April 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge- Chapter 22- Vanish into thin air

I'll Be There Beside You

Chapter 22

Today’s Idiom – Vanish into thin air

Meaning-If something vanishes into thin air, it disappears completely.

I sat in the small room that was Vishnu’s office and waited patiently for him to finish his rounds in the morning. It was nearly a week since Lalitha had started therapy sessions with Vishnu and yesterday Vishnu had called me up and asked me to meet him.

I remembered how Bala uncle had opposed my suggestions about therapy for Lalitha.

“What are you trying to say? That our daughter is sick? That she should be put in a mental institution? We know how to take care of Lalitha, you don’t need to advice us.” 

He was simmering with resentment as he mocked at my suggestion.

I lost my temper then.

“If you really cared about Lalitha then you’d have taken her to a doctor after that horrible incident transformed her into what she is now. You’d’ve believed that your daughter’s happiness and well-being is more important than what the society thinks. You’d’ve noticed that she had become withdrawn and depressed and confused. You’d’ve allowed her to express her fears openly rather than discouraging her to talk about the episode.”

Bala uncle’s rage and annoyance vanished into thin air and he collapsed into a wrecked heap. I felt guilty for my words. After all he was just a father, trying to protect his daughter from more agony.

“Uncle, I love Lalitha and I just want her to be happy. I want her to forget the old scars and start her life on a new note. Trust me, I won’t allow anyone to hurt her again”, I had promised as tears of regret slid down Bala uncle’s cheeks.

My line of thought was interrupted as Vishnu bustled into the room and took the chair opposite to me. He got straight to the point.

“Sudhir, how serious are you about marrying this girl?”

“I love her and I intend to marry her next month”

“And nothing I say about her will make you change your opinion?”

“What are you talking about, Vishnu? I know everything about Lalitha’s past.”

“Just answer me! Will you marry her if you know that things are much worse than you had imagined.”

I didn’t hesitate before replying “I will marry her regardless of what you say.”

“Very well then. Now, I must warn you that I’ve never done this before and I’m allowing you to view this because I want you to understand what Lalitha is suffering from. And maybe I want this girl to have a chance of leading a normal, happy life”

Saying so, Vishnu powered on the monitor in his room and an image came alive. “This is the recording of the therapy session I had with Lalitha yesterday”, Vishnu informed me as I saw Lalitha seated on a couch in her trademark posture of hunched shoulders, eyes lowered and hands clasped together on her lap.

You can read the previous chapters here-

Chapter 1                                     Chapter 8                             Chapter 15

Chapter 2                                     Chapter 9                             Chapter 16

Chapter 3                                     Chapter 10                           Chapter 17

Chapter 4                                     Chapter 11                           Chapter 18

Chapter 5                                     Chapter 12                           Chapter 19

Chapter 6                                     Chapter 13                           Chapter 20

Chapter 7                                     Chapter 14                           Chapter 21