The Life Of Myra - Chapter 16

“You went home that day, and we kept a watch through the CCTV camera’s, to get some startling revelations. You were again talking to someone in your sleep, after you dozed of in the living room sofa, and whatever she said, had you extremely agitated. By now, we knew who the person was with whom you were communicating in your sleep. Because the night before, I had snuck into your apartment to get the dream diary. The diary made it very clear, that the Abhinandita episode was repeating again, this time in the guise of Jigyasa. And we knew very well who your next victim was going to be”.

“Rosy had kept a watch on you during the night duty, and she had realized what you were upto. You had filled a syringe with the same anaesthetic drug you had used to knocl out Dr.Samira, and smuggled it inside your bag. With her presence of mind, Rosy swapped that syringe with one filled with sterile, distilled water. Next we gave Madhumita an idea of what to expect, and how to act when she injected the drug. In fact, I was not ready to go this far, but for your sake, Anish and Madhumita insisted that we try this – to bring what you were doing right in front of your eyes, so as to give you an insight. As a psychiatrist, I know some diseases make it impossible to get insight. But whenever you are in remission, you understand your disease Myra, and we all wanted that to happen. So we all went to such heights to make that happen”.

“As we watched the CCTV further, we were surprised to find that you again began talking to an imaginary person, who we now know was, for you, Mayank. We tried to find out who you were believing to be in front of you, all the while as you hugged him and cried with him. Mahika called you to see if she could get anything out of you. But you didn’t let anything out.”

“The way you spoke to her, broke her heart. She tried to remind you how much she loves you. but what you said next stumped us. That since the past six months that you had broken up with Anish. That was when we knew, you had erased those two and a half years from your life. And we also realised, that even when we thought you were better, Mayank never stopped to exist for you”.

Rishi pauses. I swallow hard. It feels as if this is dream and I no longer know what to think, what to believe or what to do.

“As expected, you drove to Roopam hall for the musical event that Madhumita was attending. I was also there, just in case something went out of hands. My job was to keep a watch on you, and keep updating Madhumita of the same. When you went to the restroom, I was terrified for a moment when I thought you had spotted me, but luckily, you hadn’t.”

I remember that. Just as I was about to enter the washroom, I had felt a movement outside that made me freeze for a moment.

Once Madhumita went inside, I waited to see if she needed my help. But as per our plan, she pretended to have been drugged and you began to heave her to your car. That is when I left the place and came here, just ahead of you. All others were already gathered here. We all wanted you to understand what was happening, what IS happening. We all want you to wake up and see, that you are not Jigyasa. You are Myra. Don’t lead the life of Abhinandita or Jigyasa. Lead the life of Myra,” Rishi says, his voice shaking as he emphasises his point.

“I know it is too much to take, but please begin by trusting us. Me, your mom, Mahika, Anish, even Madhumita. We all are your well wishers and we want you to get better. You need to start your anti-psychotic medication NOW. Only then will this curtain that has fallen in front of your eyes lift!” Rishi says.

He is up now and is pacing the hall. I just sit where I am, not able to make eye contact with anyone. I really don’t know what to do!

“You know,” Rishi continues, “I was puzzled why all of this had been happening, even though you had been taking medications. Now, I guess, somewhere down the line, you stopped taking them, without me realizing. Just like the drugs don’t cure you in an instant, you don’t immediately deteriorate after stopping them. It is a slow process, and in spite of being a psychiatrist, I missed the signs. Since the time we were together, I used to make sure you took them regularly. But once I realised you were taking them regularly, I stopped bothering”.

This, triggers a memory inside my mind. Its like suddenly a light switch has been put on in my mind.

Yes, now I remember. Rishi was with me. And he was making me take those pills. The red and white pills. And one fine day, I had a revelation. How could I have forgotten that?

“I need to go to the washroom,” I say, getting up, my limbs feeling cold and numb.

I can feel my breaths coming faster, but I don’t want Rishi to see how nervous I am. I don’t want to alert him, now that I have realized what he is trying to do.

“Of course,” Rishi says, sitting back in his chair, as I make my way to my bedroom.

Once inside, I double check that no one has followed me. I close the door. And then I open the cabinet beneath my bed.

There, lies the novel I had been reading when Rishi came into my life - Saudamini.

Saudamini has a psychiatrist husband, who, in the name of treating her of some unnamed psychosis, poisons her with Asbestos – by giving daily small doses of Asbestos through red and white pills. Her entire family is on his side, and all are in on his plan. They make her believe that she is psychotic, begin gas lighting her by making weird things happen, and then when she starts trusting them and begins taking her so-called anti-psychotic medication, she gets slowly poisoned.



Now I know what exactly Rishi is trying to do. He is trying to kill me by slow poisoning. And to protect myself from him, I have staged this entire operation!

Now I have to escape before he lays his hands on me again. I open the sliding door to my bedroom window, squeeze out onto the parapet, and then begin climbing carefully down the waterpipe that runs up the length of the building. By the time they will begin searching for me, I will be long gone!