@Melinda Monroe #ThePsychiatrist
I was under the impression that January 11th, 2010 was just another conventional Monday. After waking up at 5:30 and freshening up, I jogged to my gym. I worked out for about an hour and then came back drenched in sweat, took a hot shower and prepared breakfast. I ate my typical breakfast of a Monday morning i.e. 2 Boiled Eggs, Bowl of Cornflakes and Two loafs of bread with a glass of Juice. After being done with the breakfast I headed off to my office.
I had three usual appointments that day. My patients had the usual psychological problems of stress, tension, etc. so they just needed some counseling and I used to help them that way. That day I got an unusual call from the nearby police station which made my life a little exciting.
Don’t judge me, if you had to listen to people talking the same crap all day you would also get frustrated and something like this is a way for you to get away from all this. I didn’t know that this was the last case of my professional career.
Anyway, I was called down at the station. I saw two women sitting in one corner and one man talking to the inspector who was in charge of the station. One of the women was exceptionally well dressed and from the way she dressed, she looked like a millionaire.
The other looked poles apart. She looked like one of the beggars that we find on the streets of New Delhi everyday. I looked a little closely and was sure that I saw her at one of the traffic lights I pass when I go to my office.
You are now reading the first chapter. Refer to Inflicted for a chapter-wise listing.
During my examination of the room, the gentleman talking to the inspector came near me and as my attention shifted to him, I realized that he was one of my old clients.The gentleman was Gurvinder Singh Randhawa, the multi billionaire who singlehandedly created the largest empire of retail business outlets in the entire nation.
He recognized me as well and said, “Ms. Monroe, hope you remember me. You must be wondering why have we called you here?”
I was wondering that so I asked, “Why am I here, Mr. Randhawa?”
He continued, “Ma’am, the kid you see sitting next to my wife is our child. She was abducted at a very young age and we have been trying to get her back for six years but we couldn’t find her.
Fortunately my wife, Gurpreet saw her begging for change on the roadside. She immediately called me up and as requested by the inspector, we brought Anishi to the station so that the kind inspector could confirm her identity and shut the case.
The inspector did confirm that she was Anishi but our sweet Anishi remember’s nothing of her past life. She feels that her name is Yelda and she wants to go back to her house under the bridge where she could play with her friends.”
I got a case of Dissociative Identity. Those are very rare. I was excited. The inspector cut in between Gurivinder and said, “Ms. Monroe, you are a highly recommended psychiatrist. Could you chat with Yelda or Anishi whoever she is and get me some more information?”
“Certainly”, I said, “But I would like to do it alone. Is there a place where only both of us are present?”
He took me to the interrogation room. After a few minutes the young girl walked in. She seemed reserved and rebellious. I invited her to sit down. She sat down. Our conversation began.
“What’s your name?”
“Yelda Ramanujan”
“Do you know who are the people outside?”
“Some rich folks who think I am there long lost daughter, which I am not.”
“Where are your mother and father?”
“Dead”
“How?”
“Why do you care?”
“I want you to go back to your life and the best way to do that is talking to me.”
“Car accident. My chacha(paternal uncle) took care of me.”
“Where is your chacha now?”
“He’s at home waiting for me.”
“Where is your home?”
“It’s down in the first slum area near the bridge.”
“Okay, so we’ll bring your chacha here and then we’ll let you go.”
Her expression changed from rebellious to fear. She said, “No don’t bring chacha here. He will be mad. He will hurt me.”
I had all the information I needed. It was a clear case of Psychogenic Amnesia coupled with Dissociative Identity Disorder. I told her to hang tight and assured that we won’t call chacha here if she behaves.
She stayed quiet then. I went out and told the inspector and parents what I discovered. I explained it to them that this chacha figure had something to do with her abduction and trauma and bringing that part back could cause serious brain damage so she would need to come to me on a daily basis till she recovers and then the inspector could question her of the whereabouts of chacha.
Pretend Setup
“Where will she stay?” asked Gurpreet.
“I suggest you hire her as your maid and keep her near you so that you can keep an eye on her and don’t forget to send her to me.”
“A maid?” said Gurvinder.
“Yes a maid. We don’t want her to feel out of place for now. We would make a gradual transition to her normal life soon.”
Inspector and the parents agreed and I was allowed to go back. That certainly made my day unusual.
Stay tuned for more crisp…
