“You were not in my place, if you were you can understand.” Babitha hung her head.
“Of course, I understood.” Rose said. “But I just cannot digest a thing like that happening on a girl and her being compromised so. I am not feeling angry on you Babitha, I am just feeling pity. I cannot understand how much of distress you have been undergoing now as you have to make your daughter to live with him like that.”
“Thank you doctor, thank you very much!” suddenly Babitha looked into the face Rose and said. “You understood me. We have come here with lot of hopes on you. If you can get a change in our daughter’s mind, we shall ever be grateful to you.”
“To be frank....” Rose wanted to say something but before that Manohar said. “That guy who married our daughter is not very much bad. He did it like that only because those other two. He has been feeling very much regret and wants to look our daughter all her life nicely.”
Rose sighed heavily and leaned back in the chair again. “Your daughter herself volunteered to marry that guy as it would a solution to all your problems. But she just cannot forget what those three did to her and it has become very much unbearable to her to live along with one of those guys who gang-raped her. Anyhow what is her present reaction? Is she is saying that she does not want to live along with him? Is she is asking now to file a complaint against those now?”
“She is not saying anything particular now but sometimes she is becoming very much violent. Whenever she becomes violent she does not know what she is doing. We just cannot understand what she exactly wants now.” With a confusing and distressing expression in his face Manohar said.
“It is just because she herself does not know what to do exactly now. On one side she is feeling too much anger on those three rogues and on the other side she is thinking about her family. It is just like binding her tight after a compromise like that with those rogues and their fathers. I can understand her situation quite well now.”
“And you can hundred percent solve our problem also.” With a pleading expression in his face Manohar said. “If you can make her to forget her anger and live along with that guy...........”
“It is indeed a very big and painful job. I cannot give commitments but I do try my level best.” Rose once again sighed heavily. “You people along with her have to come to me on three or four occasions and I want to talk with her husband also.”
“We sure shall do it like that, there is no problem.” With a brightening expression in his face Manohar said.
“I do become free sometime in the afternoon but in fact I have to look after my inpatients at that time. Anyhow I do talk with your daughter at that time and after talking with her in detail, I tell you what to do.”
“Thank you very much doctor” Babitha said and both of them looked into the face of Rose with the same grateful expression.
“You both may please go for the present and send your daughter exactly by one in the afternoon. Neither of you should be present while I am talking with your girl. For the present you both can go.” Rose said.
“Exactly it shall be so” Manohar said and got up from the chair he sat. Babitha also followed his suit and they both came out of that room then.
***
“I talked with your parents. They supplied me with some information.” At one in the afternoon, Babitha took Charita into Rose’s chamber and after settling her in one of the two chairs opposite to Rose, she left.
Charita leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. She was aged twenty three years so. Even she was beautiful, youthful and attractive!
“I can understand your feeling. I can understand now you have been suffering more with self-hate rather than anger on those three.”
Charita snap opened her eyes and looked into the face of Rose. “You are absolutely right doctor!” her voice was sweet. “I have been feeling hate on myself. It is not so that I don’t feel anger on those bastards! I just want to kill the three of them in the same way. But this self-hate is becoming too much for me.”
“I can understand the reason. While those bastards were raping you your body has become somehow amicable to them and to some extent it also enjoyed the pleasure. You are feeling now that you did not put your whole effort to escape from them.”
“Yes, yes doctor.” Charita said. “Sometimes I am feeling too much of hate on myself thinking that I did not put full effort to escape from them. Even I did not like it even a bit; why should my body enjoy it so?”
“It is just because your body and mind both are two different things. Your body has its own way of responding to the things irrespective of the point how your mind is feeling about them. Sex is so natural a thing not just among human beings but other creatures also. At your age your body craves for it a lot and wanted to have it somehow or other. Once a situation like that happens, even you don’t like it even a little, your body enjoys it in the usual way. You need not blame yourself for that at all.”
Charita remained silent as she did not know what to say to that.
“First you have to come out of your self-hate, next you have to come out of your anger on those three guys.”
“Doctor, would you have said the same thing to me if my family has not been compromised like that and my marriage was performed with that guy so?”
Rose smiled and sighed heavily. “Yes, you may feel surprise I do say the same thing to all the rape victims. If they don’t come out of their self-hate and anger on the guy or guys who raped them, they cannot lead a peaceful life.”
“Is it is not excusing the bastards? Do such people deserve any pardon at all?” suddenly there was an angry expression in the face of Charita.
“Everyone deserves pardon if he feels sincerely guilty for what he did.” Rose nodded her head. “A rape affects a woman mentally more than physically but if we take everything into consideration, a culprit of rape can be excused.”
“Doctor........” Charita stooped forward in the chair and balanced her both arms on the table in between. “......I know that my parents requested you to get a change in me to lead a happy life with that guy as it solves all the problems. But just for that please don’t talk like this.”
“I just talk facts Charita.” With the same firmness in her voice Rose said. “Your parents’ problem is not my problem and I am not thinking to somehow or other to make you change your mind. I just tell you the facts while trying to make you understand.”
Charita remained silent once again as she did not know what to say to that also.
“All rapists must be punished in the same way. Under no circumstances a rape is a condonable crime. But.....” Rose paused for a second as it was very much difficult to continue with what she was saying. “.........on some occasions rapes are different crimes with other crimes.”
“I just cannot understand what you are trying to say!” with a confusing expression in her face, Charita said.
“Sex in men will be very much forceful and urging and if it has not been satisfied occasionally sometimes it leads them to do ghastly things like rapes. When it comes to boys of the age who raped you, it will be even more strong and powerful. They were with such an urge which they could not control at that time at all and they found you in such a convenient situation at that time.”
“So the rape they committed on me is not a crime at all!” Charita got off from the chair and her palms turned into fists like rocks. “I don’t want to hear anymore. I go away.”
“Alright, Charita.” Rose nodded her head. “There is still time to you if you want to give a police complaint against those three boys and there is strong evidence against them. I come with you and help you. Will you do it?”
Charita slumped in the chair as if she has been drained off all her strength before closing her face in her palms and burst into weeping.
“This session is not to make you even more distressed Charita. This is to put you in peace. I can pretty well understand your feeling. If you think I am like your friend, just console yourself and listen to me.” Rose said while looking at Charita.
Charita removed her palms from her face, leaned back in the chair with closed eyes.
“Don’t think I concocted something to make you feel peace. It is the story of my own sister. I tell you what she did after a ghastly thing just like on you happened to her. If you want, you may come to her and know whether what I said is true or not.” Then she explained about the gang-rape happened on her sister and what she did later.
Then Charita opened her eyes and looked into the face of Rose. “Really, really it happened like that to her?” with surprise she asked.
“If you want you may come and talk with her. You can feel more peace by talking with her as she understood human psychology more than I also even though she is not a psychiatrist.” Her charming smile took place on the lips of Rose.
“That is not necessary. I believe you.” For the first time Charita also smiled.
“Still whether it is by many people or single man and under whatever circumstances it may, rape is never a condonable crime and all the rapists must be punished in the same way. But here, your matter is little different. You already condoned those people and married one of those guys. Then is it is not better to make terms with the situation and settle in your life?”
“You are right. But.....” Charita sighed heavily before saying again. “....I just cannot forget the way they did to me. I don’t want but my mind forcing those memories onto the surface how one after one they got onto me satisfying their urge while making me completely immobile on the bed there.....”
“That is why you have been taken here. There you need my help.” Rose stooped forward and balanced her arms on the table in between. “I make you get the strength to deal with those memories and come out of your self-hate. Once you do that you can have the strength to pardon those three also.”
“I don’t think ..... I don’t think......that I ever can do that!” once again Charita’s palms turned into fists with anger which was amply expressed in her face and voice also.
“We do think about that later.” Rose smiled and said. “Anyhow I have to give you hypnotherapy in three or four sessions. There are patients to me to attend till the evening on this day. Can you please come next Sunday? My whole days are full till then.”
“Okay doctor. I do it so.” Suddenly with a smile on her lips Charita said. “I don’t know why but I am feeling happy talking with you doctor. I sure do come to you again on next Sunday.”
It was not the first time to Rose to hear like that. “Then I start my hypnotherapy on you. One session may not be enough but after three or so sessions, I am confident that you can have full peace and has the strength to face the past.”
(……….to be continued)
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