The Life Of Myra - Chapter 13

I almost pinch myself. Is this real? Or just my imagination?

In front of me, in my living room, are Mahika, mom, Anish, Rishi, Dr. Shantanu, Rosy, Reeya, the cop from the police station, SI Patil, all looking at me warily.

What is this? Have they all been plotting something against me? Why is the cop here?

I am suddenly aware of Madhumita’s limp head resting on my shoulders, her limp body against me. I am suddenly ashen faced, considering the cop is here and I am caught red-handed, with no logical explanation I can give for my actions, when to my utter horror and surprise, Madhumita stands up straight, and walks over to stand next to Anish, her face impassive.

What the …? Was she acting till now? But how is that even possible? I had injected her the drug myself!

And I still can’t figure out why they all are here. Whatever it is, is between me and Madhumita, and none of the other’s bloody business. Why is Dr. Shantanu here?

I wait, for their accusations to begin.

I look over at Rishi, trying to figure out how he features in all of this, when his face, which has been rigid like a stone, suddenly softens.

“Myi…Myra, sit,” he says.

I don’t understand. No one else speaks a word. They are just watching with unfathomable expressions. If Rosy and Reeya are here, why isn’t Saloni here? She is the one person who is always on my side. She will speak for me. And where is…

“Where is Mayank?” I ask, my heart beat speeding up slightly. What these people are up to, I have no idea, but I can’t let them harm my baby brother.

Rishi exchanges a meaningful look with Mahika. I am losing my patience.

“Myra, sit down, we need to talk,” Rishi says.

I don’t have any other option, I guess. If I want to know why all of them are here, I must comply.

I sit down on a chair, facing all of them. Rishi pulls a chair from the dining table, places it across from me, and sits on it, his back to everyone, as if they aren’t here. What the heck is going on?

“Myra, I don’t want to startle you, but you need to be truthful, okay?” he says.

I really fail to understand. What does he mean by startling me?

I thought he is about to interrogate me about Madhumita!

I just nod.

“Tell me what you remember,” he says.

What I remember? I remember bloody everything; I want to blurt out. But I control myself. I can’t lose my calm in front of Dr. Shantanu and the cop. Probably that is why they have been called.

“I remember everything,” I say, my tone sounding more like a question

“Okay,” Rishi sighs. “Today is Saturday, right?” he asks.

I don’t know where he is heading but I don’t care anymore. I just decide to play along. But I will be alert. If all of them are here to trap me in some scheme, I will fight them.

“Tell me what you did last Sunday,” he says, and I am non plussed.

I look at all the others in the room, who are watching us impassively. Why is Rishi asking me such irrelevant questions?

“Myra, what did you do last Sunday?” he repeats.

I close my eyes. Last Sunday…I try hard to recall what I did last Sunday. When was my duty? Was it an off? Was it a night?

I have absolutely no recollection.

I feel confused and I look at him for support. How does he know that I have no recollection of last Sunday?

“Last Saturday?” he asks.

I try to think. I close my eyes tightly shut and massage my temples. But nothing comes to my mind.

“What is happening? What have you done?” I ask, agitated. Why can’t I recall?

“Because, Myra,” Rishi says slowly, deliberately, stressing every word, “you have erased past two and a half years from your life”.

What? I am dumb founded!

“Are you kidding me?” I ask, and I look at the others to see if anyone is laughing. But no one is laughing. I can see my mother sitting there, silently sobbing.

I look back at Rishi.

“What do you mean erased?” I ask him.

“Myra, when do you think you broke up with Anish?” he asks.

“What do you mean when? When that bitch decided to destroy…”

“Myra, it’s been three years. You and Anish broke up three years back. And it was not because of Madhumita. Madhumita came into Anish’s life two years back. They are now married, and we attended their marriage,” he says, patiently, as if talking to a five-year-old.

“What? How? I-I-I don’t understand how…”

“And this is not the first time something like this has happened,” he goes on, as if I never interrupted him.

“What do you mean?” I ask finally. I don’t know what to believe anymore.

“Let’s go step by step. Tell me what happened last Monday,” he says.

How can I forget last Monday?

“I had agreed to relieve Rasika at 2 pm, two hours before my scheduled duty at 4,” I say.

“And?”

“I – I slept…overslept, forgot to relieve her. I woke up at 6:30, and reached for my duty by 7. Rosy had stepped in to help Rasika out after my no show,” I say, still feeling embarrassed about what I had done.

“What happened next?” Rishi asks.

“Nothing, I just did my duty and…”

“Who did you speak to, in the pantry?” Rishi asks.

In the pantry? Has this creep kept people to spy on me even at the hospital?

“Saloni, but why are you asking this?” I really fail to understand how all of this is even relevant with what is currently going on.

“Who is Saloni?” Rishi asks.

“Saloni is my friend, a fellow nurse,” I say, and Rishi turns back to exchange a knowing look with Dr. Shantanu.

This is the last straw. I am done here.

I stand up, agitated.

“Can anyone explain what the hell is going on here?” I ask loudly, looking at everyone crowding the room with expressionless faces.

Rishi makes me sit back down and looks at me intently.

“Myra, you have a psychiatric disorder that sometimes mixes up reality and imagination, blurring the line between the two,” he says.

I just sit there in shock, listening to what he is saying. Of course I know about schizophrenia. I am a nurse practitioner after all. But he is implying that I suffer from it?

“Let’s go a bit back in time. When you were with Anish, you were reading a novel, called Abhinandita. Do you remember?” he questions.

What is he even talking about? I can’t comprehend…

“Just like Jigyasa was guiding you now, it was Abhinandita that drove you to attack Anish three years back, a week before your wedding”.

No, no….no no no no no. This is all wrong. This is a ploy, and I am not going to fall a prey to it.

“It’s not three years. Even Saloni knows it’s six months, we discussed it…”

“That is because Saloni doesn’t exist in reality Myra. Saloni is a figment of your imagination. Just like Jigyasa had a friend called Saloni who always supported her, you wanted a friend who understood you, and you created Saloni for real,” he says, his eyes pleading.

“No, I meet her everyday at the hospital,” I plead back.

“Okay. What is her full name?” Rishi asks.

I try to think. I don’t know her full name. But so what?

“Which ward does she work in?”

I can’t say because I never asked her.

“Where does she stay?”

No idea.

“When did you first meet her?”

I am blank again. I have no answer to any of these questions.

“Myra, your colleagues have seen you talking to yourself in the pantry. Saloni is your imagination. She is not real,” Rishi stresses.

“I have her cell number. Let me call her,” I say.

I pull out my mobile from my pocket and search for Saloni’s number. But there is no contact called Saloni…

They are playing with my mind. How long does it take to erase a number from somebody’s mobile? Probably Rishi hacked into my phone and deleted it. Or may be Madhumita. Because I am still not sure why Rishi is here, talking to me!

“Wait, I have discussed with Mayank. He knows too. You can ask him. He is in the house,” I say.

Everyone is now staring at me as if they have seen a ghost.

Rishi sighs. “Myra, Mayank died on the border, four years back.”