Chapter 7 : Trauma.

Once we were home, despite it being quite early in the morning, I was barely feeling sleepy and was only concerned about me being able to go to Koushik's place and xerox the notebooks and start reading them. Monika stayed in my room.

I could not stop wondering about Geeta and whether I did the right thing by tying her up. I asked Monika if she would be able to stay awake since she has not slept at all the previous night. She replied "I will try to remain awake. If I do feel very sleepy I will tell mom that I have a headache or something and take rest. You know bro, I love the attention mom gives me when she thinks I am the slightest bit ill.".

I knew she was trying to distract me with her humor but deep down we both were deeply worried and waiting impatiently for the Banerjee's' return.

I went to the kitchen and made some tea for me and Monika. At that moment I knew only tea could keep us awake.

I decided to ask Monika if she knew the reason why the Banerjee's hate Geeta so much. She replied "I don't know bro, but you will figure it out. You know bro, when we were in Kolkata, we 3 friends jointly decided to start our daily journals."

Pointing towards the notebooks which Geeta had given us. "The day we planned on starting our diaries, Abhinu's father was also there. When he heard about what we were planning, he commended our idea and agreed that it would prove to be a good habit. If you were down or had some secrets that we could not reveal to anyone, a diary could prove to be your best friend.".

I asked Monika if she maintained a diary too. She gave me a look and said "Bro, do I look like a person who could maintain a diary. I have not secrets. Even if I am sad, I know I can count on you, mom and dad to guide and counsel me.". Wow, my sister really had a way with words. As we were talking, I heard Mom calling us for Breakfast.

After completing our breakfast, Monika went to her room and I informed mom that I was going to Koushik's place for some work.

I reached Koushik's shop and asked him to get the 2 diaries xeroxed as soon as possible. As he was copying the diaries, I enquired about the Humsafar trust of which he is an active member. Humsafar Trust is an NGO which works for the upliftment of the LGBTQ community.

He replied "I am happy being a member of such an organization. It gives me immense pleasure that I am doing something for a community, which is being so badly shunned and ostracized by our society."

I felt lucky having an open and broad-minded friend like him. He kept telling me about his organization and after about one and a half-hour later we completed photocopying the books.

I thought of calling Vikash and informing him about yesterday's events. On calling him, before I could tell him anything, he asked me to return home urgently as something has happened. I asked Koushik to drop me home.

I was praying to God that nothing untoward has happened at home. I was especially worried about Monika. I was praying to God that she has not fallen ill due to a lack of sleep. I am habituated in staying awake at night but she is not. I was feeling guilty about letting her come with me yesterday.

When I reached home, I found Vikash standing outside the gate. I didn't utter a single word and rushed inside, to check on everyone. Mom and Dad looked worried. I asked mom "What is wrong? Why are you guys looking worried?". I looked around, Monika was nowhere in sight. I asked again "Is Monika all right? Where is she?".

Upon hearing my loud voice Monika came running towards me from her room and was crying uncontrollably. I hugged her and looked at my father's perturbed face. It felt like something was wrong. I asked them to tell me what it was.

Dad told me "Son, something has happened in the Banerjee's residence." I remembered that they were in Kolkata and was about to return today. Dad continued. "After the family returned, your friend Geeta suddenly fainted. They had to admit her in the hospital.". This news shook me. I was anxious to know about Geeta's condition.

I made sure that when I left the residence yesterday night, I had the bindings loose so that Geeta would not be hurt. Does that mean the Banerjee family understood that we were in their house last night because I decided not to stuff the stockings in her mouth? I wish I had not listened to Geeta and admitted her to the hospital. I was not sure what went wrong. I felt like confronting the family and ask them why were they hurting Geeta, but looking at Mom and Dad decided not to.

I asked my parents if they knew which hospital Geeta was taken to. My parents had no clue.

Vikash informed me that Geeta has been taken to Mother Teresa Lions Hospital. I asked Koushik to give me a ride to the hospital. I took dad to a corner and requested him not to let Monika go to the hospital. She is very sensitive and will not be able to see her friend in that condition.

I reached the hospital and found Aamaya and Aunty standing outside the ICU. As I approached the room, a very worried looking Aamaya stopped me and said "Something is wrong with Geeta. She is not talking to us." I asked her "Did the doctor say anything?" Aamaya replied, "Doctor has just taken her inside the ICU." I found Aunty sitting on a bench. I went to her and wanted to assure her that Geeta would be alright. Before I could say anything, Aunty looked at me and started crying. She kept mumbling "I am sorry Geeta, I should not have hurt you. I should have taken you with us to Kolkata. Please come back. Please don't leave us behind".

I couldn't believe what I just heard. First, she beats up an innocent child mercilessly and then she has the audacity to ask for forgiveness. Listening to her deceitful words, I became sure she was a person who was capable of inflicting unjustified torture on somebody without the slightest bit of remorse. At that moment I felt a strong sense of hatred towards her.

I waited for the doctor to know more about Geeta's condition. After some time, a doctor came out from the ICU and asked for Geeta's relatives. Aunty stood up. He said, "I don't know how to say this, but the child has been brought here in a very bad condition.

We are trying everything we can but we cannot say anything right now. The child is in a COMA.". I saw the look on aunty's face, the fear of losing Geeta was visible on her face. But I was not sure if it was the fear of her crimes or genuine remorse of her actions which was worrying her.

I asked the doctor "When can we expect the child to regain consciousness?" He looked at me and asked who I was, and I told him that "I am the child's brother". He replied "I cannot say anything about that. We found that the child is very weak and malnourished and has not eaten properly for some time. At this rate, I can only say that it's only the child's will to live which will decide everything."

Aamaya asked the doctor if they can go and visit Geeta, and he agreed to it. They went inside and sat next to Geeta.

I went out with Vikash to a corner of the hospital. I decided to tell Vikash about yesterday's chain of events in detail. On hearing everything he looked furious. He was angry at me and took me outside the hospital. He said "Are you out of your mind? You stupid boy. Why didn't you call up an ambulance or the cops? You should have called me if you were not sure what to do. At least Geeta would not be in the hospital."

I knew what Vikash said was right. Maybe if I would have called the cops, Geeta would not be in COMA. Vikash replied "I just hope Geeta wakes up soon, and we would know what has happened to her. If you say that you tied her loose, then it definitely means she must have gotten hurt after you left her."

I had to inform my parents about what was happening here. Vikash told me to go home and talk to Monika and then come back. About half an hour later, I saw Gopinath Uncle in the hospital. He is a friend of my dad and is the local police in charge of our area.

I went to him and asked if he remembered me. He replied, "Of course, I remember your son. What are you doing here?". "One of my friends has been admitted to the hospital. I am just waiting to see if she is alright.". I replied. Then I asked Gopinath uncle the same question. He replied that they received a call from the doctor of this hospital about a child being admitted to the hospital in a very bad state. It dawned on me if the doctors have contacted police regarding Geeta.

I asked him is the patient's name Geeta by any chance. He looked at me and said how do you know the patient. I told him that the family is our next-door neighbor.

Gopinath uncle asked me to come to the doctor's chamber with him. I asked Vikash and Koushik to accompany us too. When the Doctor saw me, he was hesitant to talk to me since I have introduced myself as her brother earlier. Gopinath uncle told the doctor that he knew me and that I was one of the local stars. I didn't utter a single word.

The doctor took out his smartphone and started telling Gopinath uncle the reason he called them. He told us that he took pictures of Geeta's body during the examination. By the looks of it, it felt like there were extensive marks of abuse on her body. There was no doubt in his mind that the child was beaten up. Also, when hey examined her stomach contents it seemed like she has not eaten properly for at least 3 days.

As we were talking, the nursing assistant came and gave the doctor an envelope. The doctor opened the envelope and replied: "Just as I suspected." Gopinath Da replied, "I don't understand.". The doctor said "The child has been taking hormone medicines, which explains why the child is very weak. Test results show the presence of a high dosage of Testopel. Generally, Testopel is recommended for adult males, but for some reason, the child has been administered with this medicine. There seems to be no medical justification for this prescription.".

Generally, its law in India if there is a COMA patient or a physically abused victim in the hospital, the police need to be notified. Gopinath Uncle asked the doctor to give him a call once Geeta wakes up. He further said that he will have one of his men keep an eye on the family. If they are guilty of abuse, they might want to hurt the child again. Saying this, he left.

I went to the ICU to check on Geeta. I stood near the door and found Aunty and Aamaya sitting next to Geeta. Aamaya was holding Geeta's hand and she seemed very shook up. I went inside and asked Aunty if they wanted to go home and freshen up. They must be exhausted. I will sit beside Geeta and get back to her if there was any improvement.

Aunty replied "Its ok son. You have done enough. You go home. I will stay here with my dear Geeta."

I felt the sudden urge to keep Aunty away from Geeta. I went out and decided to ask Koushik if he is all right staying with Geeta and keeping an eye on Aunty. After yesterday night's incident, I lost my faith in the cops too.

Koushik agreed to stay in the hospital. Vikash also stepped up and told Koushik "I will be outside the hospital in my car. If you need any help give me a call."

I went back inside and told aunty that I was going home, but, Koushik will be staying with them, in case needed anything they can ask him. I could feel the hesitation in aunty's face, however, she requested me to take Aamaya home as the girls were alone in the house.

I went back home and dropped Aamaya at their residence. I was not sure how to tell our Monika about this. As I entered the house, Monika came running towards me and asked me how Geeta was. I didn't have the heart to tell her that Geeta was in a Coma so I lied to her that she was in and out of consciousness.

She hugged me and said "Thank you, Brother. Please promise me you will do everything possible to help Geeta.". I told Monika "I cannot be here all the time to keep an eye on Geeta. Besides, I am here for only 2 more weeks and then I am back to school. And you understand this kind of situation we are too young to handle.". I knew I was disappointing her but it felt like I needed to make her face reality and protect her from getting in trouble with the Banerjee family. It felt like she understood what I meant and went to her room.

I thought of telling Mom and Dad the truth. We went to their room and locked the door, making sure Monika would not be able to hear anything. "Mom, I need to tell you something. Geeta is in Coma. According to the Doctor, he is not sure when she will wake up. If I tell Monika the truth, I am worried that she might fall into depression once again.". I saw the worried look on Mom's face and asked her to have faith in God. Everything will be alright.

Mom decided to call the daughter's home for lunch. I went to their home and asked Aamaya and the girls to come and have lunch at our place. As they were getting ready, I quietly went to Geeta's room and kept the diaries in the cabinet where Geeta keeps it hidden.

I felt like I broke a promise. The promise of friendship which I made to Geeta the moment I put the friendship band on her. I just hope Geeta regains conscious soon. I hope I can figure out a way to keep Geeta safe.