Sophia's Freedom

Chapter 75 : Mistake - 2

"Because of the mission, he had to ensure that his son believes that he is dead. It was supposed to be his last assignment and upon completion of his mission, his plan was to retire from the defense forces and leave the country forever and spend the rest of his life happily with his son and Sister-in-law."

"The letter he gave me also mentioned about a Will he left for me at Abhinu's Mother's house in Purulia. However, because of my posting, I was not able to get there for nearly a year."

"Eventually, I got to know that the child protective services gave the legal guardianship to the Banerjee's. I was happy when I came to know about that, as I thought blood relatives would be a better choice to take care of him, then someone whom he never knew. I was never really a part of his childhood."

"But dad you just said you were there when he was baptized. How come he didn’t recognise you that day?" I interrupted.

"Well... he was only 3 months old when he was baptized. After that, we met during his mom's funeral. He was only 2 years old back then. I never saw him since."

"Seeing how you were fated to be his guardian a long time ago, and all the pain and suffering he has gone through, I support your decision. Abhinu was, is and always will be my best friend." I added.

However, I just couldn't digest this revelation about dad and Abhinu's father knew each other. As I was deep in thought dad continued, "11 months after Lt. Col Banerjee's death, my leaves were finally granted. The first thing I did was to go to Purulia and search for the will. The day I was in that house to searching for the will, I stumbled upon Abhinu. I introduced myself as the caretaker. I came to know that he ran away from home. He confided everything with me. Including the part about being made to live like a girl and getting assaulted by his classmates and his sisters being privy to the incident."

"For some reason, the allegations were so preposterous that I couldn't believe anything he said. However, as a man in uniform, and being a graduate in Criminology, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. In case there was any grain of truth in what he told me, I owed it as a friend to keep him safe."

"It felt as if he misses his father, and so I tried to get in touch with some of my colleagues in the NIA to get in touch with his dad, and then I got to know from them that he has been missing in action. The date     coincided with the same day Abhinu was assaulted by his friends..."

"I had to do something, but before that I had to confirm that Abhinu lives there. I requested a friend of mine to get in touch with his guardians in Kolkata and perform a background check on him. He came to know from the family that ever since he learned that his father is no more, he had become a different person. He quarreled with one of his friends and was expelled from school. He also said that he tried to harm himself a couple of times and once he even took a stud g*n to puncture his nostrils. They told me that he was getting psychiatric help when one day he suddenly disappeared. The family was searching relentlessly for him and was very distressed."

"Hearing all these my doubts got the better of me and I considered his actions to be that of a misguided child. All his actions seemed to be the reactions of a very young kid who has recently lost someone very dear."

"At that moment I felt that having the family close to him would help him recover, so against my better judgment, I finally decided to call up the cops and share his location with them."

I was in shock at the sudden revelation from dad. My dad was my superhero, but how could he make such a bad judgment when it concerned Abhinu. I raised my hands and covered my mouth in shock. "HOW CAN YOU DO THIS DAD???"

I started crying and shouted "I thought you are the smartest man in the world, you had a chance to help him and decided not to... HE WAS YOUR GOD SON..."

Mom hugged me and tried to console me and said "Honey… please don't come to any conclusion… Please listen to what he has to say first."

"When the cops came in, I was informed that Abhinu was delusional and suffering from NSSI (Non suicidal Self Injury) and Transvestic Disorder and the doctor who accompanied the cops convince me that the Banerjee's would be the better choice for him to get well…"

"I was still not convinced by what the doctor told me and so, after he left, I tried to get in touch with a friend of mine Dr. Jessica Z. Upon talking to her, she told me that firstly 7-year-old can suffer from NSSI or Transvestic Disorder, however there is no way a 7-year-old can suffer from delusional disorder. It was a fact that he has lost the person who was dearest to him… but that loss will never lead him to become delusional. As a matter of fact, Jessica was ready to stake her career for it."

"However, she also stated that there can be another possibility… if the child is being tortured at home, and what if the child is not transvestic, but is a subject of some experiment or bullying and is being administered antidepressants, that would replace his emotion by an emotional inertness, where that child will neither able to cry nor be happy. The child will not be able to respond with the same level of emotions that a regular human being would feel under the effect of antidepressants… If a child is under the effect of antidepressants, any doctor would conclude that the child would be delusional because of his emotional inertness."

"Jessica theory made sense, but I would require proof to rescue Abhinu. Just based on a theory, I wouldn’t be able to take any action. So, my next plan of action was to go to Kolkata and find out more about him from his school.”

“After talking to the principal of the school I came to know that he was a brilliant child, a very good athlete, and he was also selected for the national basketball team. As a matter of fact, he was also approached by the sports body to represent the district in karate however he declined the offer. The principal also confirmed that he has never showed signs of any trauma and even his classmates and quite a few seniors had only good things to talk about him. I was baffled when I came to know about the incident that led to his expulsion."

"Jessica told me that someone like him who is generally calm and compose, and as trained martial artist he would know very well how to control his anger. She believed that there is a certainty that he was administered certain medicine that day that turned him violent, however she cannot come to any conclusion till she can have a session with him. I even went to the SAI centre where everyone had only good things to say about him."

"So, what did you do next?”

“I extended my leaves and kept a constant watch over the house for 2 weeks. I never saw the child step out of the house for a single day." Dad paused and then he asked me "Honey… do you remember you once called me and told me about a friend of yours who was subjected to a weird ceremony and 2 of the boys misbehaved with him… and you asked me what you should do…"

"Yes…"

"Well, I didn't have any answer to it that day… however do you remember something happened at the balcony of their house a week later…"

"Yes... Aamaya di asked me to take Abhinu to the balcony for some discussion and then some time later… Soham and Grihamani came and begged forgiveness from Abhinu…"

"Yes, you are right… remember that day a lady came to your house with one of your classmates…"

"Yes… she was Rinku's mom…"

"Well… she is nowhere related to Rinku… she was a friend of Dr. Jessica… I asked her to go to the house and have a session with Abhinu to confirm if he is really being abused at home." dad paused a little and then asked me "can you try to recall that face of that lady... you might be able to recognize that person... from our latest events..."

I closed my eyes tightly as if trying to recall the face of that lady. It took me about 10 minutes and then the face suddenly became clear. "It was Aunty Sengupta isn't it dad..."

“You got it right honey...." he paused and continued "However,… she couldn't meet Abhinu and instead she came to know from Aamaya that Abhinu believes he is Aarohi and that he is being treated in a trauma Center, and Aamaya claiming his bravery medal as hers."

"After Miss Sengupta left, thanks to you… I was finally able to see Abhinu. I kept a watch over his body language. Normally when a boy suffers from transvestic disorder, he constantly keeps a check over his movements knowingly, however in the case of Abhinu it was quite the opposite. Like the time when he was talking to you, his ankles were crossed, and he was keeping your hands below chin level, he was not doing those knowingly, but it was a reaction to the female hormones administered to him, which is making his brains to behave the way females do…”

"I finally had enough proof to take Abhinu away from there and so with the help of a few of my cop friends I decided to raid the house." 

"However, when we finally raised the house, Abhinu was no-where to be found, and the family shared the medical reports with the cops and convinced them that he is getting treated abroad. However, 2 days later, I saw Abhinu in the balcony once again."

"later on I learned that somehow Mr. Banerjee got the hint that we were coming to raid the house and so he and his son took Aamaya and Abhinu out all the way to Kalyani on the pretext of proposing to Abhinu in the presence of his classmates..."

"I wanted to raid the house once again but the court didn't gave us the permission."

"My leaves were finally coming to an end, and I was still a long way from rescuing Abhinu. However, I was still not letting him down. The next day I went to Naval Headquarters eastern command and submitted a request for a Joint-Services Posting in Kolkata. However, 6 months later I was asked to join 42 Rastriya Rifles stationed in Purulia. It was perhaps gods plan, because I came to know from you that Abhinu is no more in Kolkata and then when I reached Purulia I found the Banerjee family in Lt. Col. Banerjee's house."

“What about the will… What was in it?"

“Unfortunately, the will was never found… I turned the house upside done but I could never find the will. However, that day when I went to meet Abhinu at the hospital, I asked him about the will and he told me that there is a room in the ground floor of the house, where all the personal belonging of his parent are kept, in that there is a tiny stuffed toy. The will was kept inside the stuffed toy.”

“What was in the will dad?”

“I cannot tell you about the will... that is only for Abhinu and Jessica to know... I am sorry dear..."

Dad continued: “I spend the last 6 years making sure Abhinu is kept safe, however till date I was really not sure how to do it and truth be spoken I was hitting a brick wall. I knew you would keep a watch over Abhinu and if I know that family right, it won't be long before they even try to hurt you and I cannot let that happen… As his god-father I failed him… but as a father I cannot fail you."

Before dad could say another word, I hugged him tightly and said "please don't say that you are a failed parent. You have raised me well… and I know for a fact that you can raise Abhinu too just the way you raised us…"

"I just wish I wouldn't have committed the greatest blunder… if only I wouldn't have forgotten about the letter, he gave me that day… These 6 years would never have happened…" saying this he let go of me and left the tent without looking back. I knew he is sad, and he is trying his level best to hide his emotions from me.

Mom suddenly hugged me to comfort me and said "Honey, as a good human being, your father tried everything in his power to save your friend… But remember something we as humans are susceptible to forget things when you are under pressure which tests your nerves and control over your destiny… we cannot blame him for forgetting about the letter" suddenly mom caught hold of my hands and asked, "honey look at me and tell me something?"

                                                        TO BE CONTINUED...

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