The Beloved

Session one

SK smirked, "Missss Arohi, I charge by the hour. If you would like to sit her and stare at me for an hour, be my guest but I am going to charge you anyway" he chuckled then leaned forward and looked straight in her eyes and said in his base voice, "I know that my looks are distracting but you are my patient so, if you don't mind, can we get started?" Her face turned red. Not only was she embarrassed about having been distracted by him look but his arrogance irritated her. She hated it when someone else had an upper hand and, in this case, he definitely did. She looked away and sighed but looked back straight at him saying, "Look, all I want is a higher dose of a sleeping pill. I am not interested in chit chatting with you. Honestly, I don't even like you. I will be more than happy to pay you for the hour but just write me a prescription and let me out of here. I know this is the first and last time we will meet. So let's hurry up, shall we."

SK looked away chuckling. He scratched his eyebrow. This was a gesture he would do when he was trying to control his anger. He took a moment before he relaxed back in his chair, "Miss Arohi, you seem to be forgetting something. I am not some kind of a dealer who would hand over pills to you. I am a doctor and, as of this moment, you are my patient. I am usually not very calm with people who talk to me with your kind of attitude but I am also very professional with my patients. I focus on helping my patients resolve the condition rather than the symptoms. So, if you don't mind, can you tell me how long has it been since your insomnia began?"

Although Arohi was irritated she did get the feeling that SK was indeed true to his profession. She knew that if she was in his place, she probably would have reacted the same way. She also realized that she better cooperate if she wanted her medicine so she calmed down and answered his questions, "Well I think I have had sleep issues all my life but it has worsened in the past 5 years." SK looked at her intently, "So what happened 5 years ago for this to trigger? Was there a major incident in your life?" She looked at him for a moment and then looked away and mumbled, "it...." She sighed and continued, "It was my....my mom's death." He looked up at her and, for a moment, noticed a young woman who was actually crying for help but it quickly vanished. He leaned forward and said, "Hmmm.... I am sorry to hear that. It must have been tough? Was she sick? How did she die?" Arohi's body language immediately changed. She sat up straight and wrapped her arms around her chest, a clear indication of being defensive. Then she blinked her eyes as if she was controlling her tears from spilling out. She cleared her throat and said, "You know what Dr.SK, I don't want to discuss any of this with you. I cannot trust you. I don't care if you give me the medication or not." She stood up, opened her purse to pull out the cash and placed his fees on the table. She then said, "I came here only because Aisha thought this was going to help me but I don't think so. I am not going to discuss my life story with some arrogant, narcissistic shrink. I am sorry to have wasted your time. Good bye."

She stomped out of the office without giving a second glance. SK was taken aback by the turn of events, although, he wasn't surprised. It always took his patient's a couple of sessions to trust him and open up to him. Even though he was a ruthless man, there was a kind and compassionate side of him that only his patient's experienced. He had a knack of making them open up to him.

He stood there staring at Arohi walk out of the office. He chuckled silently and mumbled, "You will be back Miss. Arohi. You cannot runaway too long from your monsters. You will eventually have to let them out. Inside that arrogant and angry woman, I see a lost little girl crying for help. You will be back, I know you will." He then looked out at the cash on his table. He smiled, and pocketed it. He then shut his laptop, unplugged it and put it in his bag. He then grabbed his coat. He switched off the lights and shut his office door before leaving for the day. He called Aisha from his car. Since it went to her voice mail box, he left a message saying, "Hi Aish your friend came to see me today. Man, she is a piece of work. You owe me 3 special biryanis just for this one session. She is feisty and honestly very attractive" he chuckled, "I know I know doctor patient relationship but jokes apart I think she really needs help and you might need to coax her to come back to me before she has a major nervous break down. Alright catch you later. Good night." He reached home. His empty space which reminded him about how lonely he was.

Meanwhile, Arohi was lost in thought. She was kicking herself for having listened to Aisha and keeping that appointment. It had churned a lot of emotions that she did not want to revisit. Tears had suddenly decided to pour down her cheeks. She refilled her glass of wine. She needed alcohol tonight to get her out of those memories and bury them yet again. She felt alone. She wanted someone to hug her and tell her that it will all be ok. She wanted someone to caress her to sleep. She needed someone special to love her for who she was. Suddenly, a feeling of shame crept in and she gulped down the rest of the alcohol. May be it was all the churned emotions or the effect of the alcohol, but Arohi dozed off on the couch.

Brinda Subramanian