard below his jaw with a utility knife.
☆☆☆
STATE GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL,
WHITE TOWN, PONDICHERRY
‘Slowly open your eyes, please. Do you recognize yourself?’
‘Yes.’ Slow whispers
‘What’s your name?’
‘Sachu.’
‘Good, let me introduce myself. I’m Mohammad
Yashir. DNB in Psychiatry. Do you know why you’re here?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Well…just sit back and relax, okay? I’m here to solve all your problems. Don’t get me like the police officers or…the court people…or anyone who happened to scare you knowingly or unknowingly. Consider me your…well everyone says ‘friend’ in this spot, but I know how it would feel for you. May be your brother, (Gosh I’m still bad at this!) Who you could share all your problems.’
‘Brother? I’m sorry, but i understand. The next thing you’re going to say is, “I’ll have to ask you some questions.” Well, go ahead doctor. I hope you weren’t beating around the bush.’
(Busted. I tried actually good nevertheless he knew what I’m going to say next. Play cool, not fool.)
‘Well, do you have a mere idea what you’ve done?’
‘Patricide…I know.’
‘Just let’s not get ahead of ourselves…you love your father, don’t you?’
‘I understand it totally. A successful businessman owning a pharmaceutical company, steal company, dealership in many states all over Tamilnadu….must have made thousands of friends but a few enemies. He had bunch of enemies. He’s not a good man, I know it. But I love him. He really shouldn’t have gone like that. Like…by his very own son.’
‘I here by see you’re free talking with me…Sachu. I appreciate that very much. Is there a particular reason, that…anyone in your place…would do that to his dad?’
‘It’s about…the counterpart that fell off the saddle, that demands for rights, for liberty.”
‘You talk beyond your age…not lying, you’re different. I can’t believe, as a practitioner in a clinical set-up I shouldn’t say this to his patient but, you are actually mentally-ill. But you’re– like, like, definitely not a thirteenyear old.’
‘National Health Survey of 2016 says fifteen percent of Indians require mental treatment. Mental…is really interesting. We would never knew how deep one could explore within our minds, which could do the impossible. It’s marvelous. I myself am interested in studying about brain. Neurology, or….the stuff I’m not aware of the specialities. But I like them. And you being a psychologist I—‘
‘Im not a psychologist, Im a psychiatrist. I see about the vast knowledge you have and genuinely outspoken mouth.’
Sorry if I seem so loquacious…I’m not basically much outspoken but…’
‘But?(Shrugs and smiles).
‘All those I’m talking that seem new or weird…it’s him.
He tells me all of it.’
‘He?’
‘Him…the one…the shadow who’s been with me since I have conscious memory.’
Well…he’s here, right? In this room.’
‘You knew I would say it.’
‘What does he want? What’s he been feeding you?’
‘I talk good now, because he’s good. He’s very
angry. For being non-existent. He feels so bad
about me, not being a regular one. Him cutting in my whole life.’
‘Did he made you do it?’
‘Yes. He had his own motive.’
‘Does your father, or anyone know that you have an imaginary friend?’
‘This is the first time I’m talking about him to a
person. After he felt okay to open up.’
‘Who is he? Your brother? Friend? Does he have a name?’
‘I tried. He doesn’t like to be called with a name. He says he’s not alive. He has his own principles. Own ways of doing things, seeing things. But he’s very similar to me. But, apart from his limitations, I’d call him Innatus.’
‘Innatus. Can I talk with him?’
‘You are already. He’s a part of everything in me. I know I’m being fixed with the tag that I’m schizophrenic. But I’m not.’
‘Schizophrenic. Wha…how do you know all these?'(Startled).
‘I know a lot more you wouldn’t believe. My abilities are far beyond that of my friends. That’s the whole drawback and the reason for my dropout. He says that’s okay…that’s okay to be super. I’m bad…really bad.’
‘Whatever you feel bad about…I’m here for you. One thing you refuse to believe but the real truth is that, this….Innatus guy, he is—‘
‘Not real. I get where this is going. But, no one
would really understand. I’m a bad product. Lethal. And…what’s there in Matthew 17:16…”Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”, I feel every bit of it. That’s so personal to me.’
‘Well…I thought of beginning with antipsychotics and cognitive behavioral therapy, rehab but i have a feeling that I need to take an MRI and…let’s talk later, Sachu. One thing I want you to really know. I’m here for you, whatever it is. I’m here, okay? Before the next court trial…forget about those police and
those nameless pissants trying to threaten you. I’m here to protect you.’
‘I see the genuine face of yours, doctor. Not a
mask you put on like every other fake people.
You’re real. There’s a possibility that you could win my trust,…which is a miracle.’
‘Miracle(smiles).’
☆☆☆
Yashir opened a Sepoy&co ginger ale and began to sip lying down in his bed. He was in his hostel room with his roommate, Reux at Kosapalayam, Pondicherry.
‘Did you hear what this….Sachu guy’s father’s
associate said?’ said Reux.
‘No, what?’ Yashir said and gulped some more ale,’He’s one hell of a kid. He shared some instances about him that really startled me and left me in awe.’ Reux began,
‘Born in 2010, his mother died in a car accident, one year after he was born.
His development is tremendous in an eerie way, more mental than physical. He has a very excellent abstract ability. He knew about marriage, sex, all its limitations, pros and cons when he was just six…could you imagine, just six…we were pooping in our pants at that age.’
‘I used to poop till twelve or less.’
‘Never mind, he’d begun discussing about his dad’s business with everyone, he was too adamant to know about his father’s conpany archives, unknown businesses and all that, read more novels, books at ten. He’d spent most of the time alone, hence forth less socializing in nature, no friends. He knew
everything about computer, mobile phones,
banking, even stock market.’
‘I still have a mere idea about it.’ Yashir said
smirking and sighing.
Reux added, ‘He read journals everyday, watches news. Read history books, he actually seemed to love them. He read Bible, all 1330
thirukural…understood everything. An extremely high memory power and IQ. He was caught by his school principal when a tenth grade teacher complained about him. He had forced her to give him a mathematics question paper….’
‘He must’ve mastered that exam, right?’
‘Yes. She must not have complained. Bet the kid had freaked her ass out.’
They both burst out laughing.
‘He likes to dig the ground. No idea why. Loves to do so.’
‘There’s something going on his head, something is wrong. And I have a gut feel…you know, about his mother. He never talked about it. I’ll find out.’ Yashir said, gulped and unloaded fully the ginger ale, and woke up from his bed.
‘Let his MRI results come.’ He added.
☆☆☆
What in the heck is this thing? I mean…what the hell?’ Reux shouted astonishingly and in dismay.
They both were left thunderstuck the next morning by Sachu’s MRI brain images.
‘Oh my god, how could some have not seen this already? How long? This is…insane. is that a tumor?’
Yashir sat down. The MRI images showed something that spread all over his brain like branches from a big mass in the right
infratemporal region (the temple). They both couldn’t believe their eyes.
‘Is that a tumour?’ Reux asked.
‘Looks like a malignant tumor, but it isn’t. How come a tumor show no symptom all these years? I don’t want to sound wierd but is it the one making him super-able?’
‘Look at that, those fingers like spread. It’s arborizing pattern.’ Reux said.
‘Exactly. This is….like a white matter spread all over the outer grey matter, the cerebral cortex.’
‘What do you mean by that? What is that exactly?’
‘Did you ask his father’s associate about any history of any of loss of conscious, seizures, twitches, headache?’
‘Why wouldn’t I? Only “No,no and no.”‘
‘It actually—oh my god!’
‘What?’
Yashir gasped thunderstuck, and said, ‘Feels wierd to say, but…it’s a brain. Kind of.’
‘What the hell?’ said Reux confused.
‘Yes, it—i don’t know but it controls his brain. It spreads to his Frontal lobe and his personality changes, Temporal and he’s being instructed what to talk, and there’s arborizing spread to motor cortex, premotor cortex, occipital—Ohh my god..it’s like a second brain. How in the hell did this come out of nowhere?’
‘If this wasn’t found in the antenatal anamoly scan, then there’s definitely a mistake. Something we’re missing out.’
‘You need to talk to Sachu about this.’ Reux said.
‘That’s exactly what I’m thinking.’
☆☆☆
In Psychiatry specified Observation, Yashir rushed to him.
‘Sachu, why don’t you tell me about your mother?’ he said.
Holding a book called Parallel Lives by Plutarch, sitting on the chair facing the window,
The Innatus turned back and said,
‘I knew you’d come and ask this.’
‘Where’d you get that book from?’
‘It’s mine, I manipulated the nurse to bring it here, she’d do anything for me.’ He said grinning and added, ‘Sathyapriya, a gynecologist, my dad’s friend was persuaded by him to abort both of us. One died, but his brain didn’t. It just flew along like dandelions and got stuck with mine.’
‘Why would he do that to you? To your mother?’
‘My mother is my dad’s PA.’
‘What? Oh, they made a life after that?’ Asked
Yashir.
‘His wife actually died in a car accident. He
happened to drug his PA’s drink in a party a year later and…you know the rest. He didn’t want the twins. Us. My mom refused. After the criminal abortion, with one kid alone my mom tried to run away, escape, bring this to light. And…he didn’t let her. I was born anyway and she was killed. Turns out I’m his son, out of nowhere. My mother isn’t Mrs Nithesh Kumar. All the time he said your mom’s car was crashed, my counterpart began to speak. He said not to believe him. He Learned all
these from the company archives, without my
dad’s knowledge.’
Dumbstuck Yashir couldn’t speak two words.
‘Huh—Well, that’s the case. You knew everything from the start.’
‘I do. He stayed all along whenever I was scared, taught me things, his own ways. Laws.’
Yashir stood right there, his eyes wide open. A
part of him wanted to run away. He wanted justice. Justice is done. Amen.’ Sachu
said and chuckled with his ‘thirteen-year old devil’-ly voice.
‘What happens now? You’ve accomplished your goal?’ Yashir asked.
‘I should’ve killed the doctor too. But I’m here. If this shouldn’t happen, the only safe thing for her is—‘
‘Jail.’ Interrupted Yashir.
‘You said it yourself, I’m mentally-ill and I need therapy, no reformatory. Also I’ve got many many many many things to do yet…a lot in my bucket list.’ he said, winked and went back to study.
“The blooming beauty of a flower is masked by a fiend story behind it. The flower was nefarious than any other devil in the world. Yet, it is a flower. How come?” Yashir thought.
“What would he be after some thirty years? After he took the bad path to travel? What would he do? Him and his Innatus, thriving into this world of vengeance, filth, demons, wars, and corpses of the unholy…He’d rule and destroy the whole world.“ he wondered.
☆☆☆
Yashir and Reux filed a complaint against Dr
Sathyapriya, a gynecologist in Chennai with all
the evidences obtained from Nithesh Kumar’s
company archives. Under IPC 312, she was
imprisoned for seven years.
☆☆☆
It was dusking,
‘What happens to him now?’ Reux asked after
getting Sachu’s discharge summary.
‘If this condition on his head continues, his
intracranial pressure would hike up, there’d be
uncal herniation, one sided cortical tract
compression, and—‘
‘Contra-lateral hemiplegia.’
‘Exactly, one sided paralysis. And worse. He
needs to be taken cared of.’ Yashir said.
They both walked through the busy corridor.
I’ll take care of him. I’ll protect him. I’ll try to give him everything what a normal kid would
need. Education, a friend, a parent, happiness,
anything and make him take the right path. I’ll
show him how beautiful life is.’ Said Yashir.
They reached where Sachu was sitting idle in
the three-seated waiting chair in the reception.
‘Let’s go home.’
‘Home?’
‘To my place. My hostel. That’s the only way I
know. Only if you trust me.’
‘I trust you.’ He said and gave a one-sided smile.
‘Like to have some ginger ale?’ Reux asked.
‘I’ll think about it.’ Sachu said and got up.
They three walked out of the hospital.
☆