Entry #93

A Patient Tale
by Kartik Desikan


“So you see a bird, is that right?”

Nodding, I recline even further on the couch, which is a little too snug for my comfort, I must admit, as Dr. Philip furiously scribbles with every question.

Mom doesn’t believe me. Kids at school snicker and make up imaginary names. They forget I christened it as Sheldon.

He thrusts his pen at me. “And somehow this bird is responsible for everything chaotic at home?”

The shattered Mongolian vase. Pages shredded from Dad’s diary. Peanuts strewn on the kitchen floor and Mom’s fractured leg.

“I don’t expect you to believe me doctor, but that is what it is. And Sheldon, um, the bird does it behind Mom’s back every time”

With an impatient yawn the doctor says, “Tell you what kid, it’s all in your head. You’re not the first 10 year old who’s been seeing things”

As he rambles on about how I’ve possibly lost my mind, I think about how seeing a ghostly and ghastly bird was so not what I wanted for Christmas. The latest Ben10 action figure was more like it. A new baseball glove wouldn’t hurt either.

Just then I hear Sheldon go rat-a-tat at the window, and swoop in. A minute later, I reflect at the general disarray in the room.

He coughs. “The handiwork of Sheldon, I presume”

“Of course!” I say.

“Alright, I saw him too,” and Dr. Philip runs out of the room screaming hysterically.