RECAP Aakriti is in a good mood as she has won the inter-school painting competition. She teaches Kabir computer games and eagerly waits for her parents. Her parents, however, do not appreciate her achievement at all. They are more interested in knowing how she has performed in the Science test in which she has got very low marks. Aakriti is upset with her parents’ behaviour. Mark asks Kabir to have a look at the painting and admire it. Once Kabir praises the painting, everyone starts admiring it. Aakriti feels happy and also develops a soft corner for Kabir. CHAPTER 10 “Had your breakfast?” Sujata asked from the kitchen. “Having it, mamma,” replied Kabir. “Mark! I hate this carrot juice. Please have it or mamma will scold me,” Kabir requested Mark. “You have it, na! It’s good for health. Didn’t your science ma’am tell you the other day?” “Yes! But I don’t like it,” whined Kabir, “I always do as you say. Now can’t you have this silly juice for my sake?” Kabir forced the glass in his hands. But as there was no ‘real’ Mark, the glass fell on the ground and shattered into pieces, spilling the contents all over. “What broke?” Sujata rushed into the room and saw what had happened. “This is the limit, Kabir,” she scolded him, “If you didn’t want to have the juice, then why the hell you broke the glass?” “I didn’t break it deliberately,” he said sheepishly, “Mark broke it.” “Mark?” Sujata got highly puzzled and confused. “Yes mamma! I’ve a friend called Mark. He always stays with me. I asked him to have the juice. But he didn’t have it and broke the glass. See, how he’s smiling now. Naughty boy!” Kabir said. “What nonsense! There’s no one here,” she shouted. “Mamma, he’s my friend. Only I can see him. You know, he is a great friend, though a little mischievous. He also goes to school with me,” explained Kabir in his innocent voice. Sujata was horrified. “Di! Jijaji!” she cried. Shilpa and Vishal came running at once. “What happened, Sujata? Is everything fine?” Shilpa asked her. “Look what he’s saying,” she said frightened. “I’m not lying, mamma. It’s Mark who broke the glass. You can’t see him because he’s my friend. That’s what he told me,” said Kabir. “Di!” tears trickled down her cheeks, “I hope he’s not possessed by evil spirits.” “Don’t talk rubbish,” Vishal intervened, “Let me speak to him.” He came close to Kabir and asked him lovingly, “Okay beta, we can’t see him. But you can see him, right?” “Yes, uncle.” “Tell me, where is he now?” “Here,” Kabir pointed at the chair next to him, “He’s smiling mischievously.” “Hmm… he is always with you?” “Most of the time,” replied Kabir, “He’s a good boy. He always asks me to do good things.” “Alright!” Vishal turned to Shilpa, “I think he has an imaginary friend. We should first speak to his teachers and then decide upon the next plan of action.” “Oh! The teachers of these big schools! They are simply inaccessible,” Sujata was inconsolable. “Control yourself,” Vishal tried to pacify her, “We can speak to them at the parents-teachers meeting. When is it, Shilpa?” “This Saturday,” she replied. “Great! And don’t worry, Sujata. He’ll be fine.” **** “What? He has an imaginary friend? But I never noticed anything peculiar in his behaviour. Yes, he is silent most of the time. But no two children are alike. Some are vivacious, some are quiet. At least I’ve never seen any sort of abnormality in the way he behaves,” Kabir’s class teacher, Bhoomika ma’am, sounded completely clueless when told about his imaginary friend. “What sort of teachers are you? Children spend a major part of the day with you. And you are saying you didn’t observe anything,” Sujata burst out. “Please keep your voice low, Mrs Chauhan. You’re in school,” ma’am was somewhat offended, “Look! We have 50 children in a class to look after. You can’t expect us to pay individual attention to each one of them. I would suggest that you take him to a psychiatrist.” “Psychiatrist? Do you think my child is mad?” Sujata shouted. “Hold it, Sujata,” Shilpa tried to comfort her, “Everyone who goes to a psychiatrist is not mad. I think ma’am is right. We should consult a psychiatrist.” “Okay ma’am, we’ll take your leave,” Shilpa shook hands with her, “And sorry if we offended you.” “It’s really alright. I can understand what you must be going through,” she smiled. Sujata was completely silent in the car. Though she was trying hard not to cry, Shilpa could still see little tears at the corners of her eyes. “Why are you so worried?” she touched her gently, “I know a psychiatrist personally. She has written quite a few books for our company. We’ll take Kabir to her.” **** “Di…” this was the third time in the past one hour when Sujata endeavoured to say something, but no words came to her lips. “Just relax,” Shilpa pressed her hand. Waiting at the reception while Kabir was being counselled by the psychiatrist, Sujata was sweating profusely irrespective of the air conditioners ensuring a comfortable atmosphere. After what seemed ages, an attendant came asking them to see Dr Manasi Saraswat, the psychiatrist. Sujata anxiously hastened to the doctor’s cabin, with Shilpa following her. Dr Sarawat smiled at them and asked Kabir to wait outside. She then turned to Sujata and said, “Sujata! First of all tell me one thing. Is there anything wrong in having a friend who listens to you, seldom fights with you, helps you distinguish between good and bad, and always stands by you?” “What do you want to say, doctor?” asked Sujata. “I want to say that it is perfectly healthy to have an imaginary friend. In fact, at some point in life, we all need one.” Sujata and Shilpa looked quizzically at her. She smiled and said, “Don’t we speak to God when distressed? We often confide in Him and sometimes expect Him to provide solutions to our problems, though we know He is not a physical reality.” “That’s a different thing, doctor!” said Shilpa. “Why different? We all look at the superhuman for support and companionship, when we don’t get the same from our fellow human beings. And it is perfectly normal. Same is the case with Kabir.” Dr Saraswat took a deep breath and continued, “Look, I’ve spoken to Kabir and I’ve found that he was so alone that he badly needed a companion to speak his heart out. That made him to have an imaginary friend.” Sujata got frustrated. She said, “How can you say he was alone? We were there with him.” “Okay! Let me be a little rude to you now. A child separated from his native village and old friends lands into a top-notch school in a metropolitan city where he fails to adjust and make friends, and he suddenly becomes the middle child in the house, who is neither entrusted with responsibilities nor pampered enough. Imagine his plight.” Sujata’s eyes watered. She lowered her eyelashes and said, “You are right, doctor. Yes, it’s entirely my mistake. I never realised it.” The doctor stretched her hand to gently touch hers, “But there’s nothing to worry about. An imaginary friend is nothing but a repressed part of child’s personality, an alter ego.” “Alter ego?” Shilpa sounded a little confused. “Yes! Kabir, as much as I could gather, is a quiet and introverted child. While Mark, his imaginary friend, as he describes, is a vivacious and outgoing kid.” “And, what does he do?” Doctor smiled again and said, “Well, these days he is helping Kabir socialise and deal with difficult emotions.” “What kind of difficult emotions, doctor?” questioned Sujata. “Guilt, for example, when he doesn’t obey you or does anything wrong, like breaking the glass. And inferiority complex, when despite being intelligent and the class topper, he considers his classmates to be superior to him.” Sujata took a deep sigh and said, “Okay! His friend does everything beneficial for him. But what do we do with this friend? After all, he is just an imaginary being!” “First of all, you need to cast off your negative attitude for him. You need to understand his worth when he fulfils Kabir’s wishes, gives him company, and also acts as a scapegoat. Just acknowledge his presence and play along.” “So you want me to feel his presence?” Sujata said, “That means I should start putting an extra bed in the room and buy an extra pair of jeans for this friend.” “I didn’t ask you to do any such thing. Don’t go overboard. Be very subtle in your approach. For example, the next time he spills the juice, ask him and Mark to clean up the mess together. Or if he refuses to go to bed, say ‘Mark is feeling tired. He needs to sleep.’ Just play along, as I said earlier.” “But would that help us get rid of him?” Shilpa asked. The doctor replied, “You can’t force anyone to make or break a relation, can you? But as for imaginary friends, they usually go on their own, when child acquires ‘real’ friends and gets fed up of the imaginary ones. Alright!” “Yes doctor!” said Sujata, “Thank you very much.” They went out and found Kabir talking to someone invisible. “Come beta!” Shilpa smiled at him, “We need to go.” “And ask your friend Mark to come along or he’ll be left here,” added Sujata.                                 To be continued…..