Green Tea & Strawberry Shampo

“I see her right now. She is smiling at me.” says the little boy.

“Where is she?” I ask, not even looking behind.

“Right there, behind you. Missy is sniffing your hair. She says you smell like strawberries” he says, at this I do turn around.

“Is that so...” my voice fades.

I did use strawberry shampoo, like I always do. I stare at the seven year old boy. Despite the large number of cases of over imaginative children, I feel that his case is different.

I’m subconsciously playing with my hair, I realise. That is something I usually do when I’m under stress. He shouldn’t have known that. Not from where I stand. I frown.

“Amir, give your mommy and me a minute. Go play.” I try to smile, but it just looks like a bad tooth ache.

Amir runs and I watch him. I know he is a special kid.

“Is he not okay?” Mrs. Khan asks. She is a graceful, elegant woman in her early forties. She has light brown wavy hair, just like Amir’s. Her brows are knitted together, her eyes full of concern, she looks deeply worried.

“Amir is a special kid. Most kids his age aren’t as sensitive as he is.” I say. Suddenly something flashes and now I get it. It makes perfect sense. I smile a very privet smile.

“Please tell me, is it normal? Those visions, doctor.” She says.

I give her a sad smile this time.

“I don’t think those are visions. Visions are something we experience in dreams or trances or they are some sort of supernatural apparition. What he sees are just fragments of his imagination" I say.

“These imaginary friends of his are quite eerie.” She says.

“Amir is dyslexic, which is neither uncommon nor bad. So sometimes his mind can’t process what he sees.”

“Is he crazy?” she says sobbing a little.

“No Mrs. Khan. Please don’t get me wrong. Let me explain something to you. Do you see the light shimmering on the water outside?” I ask pointing at the pool outside with the noon sun shining on it.

She nods slowly.

“Now do you see the light reflected on the wall?”I ask pointing at the wall behind her, where the light reflected from the pool glittered.

She nods again, not able to see how light reflected from the water would help her understand her kid.

“See, you get it. The light falls on the water, the water acts as a reflecting surface. Then the light is reflected onto the wall and glitters. The wind blows over the water surface which makes the water dance and thus the reflected light dances on my wall.” I say.

Mrs Khan thinks about it. Not consciously yet she had processed all of this.

“Yes, but what about Amir?” she say.

I take a deep breath. Parents.... sometimes they have no patience.

“Now that’s something Amir can’t really do. He looks at the light flickering on the wall, and he won’t really be able to process why the light dances, his head creates missy or other characters to explain this.”

“But the other kids...” she says.

“The kids his age don’t bother themselves with the things Amir pays attention to.” I sigh, the other kids...

“Amir is a very smart kid, don’t underestimate him. He is special. Eventually he will get hold of the world and Missy will disappear. He sees the world differently, he enjoys it. His over-active imagination takes him places. Missy is not something evil, all this is not something crazy. It is just a tool to help him grasp a world that is too complex for his little head.” I say.

She smiles; I think she understands things a little better now.

Just then Amir runs into my office.

“I fed the ducks” he says showing us his left -over sandwich. I smile.

We talk a little more, a few puzzles and Amir amuses me a little more with his smart talk. Soon the session comes to an end.

“Thank you Dr. Patil” Mrs. Khan says bidding me goodbye.” Let me buy you coffee sometime...”

“But missy says that doctor drinks green tea.” Amir says.

Yet again he said something he couldn’t have possibly known, but this time it does not surprise me. I laugh.” Maybe we can go out for ice cream sometime" I say.

“Yes!!” Amir exclaimed.

I watch them go down the hall...

I return to my desk and stare at the single post it on the wall behind. It was my to-do list with a single line scribbled on it.

“Buy strawberry shampoo and green tea.” It read.

I smile. I don’t know when he saw that but he did notice it. He notices everything. He is smart and so is missy, I guess I like her.