An Intimate Consultation Between Two Hearts

Prabhakar set the alarm for six am in the morning but it kept ringing, he woke up at eight Am. Why didn't Leela wake me up after so long? Leela... Leela.. why didn't you wake me up earlier? He shouted seeing his wife who was doing something in the kitchen. So are you a little child? you're a great counsellor, isn't it? don't you know what time to get up? I wake up at five in the morning, Leela gets angry with her husband. He mutters that if he fights with her, the day will be ruined and he goes to bath. While he was going to take a bath, Leela went and woke up her son who was snoring till eight o'clock. Mom.....! I will sleep for a while...! He took his old tune. 

She took him to the bathroom in his son's room to take a bath saying that he should get ready before his father takes a bath, otherwise, he will scold him in the morning. 

Prabhakar finished his bath, got ready for office and sat in front of the dining table for breakfast. Leela brought the hot upma into a bowl and placed it on the table. By that time son Neeraj came and sat ready for school. he saw the upma on his plate and said I don't want it.  I fried well semolina and peas in ghee and salted it, she said. What's new in this? I don't want the same routine.

Prabhakar got angry when his son turned his face and said he didn't want breakfast. Leave it if you don't want it. You look like a little boy, but you have a lot of ego in your stomach. Don't you want to eat? Do you eat or not?   He shouted. Seeing his father's anger, the son got scared, ate upma, and drank a glass of water quickly.

Prabhakar finished his breakfast and left for the office. Leela somehow pacified her son who was insisting on not having any interest to go to school and sent him to school as soon as the school bus arrived.

Prabhakara was like a fierce figure in his house, but he was like a calm idol in the office. He appointed a girl named Sarala as a receptionist in his office. Sir, a lady has brought her son, shall I send him in? She said simply. Okay, send them in. He said.

Prabhakara said, Madam, please sit down; tell me what your problem is." Hello, sir, this is my son, Sujaya. He doesn't listen to my words, sir,  he doesn't have any interest in going to school, and he is always moody. There are many complaints about him at his school. Seeing that boy, Prabhakar remembered his son and asked him very kindly what his name was. The boy said, My name is Sujay. Okay, in which class are you studying? That boy looked out the office window and said, I am not a child; I am in fifth grade.

Prabhakar said to the boy's mother that she should stay outside for a while;     Prabhakara asked Sujay, Would you like to draw something? He raised his ears like a kitten while hearing the word drawing, he laughed, and said, "Oh, yes, I will give you a white sheet. On it, you can draw whatever you like. Draw it.                             

Or, you can share with me those ideas that you have not been able to share with your family so far that is, try to draw them on this sheet. While Prabhakara was talking, the boy was not paying any attention to him and was engrossed in his world of drawing.

He was surprised when he picked up the mobile which was kept in silent mode. There were ten missed calls from his wife. She doesn't call that much during duty time. Why did she do it today?

He came out and called his wife. After not answering the first two calls, Leela accepted Prabhakar's third call and spoke.                    Prabha...! Please Come home soon. Neeraj didn't go to school today. I have searched many places, but I couldn't find him, she said with concern in her voice. Hearing his wife's words, Prabhakar was shocked and did not know what to do. Prabhakar went inside the office and drank the water from the bottle. Where could he have gone? I can't work properly in the clinic because of him. I have to go now. Someone touched him as he sat thinking. Sir, I have drawn a picture. The boy drew a picture of a dry tree with no leaves, no flowers, a lake under it, and a boy sitting there. Prabhakara was surprised to see it and was dumbfounded.

After driving his car at a speed of ninety kilometres per hour, he came home and entered the house directly. Prabhakar was sad to see Leela sitting there on the sofa. Without her knowledge, he went to his son's room and opened his son's drawing book. Seeing the picture drawn by his son, Prabhakar's face began to sweat, and he immediately tore the sheet with the picture and put it in his pocket.

Prabhakar felt it was not right to delay any longer. He panicked and told his wife, Let's go to the station; let's file a complaint; don't slow down any more. Leela followed him.

Sitting in the car, Leela put her head out of the window and started to see where her son could be seen. She sat mesmerised by her son's meditation and did not know that the police station had come.

 Get down Leela woke up hearing Prabhakar call that the station had arrived. She got out of the car. Leela, who had never seen what it was like inside the police station, felt shy and afraid to go inside.

Hello, inspector, I am Prabhakara; this is my Mrs Leela; , hello ; sit down, sir; our son is missing.          How did you know so soon? Who told you that your son was missing? Yes, sir, the school bus driver, Thimpappa, called me and said that Neeraj was absent from his class. Leela started sobbing about whether he went to school again or not.

Okay, madam, does your son like to go to school? Is he as normal as other boys?

He was normal, like all boys. But recently, he was so persistent that he didn't have any interest in going to school. He didn't tell me why.                Today, too he insisted that he wouldn't go to school. I gave him ten rupees to eat chocolate and sent him on the school bus, sir. I shouldn't have sent him to school today, sir.

Leela started crying and said that I should have asked him what his problem was. Prabhakar consoled Leela.

Okay, madam, please file a complaint and give me your son's photo, and we will search him, said Inspector Pratap. Prabhakar looked for his son's photo on his mobile but couldn't find one. He looked at his wife's face and lowered his head.

Leela showed the photo of her son on her mobile to the inspector. The inspector stared at the boy. Sir, I wanted to tell you something, said Prabhakara.

Tell me, said the inspector, looking at Prabhakar's face.

"Sir, this is a picture drawn by my son," he said, handing him the white sheet he had brought. Why did you give me this? He asked without understanding. Sir, a boy who came to my clinic today had written a picture like this, said Prabhakara. What does that have to do with this? He said. Not so, sir, this kind of dry wood, black-painted faces are painted only by children with abnormal mental conditions, i.e., only children with mental disorders Sir, Prabhakar's voice was dull.

 Hearing the word mental disorder,  Leela stared at her husband's face. Sir, the boy who came to the clinic today was very similar to our son.  He didn't like going to school like that, but he liked drawing. Similarly, laziness and inferiority were all in him. That means this persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) is a psychosis with "dysthymia" It is commonly seen in school-going children. Such children have no interest in going to school. Boredom, frustration, lack of interest in anything, not sleeping or sleeping too much, and lack of concentration are all symptoms. My son had all these symptoms, sir; I just didn't notice, said Prabhakar sadly. Oh, then your son was also suffering from this dysthymia, said the inspector. Yes, sir, this drawing is saying that.

My son is not crazy! Prabha, what are you saying? Without telling me all this, you are saying it here in front of everyone. You are not a responsible father at all. Leela turned her frustration into anger and scolded Prabhakar.

Inspector Pratap tries to comfort Leela: Control yourself, madam, and drink some water. Sir, find my son quickly. Where has he gone? Leela sat with her hands on her head. Prabhakar felt sad for himself. I used to put other people's children on the right path, but I was sad that I did not understand my son's problem.

Inspector Pratap started looking at the picture of the boy again. "Let's find him.

Sagar, come here! Look at this boy's photo,     Today, there was a murder in a deserted area on the outskirts of the city. We went there. I remember now that a boy came across our jeep while crossing the road. You braked and scolded him. I didn't notice the boy's face in tension. He said this to his Jeep driver, Sagar. Seeing the boy's photo, Sagar said to the inspector, Yes, sir, this was the boy who came across our jeep.

Is that where the murder took place? Why has he gone there, sir? come sir, Let's go to that place. Is that a place where there was a murder? We are feeling scared, sir. Please take us to that place, sir, or we will go and see for ourselves. Leela asked the inspector several questions at once in a panicked voice.

 Inspector Pratap said to them, he may have gone somewhere else without going there, or if there is a lake there, he might have gone to that place. Hearing the inspector's words, Leela got scared and held Prabhakar's hand tightly. Inspector said to Neeraj's parents, Let us first go to that place and find your son; both of you can come with us.

 

The police jeep carrying Prabhakar and Leela stopped near a deserted area on the outskirts of the city. The driver said that if you get down and go a little further, you will find the lake, and everyone followed him. An old man was sitting by the lake, catching fish. Hoy, old man, has any little boy come here?" Police Inspector Pratap asked the old man, yes sir, he had come. The boy, who was just sitting and talking with me until now, when he heard the sound of your jeep ,he frightened and ran away.   The inspector asked the old man, Where did he go?, He ran to that forest. Everyone went to the forest that the old man pointed to.

 Neeraj……! Neeraj……..! Leela shouted. Prabhakar also shouted, Neeraj, please come son,  if you don't want to go to school, leave it. Please come, Neeraj; no one will do anything to you, shouted Inspector Pratap. Leela was going into the forest, calling her son's name. Suddenly, Mom... Mom... Someone called Leela from behind the tree, saying, "I'm here."

Please come, Neeraj! Come out….! Leela shouted I am here, your mother. Neeraj, who was behind a bush, saw his mother's face and ran to her and hugged her. As soon as he saw his son, tears fell in Prabhakar's eyes without him knowing it. Seeing Prabhakar, Neeraj got scared and hid behind his mother.

 "Thank you so much for finding our son," Leela said happily to Inspector Pratap. Inspector Pratap went ahead, saying that now that you have your son, at least pay attention to him. Children's minds are very sensitive; don't put pressure on your son's mind to study and get more marks; treat him well. Neeraj, who was hiding behind Leela, was afraid of seeing his father's face. When he came home, he was walking around, avoiding his father's eyes.

Leela was surprised to see Prabhakar watching TV without going to the office; why won't you go to the clinic today? She asked her husband.

I thought I should give my clinic every Saturday off. A small smile of good decision flashed on his face, and he said that the consultation would take place not only at my counselling centre but also at our home.