Silent Screams (Part 9)

The next day had dawned. The sun’s rays were shining brightly through the windows of Anandita’s hospital room. Anandita slowly opened her eyes, the sun rays directly falling on her eyes. The nurse noticed movements in Anandita and hurried to get Dr. Awasthi. Within seconds, Dr. Awasthi was standing right next to her, checking her vitals.

“Everything is ok,” she said, “You’ll be fine with passage of time. You’ve be careful with your movements because your bones haven’t healed yet.” “Who are you?” Anandita asked in a croaked voice. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself,” she said, “I am Dr. Awasthi and I will be treating you till you are hail and hearty.” A slight smile was about to appear on Anandita’s face. But it dropped as soon as it had come. Dr. Awasthi quickly instructed the nurse to give her the medicines. When she heard Anandita groaning in pain she asked the nurse to give her pain killer too.

“M.. My par… parents?” Anandita asked in a hoarse voice. “They’ll be delighted,” Dr. Awasthi said with a pleasant smile, “I’ll send them in.” She turns to the nurse and instructs, “Make sure that they are not creating chaos and leave after a while. She needs her rest.” Dr. Awasthi leaves as the nurse nods.

As she came out of the room, she was surrounded by Anandita’s parents and Tanya. Sameer stood at a distance and tried to listen in. “Mr. Ram, you and your wife can go and meet Anandita. But please do not bombard her with questions about her attack. She needs your love and support to become fully well.” “Ok, doctor,” Anandita’s father, Mr. Ram said.  Just as she was about to leave she turned around and said, “I will have to involve the police in this sir. I am going to call them right now. I will ask them to come only tomorrow as Anandita needs the rest.” Mr. Ram simply nodded and proceeded towards his daughter with his wife and her sister followed suit.

Dr. Awasthi hurried back to her cabin and called up the police. She informed everything to the Inspector and asked them to arrive the next day. “I am sorry ma’am,” the Inspector said, “If the victim is awake, we’ll have to speak to her immediately and take her statement so that we can take action as soon as possible.” “Oh,” Dr. Awasthi said, “I don’t have much of a say in this, do I?? After a pause, she continued, “But, Inspector, she’s in a very delicate state, both emotionally and physically. IF she does not wish to answer the questions you ask, please do not coax her.” “Sure Mo..,” the inspector answered, “I mean, sure doctor.”

With a slight smile, Dr. Awasthi disconnected the call and her eyes pondered towards her bag. She pulled out both the pieces of paper and was wondering which one to read first. She first read the one that Sameer gave her. It said:

Who’s to blame?

You’re fat

You’re quiet

You wear glasses

Who’s to blame?

You don’t raise your voice

No one wants to talk to you

You are nowhere in the social food chain

Who’s to blame?

You’re scared

You’re nervous

You’re anxious

Who’s to blame?

You’re to blame

Girl,

You’re to blame.

A lone tear dropped on the paper as she finished reading it. ‘What is this child going through?’ Dr, Awasthi thought out loud, ‘Something needs to be done about this and soon.’

Sucking in a deep breath, she opened the next piece of paper. She had mixed emotions. The fact that it was normal for every girl to have such a thought made a smile. But, the last line saddened her a lot.

The paper said:

He looks at her as if she is the reason for his existence

He looks at her because she is the only one, he wants

He looks at her as if she has the power over him that no one else has

He looks at her as if the rest of the world does not exist for him

He looks at her thinking of how they were meant to be

He looks into her eyes and can see his world in them

And I,

I am helpless

I can’t do anything about this

He is so much head over heels for her

That he can’t see,

He can’t see me,

Who looks at him just the way he looks at her.

But then again,

Why will he?

I am the fat, ugly girl, after all.

Silent Screams (Part 8)

Anandita’s father ran outside to inform to his family, Sameer and Tanya that Anandita was out of danger. Though what he said next broke everyone, especially, Sameer. He said, “She is completely out of danger but…” He took a long pause which was scaring everyone. “But what?” her mother asked exasperated. “But,” her father continued, “The bones of her right hand and left ankle will take time to heal.”  “Thank God,” Sameer whispered. Her father turned to him and said, “I am sorry for having behaved that way. I was just worried for my daughter.” “We completely understand, uncle,” Tanya piped in with a slight smile, “You know me, uncle and aunty. And he’s my brother. Please trust that he won’t do any such thing as hurting her to this level.”

Throughout the meeting with Dr. Arun, there was only one thing going on in Dr. Awasthi’s mind- ‘Who was the girl?’ And ‘why did she feel such a connect towards her?’  She was internally very happy now that she will be able to see whatever was there on the paper. IN her heart somehow, she knew that what she was doing was wrong. She shouldn’t be seeing something that was found in someone else’s pocket. But, she was curious. She wanted to know. So, she decided to stay mum about the piece of paper.

When she entered the cabin, she saw two people sitting at her table- a girl and a boy. She wondered who they were as she silently walked towards them.  “Yes?” She asked, “Did you need anything?” “Yes, we needed to talk about Anandita,” said the boy, “Hi. I am Sameer.” “And I am Tanya, his sister” the girl said. “How are you related to Anandita? And before you ask for anything personal or classified information, let me tell you that I cannot disclose any information to you about any of my patients.” “We just wanted to ask,” Sameer said, “is she going to be okay?” “Yes,” Dr. Awasthi said, “She’s going to be fine. May I know how are both of you related to her?” “I am sorry,” Tanya said, “we didn’t introduce ourselves properly. I am her best friend and senior. I passed out of school few years ago. This is my brother. He is Anandita’s classmate. He was the one who found her in this condition.” “Oh,” Dr. Awasthi said thoughtfully, “did you find anything?” “I am sorry,” Sameer asked, confused. Dr. Awasthi cleared her throat and asked, “Did you find anything around her or with her when you spotted her first or when you were bringing her to the hospital?” “I don’t think I should be sharing any of that with you,” Sameer said a little miffed. “So,” Tanya turned to her brother and stated, “you did find something.” Sameer remained silent. “See,” Dr. Awasthi tried to explain, “I am the doctor who operated on and will further be treating Anandita. This, definitely, is a case of physical abuse. The police is going to be involved. And I will need to know if there is anything that she had on her or with her that isn’t there with her now.”

Her explanation made sense to him. His sister was still staring at him as though she could see through his soul. Sighing heavily, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the tattered piece of paper that he had found and read. He, then, placed it on the table and sid it towards Dr. Awasthi. Without a word, she carefully picked the piece of paper and kept it in her hand bag, just where the other piece of paper was. She knew how to differentiate between the two; because the piece of paper that she had found has blood stains on it as it was found a little later, as compared to the one that was found by Sameer.

“Both of you look tired,” Dr. Awasthi said, “you should go home and rest. Anandita will be fine. She needs rest.” Nodding their heads, they left her cabin. After informing Anandita’s father that they would visit the next day, they left to go home. Their parents were awaiting a long explanation.

Silent Screams (Part 7)

The ticking of the clock was the only sound that echoed through the corridors. Every minute seemed to be very long. Anandita’s parents and her sister were sitting outside the operation theatre on one side while Tanya and Sameer sat on the other. Everyone was worried. There was an eerie silence only their heavy breathing was heard other than the ticking of the clock. They feared for Anandita’s life.

The colour of the bulb outside the operation theatre changed from red to green and a doctor emerged out of the theatre. Anandita’s dad ran to the doctor to know how his daughter was doing.

The doctor quietly asked him to follow her to her cabin. She then handed him a glass of water that was lying on her table. After Anandita’s father calmed down a little, the doctor spoke in a firm and calm voice, “You have nothing to worry about. Though the bones of her right hand and left ankle will take time to heal, Your daughter is out of danger. She needs complete rest.” “Thank you doctor…..,” Anandita’s  father said with tears in his eyes. “Dr. Shibani Awasthi,” she completed.

While Anandita’s father ran outside to give the good news to his family members and consequently to Sameer and Tanya, Dr. Awasthi sat at her table and pondered on what had just happened. As she pushed back her glasses, she thought about how the girl that she operated on was somehow special to her. She had never felt any kind of emotional connection towards any of her patients in thirty years of her service as a doctor. But this time it was different. She didn’t know how but there was a certain pull that she had towards the girl was lying there unconscious. For the first time, in so many years, her hands shivered as she picked the surgeon’s knife to operate on the girl. She was still swearing at the thought of it and was glad that it was over.  

After a few minutes passed by, she opened the drawer on her right, picked the photo which was kept facing downwards, looked at it and smiled. For her, it seemed like it happened only yesterday. She was brought back out of her reverie as she heard footsteps outside her cabin. She quickly placed the photo back into the drawer and closed it with a loud thud. She then went on to straighten her navy-blue coloured cotton saree and her doctor’s coat. She put her hands into both her pockets and felt something in her right pocket. Pulling out a tattered piece of paper, she remembered how the nurse said that she had found the paper in Anandita’s clothes while changing  her into the green coloured hospital gown.

Just as she was about to start reading it, the ward boy, Raju, knocked at her door and said that she was being summoned by Dr. Arun Vaidhyanathan for her opinion on a case relating to another patient. She went to her table and carefully placed the tattered paper in the side pocket of her hand bag so as not to lose it. She, then followed Raju, out to meet Dr. Arun.

Silent Screams (Part 6)

Anandita's mother was in complete shock.  She thought that for once her daughter,  her introverted shy quiet daughter,  had for once,  found friends in school.  She thought that Anandita finally  had friends.  Anandita's mother was very happy  when she came to know that Anandita got a call from her friend. She was bursting  with joy,  more so that she even shared the  same with Anandita's  father.

Now,  she wished that she had never let Anandita go, praying  to God for a miracle  to save her girl,  her daughter.   While her mother was silently  sobbing,  her dad was in a frenzy. He seemed like he would bring the whole hospital  down. All he could see was red.  "I'll bring the hospital  down if something happens to my daughter,"  he all but threatened the doctor  in a low hoarse whisper.

As he turned around,  he saw Sameer and marched towards him, determined to get answers.
"I do not want you to say more than I ask for," Anandita's  father said,  "What happened?"

With tears in his eyes,  Sameer explained  everything.  "I know only what I saw uncle,"  Sameer said, "I don't know what actually led to all this." "Hm, " her father let out the breath that he was holding, " I hope what you're saying is the truth son.  I am holding you to it." "Yes s..,"  Sameer was about to reply,  by the time they heard someone shouting.  It was a female voice,  "Sameer,  where are you?"  Sameer ran to her and hugged her tightly.

He didn't care that he looked like a small child right now.  He felt guilty.  Guilty of this happening  to Anandita,  Guilty of him not having done anything to save her,  Guilty of him not being able to stand up against the bully.  He knew that he was a coward. He did not have the guts to look at himself in the mirror without getting angry at himself.

Looking at her brother's condition,  Tanya was moved.  She was satisfied that at least now that he was wrong. That he should've been there for her.  If not as a friend,  then at least as a fellow human. She remembered how,  when she was in school, she had stopped every bully from getting even near Anandita. She had introduced herself to Anandita as Taman a,  her official name. She always had a soft corner for her,  like it was her responsibility to protect  Anandita.  When she had passed out of the school,  she had specially instructed Sameer to protect Anandita.  They had a massive fight because of this.  He had blatantly disagreed to do any such thing. Their fight went to be so serious,  that, he insisted that Tanya was lesbian.

They sat quietly for what felt like years.  It seemed as if time stood still. The silence gave way to the loudly beating hearts clearly expressing their fears.

Silent Screams (Part 5)

Sameer waited outside the operation theatre as Anandita was taken inside in a hurry. Sitting down, he remembered about the paper he had crumpled in a hurry. He finally took it out to read.  It read:

Who’s to blame?

You’re fat

You’re quiet

You wear glasses

Who’s to blame?

You don’t raise your voice

No one wants to talk to you

You are nowhere in the social food chain

Who’s to blame?

You’re scared

You’re nervous

You’re anxious

Who’s to blame?

You’re to blame

Girl,

You’re to blame.

Note: I wish I could change myself. Wish I could look better to fit the society. Wish I could act better to fit the society. I just wish everything was okay.

A shiver ran down his spine. Every line that she wrote had some pain attached to it. He felt guiltier, with every line that he read. He, somehow, felt partially responsible for this condition of hers. At this point, he wished that he wouldn’t have stood quietly by the side as his friends made fun of her. He wished he had taken this up to the higher authorities. As these thoughts were crossing through his mind, a tear slipped down his cheek.

Someone wiped the tear on his face. HE looked up to see Tanya standing there.”Where is she? Tanya asked. By the time, he could answer Anandita’s family came running towards the operation theatre. “What... has... happened.. to... to.... my daughter?” Anandita’s mother asked breathlessly. Sameer got her to sit down, offered a glass of water to her and narrated all that he had seen. 

Silent Screams (Part 4)

Sameer was in the ambulance with Anandita laying unconscious and bleeding profusely. The first person that he thought of calling was his sister, who had recently passed out of their school.

"T.. Tanya," Sameer sounded very frightened and out of breath. "What happened?" She asked assuming the worst, "Are you okay?"

"I..I..." He stammered. "What is it?" Tanya screamed through the phone. By then, their mom was trying to snatch away the phone from Tanya to speak to Sameer. His mother had already started crying assuming that something had happened to Sameer. "Tanya," Sameer said and took a deep breath, "nothing has happened to me. Ask Amma to calm down." After Tanya passed on the message, she considerably calmed down. "Do you remember Anandita?" He asked, "the quiet one." "Who?" Tanya asked puzzled. "The chubby, quiet one from my class." "Oh! That cute little teddy bear," Tanya said, "yes I remember her. She is one of the purest souls that I have met so far."


After a few seconds, she realized that there were sirens going off in the background. "Why are sirens blaring around you?" Tanya asked. "I am taking Anandita to hospital. She's bleeding terribly. Someone has attacked her. She was being constantly bullied and none of us did anything to protect her. Teachers didn't help her either. I think it is one of the bullies. I feel really guilty Tanu."

"Which hospital are you taking her to?" Tanya asked. "Surya hospital," Sameer answered. After that she hung up. Sameer knew that his sister was angry at him for letting this happen. Now that he thought of it, somewhere he was also responsible for Anandita's condition.

Next, he had to call her family about Anandita's condition. He suddenly remembered about the bag that he had tripped on. The strap of her bag was still across her body and her hands were gripping at the bag strap before she fell unconscious. He pulled the bag to his side carefully​ and rummaged through it for a phone number. He found an identity and when he pulled the ID card out a peice of paper fell with it.

He wasn't sure whether he should read what is written on the paper or not. First, he called Anandita's.mother and decided about reading the piece of paper later.

When he called, Anandita's mother was in frantic mode. He quickly told her the address.of the hospital and cut the call.

Just as he was about to open the paper to read it , the ambulance arrived at the hospital. Sameer stuffed the piece of paper in his pocket and proceeded to help the doctors get Anandita from the ambulance into the hospital.

Silent Screams( Part 3)

The school's football team was practicing for the upcoming tournament. The coach had all the players on their heels. This was probably the reason why the school always won the championships.

When Sameer played, his mind was a little diverted. And his coach figured it out. The coach never excused anyone for deterioration in the hard-work that is put in the game. So the coach asked Sameer to stay back half an hour after practice and sort all the sports equipments.

While re arranging the sports room, he heard a sound coming from the first floor, that is, the floor above where he was. It felt like something heavy fell with a loud thump. Assuming that it was his imagination, he continued to sort the last of the basketballs and the footballs.

Just as he was about to finish and pack up, he thought he heard some movement like something heavy was being dragged across the floor. He was scared at first. He wanted to inform some authority, but his coach had left 15 minutes ago asking him to close up.

Sameer had no choice but to go and check if something was wrong. He knew that no one went to the higher floors at this time of the day.

As he made his way up the first flight of stairs, he figured that there were no lights on that floor. Just as he was reaching the end of the second flight of stairs leading to the first floor, he simultaneously began to frantically search for his cell phone to use its torch feature.

In all this confusion, he couldn't see something lying on the ground and tripped over it. He fell face first on the ground and the first thing that he thought was why was the ground wet. Subconsciously, he ran his right hand across his face to wipe the water off his face. He got up and started looking for what had he tripped over.

What he saw had shocked him beyond measure. It wasn't a sack as he had assumed. It was a girl- a girl from his school, his class. She was lying there unconscious in a pool of her own blood.

Something suddenly struck him and he looked at his hand. That is when he realized that he hadn't slipped on a sack or spilt water, he had, rather, fallen over an unconscious body and her blood.

As soon as he recovered from his shock, he ran towards the gate and informed the watchmen. He, simultaneously, called the ambulance on his cell phone.