G GAZETTE | Page 17

Cliff Hanger .. - HIMAJA CH ECE-B ( 2 / 4 )

A Beautiful Mind

“ Hello ” a groggy voice said . “ Dr . Vikas ? The painting winked . The painting winked at me ! This can ’ t be happening , no , not again . How could this happen ? I was so careful , so punctual , how could I let this happen again ? I took all my medications , I ’ m sure of it ; I ’ ve never missed a single day since they were prescribed . This is horrible . I don ’ t want to fantasize , I hate being a schizophrenic . Why can ’ t I just be normal like others ? Is that really too much to ask ?” I quickly said into the phone . “ Calm down my child and tell me what you see ”, he said . Dr . Vikas has been a family friend for a long time . And he is the only one who was not afraid to talk to me when I disclosed that I hallucinate . Initially , when my family was informed about my vivid imaginings , I was treated very differently . The love they had showered on me all my life slowly transformed into hatred . They were embarrassed to take me out to social events and usually left me home alone . Finally , they decided to abandon me . Dr . Vikas is the only family I have . “ Other than the painting ? I see ...... see Hans playing with a remote-controlled car in my bedroom . He comes to the TV room sits in front of me for some time and returns to his play . I can feel heavy breathing on my neck from time to time , but when I turn around I find no one . Today morning I saw an old lady preparing breakfast for me but I could not eat the food .” “ Are you absolutely sure that you haven ’ t missed a dose ?” Dr . Vikas asked . “ I ’ m sure , I took it in the morning ”, I said as my voice panicked . “ Lilly , calm down . We will figure out why this is happening . Did you take the pill I prescribed ?” “ I ’ m sure I did ”, I said with a doubt .
“ Now , we need to be absolutely sure if you took the right pill . Will you check your medicines again just to confirm ?” “ I understand , will check right away ”. I got up from my couch from where I could see the little playful boy Hans enjoying his time with the toy car . I made my way to the desk in the study room and opened the drawer where I usually place medicines . “ Cetrizine ”, I said . “ What ?” Dr . Vikas asked . “ Cetrizine . That ’ s what the bottle says ”, I said “ that ’ s what I took this morning ”. “ No , Lilly . That ’ s allergy medication ”. “ What ?” I asked . I had heard him clearly , but I couldn ’ t believe I had made such a stupid mistake . “ Cetrizine is used to treat allergies ”. He said . “ I prescribed chlorpromazine ”. Looking closer into the drawer I noticed a fallen medicine bottle tucked in the corner . I must have knocked it sometime yesterday . I picked the bottle and put it back in its place . I usually put my allergy pills on the right and schizophrenia on left . “ I see the mistake I made . Thank you , Dr ., Vikas , I ’ m going to take it right away ”. “ Good luck , Lilly . Call me if you need anything else ” he said . “ I will , bye ” “ Good bye ” Keeping my mobile into my pocket , I shoved a pill on my hand and grabbed a water bottle . After taking the pill the noise of the remote-controlled car fainted but Hans stood in front of me slowly fading . He smiled at me and waved a good bye . I waved back as he disappeared . “ Everything ‘ s going to be fine ”, I told myself . In mere seconds a cold breath swept across the back of my neck .

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