The light
Rohit was running ahead Meena was taking out her younger daughter. She was so small but she was always healthy except one thing from day one. She just screamed whenever she saw light. As if she just hated lights. In hospital doctor found it strange even nurse felt little strange but then they assumed it was just sensitive eyes which many children had. They needed to take care of her. But even today she just hated light. Soon Meena sensed that something must be wrong with her daughter's eyes so they took appointment of doctor. She looked at her daughter. As soon as she went in light, her daughter started screaming on top of lungs. Rohit immediately sensed some thing was wrong. Rohit " Mom what is wrong with Chitra? Why did she hate light so much?" Meena smiled. " Nothing. She just like it." " Mom you and Dad are going to take her to doctor tomorrow?" " Now this upset Meena. She didn't wanted her son to know about it. " Who told you that?" Rohit looked away. So one thing was clear he didn't want to tell name. Any way Meena could easily guess that it must be her mother-in-law. She just kept complaining about her daughter whole time. Meena was to fight with her. But it was not of any use. In fact it would just create worst effect on her son. Rohit was confirming fact since he trusted his mother and that was good sign. " Yes we are. We are concerned about it." Rohit smiled when he sensed his Mom was not interested in hearing name of that person who told him this. Rohit was relaxed now. He could talk frankly. "Mom I was thinking about this for so many days. She just seemed so pale. It is not normal. I mean I have seen sisters and brothers of my friends. They all are red and healthy due to sunlight. But Chitra just love darkness. A small kid need light. She will get sick if she kept sitting in darkness like that." Meena was so glad when Rohit talked so maturely. She decided that she would talk with him like adults. " We both feel same way. But she seemed so upset by light. We just feel that we need some Doctor. We can't just cure her." " Mom you are right. Doctor will cure her. You must not pay attention to grandma. We must do every thing for Chitra. I will take care of her on every way in life." Meena felt so happy that her cute little son was telling her concerned about his little sister. She began to feel so tense. She was so concerned about her daughter. But her son might start to hate his sister. But he loved her. Meena just wanted Rohit to get attach to Chitra and it was happening. She went inside her room in darkness with Chitra. She turned to Rohit. She knew that she couldn't do that for long. She couldn't just stay with her daughter in dark. Her son was not so grown up enough to live on his own. She had to find some one to take care of Chitra. She needed to go out sometimes. But it was hard. She knew that any baby sitter would not like to sit in just dark room. Chitra was so difficult to handle. She looked around that dark room. She was getting upset herself. She just wanted to show her daughter to some Doctor and wanted to walk in light. She was so frustrated by this arrangement. She wanted break from it. She needed to just cure her daughter. She sat in that dark room. She was cuddling her but she knew somewhere in heart. She couldn't even see her face properly. She wanted to at least see her daughter properly in light. But when ever she tried to take her in light. Chitra started screaming and she had to take her inside in few moments. She slowly dialed her Mom's number. She told her all while crying. " Mom can you help me? I need a babysitter. No one is ready for it." " Now this is so hard. But still I will try to find one. I feel she might charge more money." "Mom it is fine. I just want to spend some time in light. I can't live in darkness for entire life. Can I?" " Okay I will send her tomorrow." " Thanks Mom." Ronit came running inside. " Mom do you got babysitter?" " I think so." " I am so happy Mom. I want to play with you. Grandma is not that nice. I want you." Rohit hugged her. Meena could sense his loneliness. Meena " Don't worry. I will play with you from now." In her mind she was tense but she was determined that she would just manage to find a proper baby sitter.
That day Meena and Dinesh went to Doctor. He checked Chitra. Pediatrician " I think your daughter have cataract. " " But she is just baby." " I know but it is not impossible. In few cases babies have cataract and don't worry. It is not complicated operation. It is just simple operation. " Dinesh " Nothing is simple for such a small child." " Mr. Dinesh you need to act with patience. If you act this way you will manage to scare them all. You are important pole of your family. You have to support your wife and daughter they can't handle it on their own." Dinesh looked out of window. He dried his tears. He knew that Meena was also crying. He gave her tissue. She controlled her tears and dried them. She knew that she had to be strong. Meena " So what did we suppose to do?" " I will give you number of cataract specialist. First relax. It will be just fine. " " When can we go? We want to go as soon as possible." Pediatrician smiled. " You need patience. She might have to stay like this for few days. Until her cataract fully develop then she can be operated. You can go to Doctor tomorrow. But still if you want them then take second advice. But I feel this Doctor is best." Dinesh " We trust you. We will go to him on tomorrow." Meena tried her best but somewhere in heart she had lost all her hopes. She never thought that Chitra would have such big problem. Now she could clearly sensed handling it was going to be biggest trouble. She didn't know much about cataract but she heard that operation was easy. But she never imagined her little baby to be operated. Still it was going to happen. She started crying from heart. She sensed one thing that suddenly her daughter began to cry too. Chitra sensed it all. She was so upset by light. Even at evening she preferred to stay inside her Mom's duppata. It was so frustrating. She didn't want to scare her daughter but she was so scared herself. Still she smiled. She tried to console her. But it was not convincing her. Then Dinesh tried but nothing worked. She just kept crying until they didn't reach home. Meena took her inside house in dark room. She immediately stopped crying. It was horrible. Chitra didn't able to tolerate even little bit of light. Meena was so upset. She didn't able to control herself any more. She started crying when suddenly Rohit came running inside with his grand mother. Rohit " What happened Mom?" She slowly told every thing to Rohit. Her mother-in-law spoke immediately " She is just burden. I told you when she was born that she was good for nothing. " Meena " Oh really and what is use of other people in this house?" " You are saying that I am useless. How dare you? This is my house." Rohit " But you first you called Chitra useless." " Look at this boy even at this young age his tongue is moving so fast after all you have feed him proper poison. Finally one day he will become evil like you. I just made biggest mistake in world by marrying my son to you." " Ohh really? Then I will just go to my Mom tomorrow. You can find new bride for your son. I am not staying with you." Meena was so angry. She began to pack her clothes when Dinesh entered " What happened?" Rohit " Mom and grandma had argument and Mom said she is leaving you and you suppose to marry another woman." Dinesh was shocked. Dinesh " What is this nonsense Meena? At this situation we need to think about Chitra. " " But your Mom.." "She is like that only don't pay attention to her. Let's talk about Chitra." Then Meena stopped packing. She sensed that she was too stressed. She sat there. They all started planning it all like family. They all decided to divide hours of staying with Chitra after all Meena couldn't stay in darkness for entire life. It was so upsetting. But at same time Meena was so glad that at least her family cared for her. But she decided that she would just found some babysitter but still some one must pay attention to Chitra. One thing was clear handling one sick person was not going to be easy for her family. But they decided that they would do it so they could manage it. Then she suddenly remembered her mother-in-law and she once again sensed that it was not going to be that easy. She looked at Chitra. She saw that Chitra was asleep. Meena " Let's go out in light. I need light." They all nodded. After all when Chitra woke up, Meena needed to go in darkness again. It was not good news for them. But they felt sure that once Doctor did that operation every thing would be over. They went ahead with that hope from their heart.
Finally Meena and Dinesh took her to eye specialist who checked her eyes. He told them that they had to wait Chitra's cataract was not fully developed. At beginning they were upset but slowly they began to adjust. Slowly every one accepted that Chitra just liked to stay in darkness. They found babysitters. Many came and many ran away but nothing mattered. They all stood together. At beginning Dinesh's Mom tried to break their unity. But she couldn't since Rohit just loved his sister. Finally she had to gave up. So Chitra was happy in her dark room. But then finally Rohit came to Meena one day. Rohit " Mom Chitra needed to go out in light. I just got one idea. Why don't we give her dark glasses then she could at least able to play in whole house. " Meena smiled she liked that idea. Then she called Dinesh and told him to bring glasses for her. When Dinesh came, they immediately gave those dark glassed to Chitra. She was 1 year old now. She managed to keep them. She slowly came out of room. She even smiled when she looked around. But she turned away her face as soon as she looked at tube light. She wanted to return in room but Rohit stopped her. He told her to sit in room with back towards light. They reduced all light and just kept dim light. Chitra liked that. Slowly they started using dim light every where. Dinesh's Mom kept cursing them. But no one paid attention to her. After all Dinesh was paying every thing so he could change lights as per his wish. They began to live in that way which could be suitable for Chitra. Finally that day came when they decided to operate on Chitra's eyes. Doctor did it quickly and perfectly. It was hardest day for them. She was so small. They had to take care of every thing. From that day they followed every instruction they had given. She cried so much many times. But finally every thing was over. Doctor said that she was fine. They were so glad. They all hoped that she would become normal. They started looking forward to take her out on picnic. Now she was three year old. She needed to get adjust with light. One day they decided to take her out. Meena " Come Chitra let's go out in hall." " No light hurts." Rohit " No Chitra it will not hurt now." " No." She screamed and hide under bed. Meena was so confused. " But how did you understand without going out." " No..No..Black glass." "Chitra!!! You have to try. You can't spend your entire life in this dark room." Then she started to convince her but she knew that convincing such a small girl was just useless. Chitra didn't understand any lectures. She was so small. Meena decided that Chitra might need some time. Rohit " Just show her some thing she liked then she should come out. " Meena liked this idea. She took out Chitra's new toy. It was special toy which would never given to her. Since it was too costly but this seemed like perfect occasion. She smiled and gave that to Rohit who opened door. He went out and slowly opened that toy. That doll started to dance. Chitra saw it. She smiled and she ran but then suddenly sunlight came on her eyes. She started screaming. She ran back. She was about to stuck on table when Meena stopped her. It was horrible. She was really crying in pain. There was no dispute about it. She was still suffering from some pain. Meena consoled her. Meena " Did it hurt?" Chitra nodded. Meena was so upset. One thing was clear that operation was not that much successful. Chitra was still having problem with her eyes. Rohit " Mom did that Doctor cheated us?" " Now don't jump on any conclusion. I will go to him with Dad." " Why did we have to wait for Dad? I will come with you." " You are too small." Suddenly Dinesh's Mom came out. " I will come with you. That Doctor can't grab so much money like that." Meena was so glad. Finally her mother-in-law cooperated. She told Rohit to stop at home and they both went to eye specialist. She even called Dinesh. He joined them there. They showed every thing to Doctor. But it was useless. He kept claiming that she was fine. It was just sensitive nature of eyes. They argument continued without results. Doctor just kept claiming her eyes were fine. They finally had to leave since Doctor told them it in such a harsh tone that they sensed that he might make complaint against them. They all went out. From that day they just kept showing her to eye specialist but every one said that she was fine. It must be sensitive nature of her eyes. It would go away so Chitra just kept hiding in her room.
Soon Meena and Dinesh decided that they couldn't keep their daughter uneducated. But she couldn't go out in sunlight so final option was home tutor and distant education. It was really scary option. But they had to take it since they didn't have any other option. It was so strange Chitra just kept sitting in dark room. She was little girl still she used to wear dark glasses. Whenever she entered in hall they had to use dim light. She just never watched TV since she hated it's light. Every thing was strange about her. Rohit managed to make so many friends while Chitra just never came out. She just never managed to make even one decent friend. Chitra was always loner. Some friends might came to play with her but no one stayed for more time after all they were small girls so they all wanted to enjoy lights and colors. At first Meena tried to call other girls. At beginning few girls came to play with her. Meena provided them with best toys but after some time she sensed it was enough. She realized one thing. All children came in house and when they saw darkness, they no longer seemed to be interested in those toys. They all just ran away. Meena hated it from heart when they all ran. But Chitra hardly missed them. She just kept playing with her toys in her dark room. Chitra just hated light. They took her to many Doctors but achieved nothing. It was turning into worst thing day by day. Chitra just began to love night. She was so comfortable with it that slowly she began to sleep in day time and began to enjoy staying awake at night. One day finally Rohit came to Meena. Rohit " Mom this is getting too much. Chitra is now 10 year old. Still she didn't go out in light. We can't send her to school. She was acting as if she is bat. This is totally strange. She needed to understand that she is human being. She couldn't sleep in day and work at night." Meena " I know. I try to talk with her." She went in Chitra's room. Since Chitra didn't went out of room, they had to go in her room. Meena " Chitra why don't you try to come out in light?" " Mom I am fine in my room." Rohit " No. You are not and you know it. You don't go in school like me. Do you?" Chitra moved her head in negative way. Meena " So you can sense now that it is wrong. Please try to come out." " No Mom light will kill me." Meena said it with anger " Did it kill us? We all go out in light every day." " But I am not strong." Rohit " What is wrong with you? I can see you are perfect." " No..no.. I am weak as soon as I see that light suddenly my breathing began to stop. I just began to feel that this light will burn me alive. I feel as if I am going to die due to it's first ray." " You know it will very well that it will not happen."" I can feel it. I mean I can sense it." Chitra was really scared. Chitra " Can't you see it in my face that my body don't permit it?" They were confused. Chitra's face seemed like genuine but her thinking was not clear. Meena wanted to explain her. She kept telling her every thing. But still it was clear that she couldn't manage to convince her. Meena and Rohit finally went out. They both decided to give up. It was so wrong." Chitra just wanted to stay in that room. Mom we must do something." Meena nodded. She was so confused. She decided that she must talk to pediatrician again. She told him all. But he was clearly not interested in Chitra's case. He was too busy with patients. Meena was so confused. She was so angry. She decided to call eye specialist once again. He took her call after some time she reminded him of her case. Eye specialist " It is not my case now." " So? Where can I go?" " To psychiatrist? Your daughter is having mental problem." Now this was shocking to Meena. " But no one told me that before." " What can I say? You asked me now so I am telling you now." " But now where can I take her? She needed to understand those dark rooms are not for her. She had to understand those lights are her world. She was acting so strange." " I know..I can guess it must be so hard for you. This is number for you." Meena took that number. It was really important to her. It became treasure for her. She put it in her pocket.
As soon as Meena was so shocked, today with one call every thing was changed. Her daughter needed treatment but they didn't gave it since they didn't sense it's important. It was really shocking She called Dinesh and told him all. Dinesh " My god then why did we waste so many days and money on those eye specialist. Since now one seem to guess it, this seem so wrong on every point." They all decided one thing that they must meet Doctor immediately. Psychiatrist was her need. They started to sense that they went in totally wrong direction. It was having so much effect on Chitra's life. Dinesh " I will talk with that psychiatrist. Just Chitra keep ready to visit Psychiatrist." Meena " Okay." She knew that it was going to be hard since Chitra didn't want to go out in day time. Rohit came in room. Rohit " What happened?" " Dad is taking appointment of psychiatrist." " Don't you feel we should have done it before." " What is use of this discussion? Just remember one thing better late than never." Rohit nodded. Meena " Why don't you go and convince Chitra?" Rohit nodded in life. Rohit went in Chitra's room. Meena could heard him. His convincing was winning over Chitra's fear. But still Meena could sensed that Chitra was not fully ready. She was so upset. Her daughter didn't even feel need of going out. It was so strange. She went in room. " Chitra stop this. This is not normal. You can't live like this. Come out with dark glasses or I will take you out without them." Chitra was so scared by Meena's angry outburst. She started crying slowly. Rohit " Mom take it easy." " What am I suppose to do? Wait for entire life with one hope that this girl would sense something. No, I want to start treatment immediately. Chitra are you coming?" Chitra nodded. She got ready. Luckily their appointment was after 6 o'clock so light was less. Chitra came out but whole time she was hiding her face in strange way. Meena could see that her daughter was observed by every one as strange human being. It was clearly strange. A girl who was wearing dark glasses at evening. She could see it in people's eyes. She just wanted to go to that psychiatrist. Whole time Chitra didn't care about any thing. She was just busy in hiding from lights. She didn't even enter in clinic. She stood in one dark corner.Finally their number was called. When she saw that Psychiatrist's room had light, she stopped. Dinesh and Meena tried to pull her inside but she started screaming as if she was in some pain. Finally Doctor told nurse to shut light for few seconds. Then Chitra ran inside. She went inside dark cabin and shut door. Then nurse started light immediately. She started screaming. It was horrible for Meena and Dinesh. They kept apologizing and Chitra started crying. Psychiatrist " Now just relax. She is here just due to her this trouble so you don't need to feel sorry. People get sick and we do treatment for it. But we don't need to feel upset due to it. Just relax. Now sit. Let's start talking so Chitra tell me your problem." Chitra slowly started telling it all. Psychiatrist listened to it all. Psychiatrist " It happens in some cases. When you have cataract due to it you just can't able to bear light. You feel that pain and then your brain send signal to you that it is harmful for you. It needed to stop it after treatment but sometimes your brain did mistake, it just kept sending you that signal and you manage to get scared even when you are not feeling pains. It is called Photo Phobia. Fear of light. You need to understand it is not actual problem but just problem due to fear now. At one time it was real problem. Now it is not problem just fear so we need to get over it and I am perfect doctor for you and you can get over it. With me you can win it. So start to smile. Come Chitra." Chitra smiled for first time in relaxed way. Meena and Dinesh were so glad first time they felt that it was working. They had to make payment but they were sure finally they got their cure. Meena was excited that she went out and she phoned to Rohit. He was so happy. When she went inside she was so glad to get over her trouble. Since first time Chitra was wearing dark glasses and she was ready to try to go out at least in night light. They were dim but she was trying. It was first step towards their success. They were overjoyed by this sign of dawn.
The End
Rohit was running ahead Meena was taking out her younger daughter. She was so small but she was always healthy except one thing from day one. She just screamed whenever she saw light. As if she just hated lights. In hospital doctor found it strange even nurse felt little strange but then they assumed it was just sensitive eyes which many children had. They needed to take care of her. But even today she just hated light. Soon Meena sensed that something must be wrong with her daughter's eyes so they took appointment of doctor. She looked at her daughter. As soon as she went in light, her daughter started screaming on top of lungs. Rohit immediately sensed some thing was wrong. Rohit " Mom what is wrong with Chitra? Why did she hate light so much?" Meena smiled. " Nothing. She just like it." " Mom you and Dad are going to take her to doctor tomorrow?" " Now this upset Meena. She didn't wanted her son to know about it. " Who told you that?" Rohit looked away. So one thing was clear he didn't want to tell name. Any way Meena could easily guess that it must be her mother-in-law. She just kept complaining about her daughter whole time. Meena was to fight with her. But it was not of any use. In fact it would just create worst effect on her son. Rohit was confirming fact since he trusted his mother and that was good sign. " Yes we are. We are concerned about it." Rohit smiled when he sensed his Mom was not interested in hearing name of that person who told him this. Rohit was relaxed now. He could talk frankly. "Mom I was thinking about this for so many days. She just seemed so pale. It is not normal. I mean I have seen sisters and brothers of my friends. They all are red and healthy due to sunlight. But Chitra just love darkness. A small kid need light. She will get sick if she kept sitting in darkness like that." Meena was so glad when Rohit talked so maturely. She decided that she would talk with him like adults. " We both feel same way. But she seemed so upset by light. We just feel that we need some Doctor. We can't just cure her." " Mom you are right. Doctor will cure her. You must not pay attention to grandma. We must do every thing for Chitra. I will take care of her on every way in life." Meena felt so happy that her cute little son was telling her concerned about his little sister. She began to feel so tense. She was so concerned about her daughter. But her son might start to hate his sister. But he loved her. Meena just wanted Rohit to get attach to Chitra and it was happening. She went inside her room in darkness with Chitra. She turned to Rohit. She knew that she couldn't do that for long. She couldn't just stay with her daughter in dark. Her son was not so grown up enough to live on his own. She had to find some one to take care of Chitra. She needed to go out sometimes. But it was hard. She knew that any baby sitter would not like to sit in just dark room. Chitra was so difficult to handle. She looked around that dark room. She was getting upset herself. She just wanted to show her daughter to some Doctor and wanted to walk in light. She was so frustrated by this arrangement. She wanted break from it. She needed to just cure her daughter. She sat in that dark room. She was cuddling her but she knew somewhere in heart. She couldn't even see her face properly. She wanted to at least see her daughter properly in light. But when ever she tried to take her in light. Chitra started screaming and she had to take her inside in few moments. She slowly dialed her Mom's number. She told her all while crying. " Mom can you help me? I need a babysitter. No one is ready for it." " Now this is so hard. But still I will try to find one. I feel she might charge more money." "Mom it is fine. I just want to spend some time in light. I can't live in darkness for entire life. Can I?" " Okay I will send her tomorrow." " Thanks Mom." Ronit came running inside. " Mom do you got babysitter?" " I think so." " I am so happy Mom. I want to play with you. Grandma is not that nice. I want you." Rohit hugged her. Meena could sense his loneliness. Meena " Don't worry. I will play with you from now." In her mind she was tense but she was determined that she would just manage to find a proper baby sitter.
That day Meena and Dinesh went to Doctor. He checked Chitra. Pediatrician " I think your daughter have cataract. " " But she is just baby." " I know but it is not impossible. In few cases babies have cataract and don't worry. It is not complicated operation. It is just simple operation. " Dinesh " Nothing is simple for such a small child." " Mr. Dinesh you need to act with patience. If you act this way you will manage to scare them all. You are important pole of your family. You have to support your wife and daughter they can't handle it on their own." Dinesh looked out of window. He dried his tears. He knew that Meena was also crying. He gave her tissue. She controlled her tears and dried them. She knew that she had to be strong. Meena " So what did we suppose to do?" " I will give you number of cataract specialist. First relax. It will be just fine. " " When can we go? We want to go as soon as possible." Pediatrician smiled. " You need patience. She might have to stay like this for few days. Until her cataract fully develop then she can be operated. You can go to Doctor tomorrow. But still if you want them then take second advice. But I feel this Doctor is best." Dinesh " We trust you. We will go to him on tomorrow." Meena tried her best but somewhere in heart she had lost all her hopes. She never thought that Chitra would have such big problem. Now she could clearly sensed handling it was going to be biggest trouble. She didn't know much about cataract but she heard that operation was easy. But she never imagined her little baby to be operated. Still it was going to happen. She started crying from heart. She sensed one thing that suddenly her daughter began to cry too. Chitra sensed it all. She was so upset by light. Even at evening she preferred to stay inside her Mom's duppata. It was so frustrating. She didn't want to scare her daughter but she was so scared herself. Still she smiled. She tried to console her. But it was not convincing her. Then Dinesh tried but nothing worked. She just kept crying until they didn't reach home. Meena took her inside house in dark room. She immediately stopped crying. It was horrible. Chitra didn't able to tolerate even little bit of light. Meena was so upset. She didn't able to control herself any more. She started crying when suddenly Rohit came running inside with his grand mother. Rohit " What happened Mom?" She slowly told every thing to Rohit. Her mother-in-law spoke immediately " She is just burden. I told you when she was born that she was good for nothing. " Meena " Oh really and what is use of other people in this house?" " You are saying that I am useless. How dare you? This is my house." Rohit " But you first you called Chitra useless." " Look at this boy even at this young age his tongue is moving so fast after all you have feed him proper poison. Finally one day he will become evil like you. I just made biggest mistake in world by marrying my son to you." " Ohh really? Then I will just go to my Mom tomorrow. You can find new bride for your son. I am not staying with you." Meena was so angry. She began to pack her clothes when Dinesh entered " What happened?" Rohit " Mom and grandma had argument and Mom said she is leaving you and you suppose to marry another woman." Dinesh was shocked. Dinesh " What is this nonsense Meena? At this situation we need to think about Chitra. " " But your Mom.." "She is like that only don't pay attention to her. Let's talk about Chitra." Then Meena stopped packing. She sensed that she was too stressed. She sat there. They all started planning it all like family. They all decided to divide hours of staying with Chitra after all Meena couldn't stay in darkness for entire life. It was so upsetting. But at same time Meena was so glad that at least her family cared for her. But she decided that she would just found some babysitter but still some one must pay attention to Chitra. One thing was clear handling one sick person was not going to be easy for her family. But they decided that they would do it so they could manage it. Then she suddenly remembered her mother-in-law and she once again sensed that it was not going to be that easy. She looked at Chitra. She saw that Chitra was asleep. Meena " Let's go out in light. I need light." They all nodded. After all when Chitra woke up, Meena needed to go in darkness again. It was not good news for them. But they felt sure that once Doctor did that operation every thing would be over. They went ahead with that hope from their heart.
Finally Meena and Dinesh took her to eye specialist who checked her eyes. He told them that they had to wait Chitra's cataract was not fully developed. At beginning they were upset but slowly they began to adjust. Slowly every one accepted that Chitra just liked to stay in darkness. They found babysitters. Many came and many ran away but nothing mattered. They all stood together. At beginning Dinesh's Mom tried to break their unity. But she couldn't since Rohit just loved his sister. Finally she had to gave up. So Chitra was happy in her dark room. But then finally Rohit came to Meena one day. Rohit " Mom Chitra needed to go out in light. I just got one idea. Why don't we give her dark glasses then she could at least able to play in whole house. " Meena smiled she liked that idea. Then she called Dinesh and told him to bring glasses for her. When Dinesh came, they immediately gave those dark glassed to Chitra. She was 1 year old now. She managed to keep them. She slowly came out of room. She even smiled when she looked around. But she turned away her face as soon as she looked at tube light. She wanted to return in room but Rohit stopped her. He told her to sit in room with back towards light. They reduced all light and just kept dim light. Chitra liked that. Slowly they started using dim light every where. Dinesh's Mom kept cursing them. But no one paid attention to her. After all Dinesh was paying every thing so he could change lights as per his wish. They began to live in that way which could be suitable for Chitra. Finally that day came when they decided to operate on Chitra's eyes. Doctor did it quickly and perfectly. It was hardest day for them. She was so small. They had to take care of every thing. From that day they followed every instruction they had given. She cried so much many times. But finally every thing was over. Doctor said that she was fine. They were so glad. They all hoped that she would become normal. They started looking forward to take her out on picnic. Now she was three year old. She needed to get adjust with light. One day they decided to take her out. Meena " Come Chitra let's go out in hall." " No light hurts." Rohit " No Chitra it will not hurt now." " No." She screamed and hide under bed. Meena was so confused. " But how did you understand without going out." " No..No..Black glass." "Chitra!!! You have to try. You can't spend your entire life in this dark room." Then she started to convince her but she knew that convincing such a small girl was just useless. Chitra didn't understand any lectures. She was so small. Meena decided that Chitra might need some time. Rohit " Just show her some thing she liked then she should come out. " Meena liked this idea. She took out Chitra's new toy. It was special toy which would never given to her. Since it was too costly but this seemed like perfect occasion. She smiled and gave that to Rohit who opened door. He went out and slowly opened that toy. That doll started to dance. Chitra saw it. She smiled and she ran but then suddenly sunlight came on her eyes. She started screaming. She ran back. She was about to stuck on table when Meena stopped her. It was horrible. She was really crying in pain. There was no dispute about it. She was still suffering from some pain. Meena consoled her. Meena " Did it hurt?" Chitra nodded. Meena was so upset. One thing was clear that operation was not that much successful. Chitra was still having problem with her eyes. Rohit " Mom did that Doctor cheated us?" " Now don't jump on any conclusion. I will go to him with Dad." " Why did we have to wait for Dad? I will come with you." " You are too small." Suddenly Dinesh's Mom came out. " I will come with you. That Doctor can't grab so much money like that." Meena was so glad. Finally her mother-in-law cooperated. She told Rohit to stop at home and they both went to eye specialist. She even called Dinesh. He joined them there. They showed every thing to Doctor. But it was useless. He kept claiming that she was fine. It was just sensitive nature of eyes. They argument continued without results. Doctor just kept claiming her eyes were fine. They finally had to leave since Doctor told them it in such a harsh tone that they sensed that he might make complaint against them. They all went out. From that day they just kept showing her to eye specialist but every one said that she was fine. It must be sensitive nature of her eyes. It would go away so Chitra just kept hiding in her room.
Soon Meena and Dinesh decided that they couldn't keep their daughter uneducated. But she couldn't go out in sunlight so final option was home tutor and distant education. It was really scary option. But they had to take it since they didn't have any other option. It was so strange Chitra just kept sitting in dark room. She was little girl still she used to wear dark glasses. Whenever she entered in hall they had to use dim light. She just never watched TV since she hated it's light. Every thing was strange about her. Rohit managed to make so many friends while Chitra just never came out. She just never managed to make even one decent friend. Chitra was always loner. Some friends might came to play with her but no one stayed for more time after all they were small girls so they all wanted to enjoy lights and colors. At first Meena tried to call other girls. At beginning few girls came to play with her. Meena provided them with best toys but after some time she sensed it was enough. She realized one thing. All children came in house and when they saw darkness, they no longer seemed to be interested in those toys. They all just ran away. Meena hated it from heart when they all ran. But Chitra hardly missed them. She just kept playing with her toys in her dark room. Chitra just hated light. They took her to many Doctors but achieved nothing. It was turning into worst thing day by day. Chitra just began to love night. She was so comfortable with it that slowly she began to sleep in day time and began to enjoy staying awake at night. One day finally Rohit came to Meena. Rohit " Mom this is getting too much. Chitra is now 10 year old. Still she didn't go out in light. We can't send her to school. She was acting as if she is bat. This is totally strange. She needed to understand that she is human being. She couldn't sleep in day and work at night." Meena " I know. I try to talk with her." She went in Chitra's room. Since Chitra didn't went out of room, they had to go in her room. Meena " Chitra why don't you try to come out in light?" " Mom I am fine in my room." Rohit " No. You are not and you know it. You don't go in school like me. Do you?" Chitra moved her head in negative way. Meena " So you can sense now that it is wrong. Please try to come out." " No Mom light will kill me." Meena said it with anger " Did it kill us? We all go out in light every day." " But I am not strong." Rohit " What is wrong with you? I can see you are perfect." " No..no.. I am weak as soon as I see that light suddenly my breathing began to stop. I just began to feel that this light will burn me alive. I feel as if I am going to die due to it's first ray." " You know it will very well that it will not happen."" I can feel it. I mean I can sense it." Chitra was really scared. Chitra " Can't you see it in my face that my body don't permit it?" They were confused. Chitra's face seemed like genuine but her thinking was not clear. Meena wanted to explain her. She kept telling her every thing. But still it was clear that she couldn't manage to convince her. Meena and Rohit finally went out. They both decided to give up. It was so wrong." Chitra just wanted to stay in that room. Mom we must do something." Meena nodded. She was so confused. She decided that she must talk to pediatrician again. She told him all. But he was clearly not interested in Chitra's case. He was too busy with patients. Meena was so confused. She was so angry. She decided to call eye specialist once again. He took her call after some time she reminded him of her case. Eye specialist " It is not my case now." " So? Where can I go?" " To psychiatrist? Your daughter is having mental problem." Now this was shocking to Meena. " But no one told me that before." " What can I say? You asked me now so I am telling you now." " But now where can I take her? She needed to understand those dark rooms are not for her. She had to understand those lights are her world. She was acting so strange." " I know..I can guess it must be so hard for you. This is number for you." Meena took that number. It was really important to her. It became treasure for her. She put it in her pocket.
As soon as Meena was so shocked, today with one call every thing was changed. Her daughter needed treatment but they didn't gave it since they didn't sense it's important. It was really shocking She called Dinesh and told him all. Dinesh " My god then why did we waste so many days and money on those eye specialist. Since now one seem to guess it, this seem so wrong on every point." They all decided one thing that they must meet Doctor immediately. Psychiatrist was her need. They started to sense that they went in totally wrong direction. It was having so much effect on Chitra's life. Dinesh " I will talk with that psychiatrist. Just Chitra keep ready to visit Psychiatrist." Meena " Okay." She knew that it was going to be hard since Chitra didn't want to go out in day time. Rohit came in room. Rohit " What happened?" " Dad is taking appointment of psychiatrist." " Don't you feel we should have done it before." " What is use of this discussion? Just remember one thing better late than never." Rohit nodded. Meena " Why don't you go and convince Chitra?" Rohit nodded in life. Rohit went in Chitra's room. Meena could heard him. His convincing was winning over Chitra's fear. But still Meena could sensed that Chitra was not fully ready. She was so upset. Her daughter didn't even feel need of going out. It was so strange. She went in room. " Chitra stop this. This is not normal. You can't live like this. Come out with dark glasses or I will take you out without them." Chitra was so scared by Meena's angry outburst. She started crying slowly. Rohit " Mom take it easy." " What am I suppose to do? Wait for entire life with one hope that this girl would sense something. No, I want to start treatment immediately. Chitra are you coming?" Chitra nodded. She got ready. Luckily their appointment was after 6 o'clock so light was less. Chitra came out but whole time she was hiding her face in strange way. Meena could see that her daughter was observed by every one as strange human being. It was clearly strange. A girl who was wearing dark glasses at evening. She could see it in people's eyes. She just wanted to go to that psychiatrist. Whole time Chitra didn't care about any thing. She was just busy in hiding from lights. She didn't even enter in clinic. She stood in one dark corner.Finally their number was called. When she saw that Psychiatrist's room had light, she stopped. Dinesh and Meena tried to pull her inside but she started screaming as if she was in some pain. Finally Doctor told nurse to shut light for few seconds. Then Chitra ran inside. She went inside dark cabin and shut door. Then nurse started light immediately. She started screaming. It was horrible for Meena and Dinesh. They kept apologizing and Chitra started crying. Psychiatrist " Now just relax. She is here just due to her this trouble so you don't need to feel sorry. People get sick and we do treatment for it. But we don't need to feel upset due to it. Just relax. Now sit. Let's start talking so Chitra tell me your problem." Chitra slowly started telling it all. Psychiatrist listened to it all. Psychiatrist " It happens in some cases. When you have cataract due to it you just can't able to bear light. You feel that pain and then your brain send signal to you that it is harmful for you. It needed to stop it after treatment but sometimes your brain did mistake, it just kept sending you that signal and you manage to get scared even when you are not feeling pains. It is called Photo Phobia. Fear of light. You need to understand it is not actual problem but just problem due to fear now. At one time it was real problem. Now it is not problem just fear so we need to get over it and I am perfect doctor for you and you can get over it. With me you can win it. So start to smile. Come Chitra." Chitra smiled for first time in relaxed way. Meena and Dinesh were so glad first time they felt that it was working. They had to make payment but they were sure finally they got their cure. Meena was excited that she went out and she phoned to Rohit. He was so happy. When she went inside she was so glad to get over her trouble. Since first time Chitra was wearing dark glasses and she was ready to try to go out at least in night light. They were dim but she was trying. It was first step towards their success. They were overjoyed by this sign of dawn.
The End
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