Radhika wasn’t certain what was happening to her but more than that, she was extremely worried about Madhav’s hallucinations, which had almost killed him. She was unsure about the underlying trauma, but it was clearly harrowing for him. After spending hours going over every detail of the case, she finally decided to discuss it with her mentor, Dr Geeta Lodwal. She called her up and fixed an appointment with her.

Dr Geeta Lodwal was a renowned psychiatrist who ran an institute called the Cosmos Institute of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences. She was a kind woman with a highly keen intellect, whom Radhika respected immensely. She had had plenty of experience with rare cases such as Madhav’s and Radhika was sure that she would be able to shed some light on this case.

Dr Lodwal greeted her warmly as Radhika walked in.

‘How’s your practice coming along?’ Dr Lodwal asked.

‘Work is good, but this one case is proving to be quite difficult,’ Radhika said, cracking her knuckles.

Dr Lodwal went through Madhav’s file, pausing to ask Radhika a few pointed questions.

‘You wrote post-traumatic stress disorder as your initial diagnosis but the symptoms don’t quite match,’ Dr Lodwal said.

‘Yes, that is what confused me, doctor. His recurring claim about a different personality inhabiting his mind and body, the memory lapses and out-of-body episodes all point to something quite different from PTSD. Last night, he forgot he came back to my house and spent time with me. He was a different person altogether. I tried to talk to him but he insisted on reading a book and slept. He then had a very dangerous episode. But he cannot recall most of it, which is quite troubling.’

‘Well, you are right. It’s too early for us to definitively say he has PTSD or even some other disorder. Do you have any idea about the childhood trauma he might have suffered?’ she asked.

‘No, doctor. I tried to evoke memories of an incident in his past that I’ve been suspicious about for a while now, but he never talks about it.’

‘These symptoms are not enough for us to conclude anything and repressed memory can be a symptom of many disorders. Patients with borderline personality disorders or bipolar disorders also suffer from it. They forget conversations and sometimes wouldn’t even remember where they were or what happened to them a while ago. I suggest that you carry on with cognitive behavioural therapy and also create situations that lead him to open up,’ the doctor advised.

Radhika nodded. Madhav didn’t remember that while she had turned him down the previous night, they did get intimate in certain other ways. But she hadn’t completely accepted their relationship yet.

‘Most importantly, you need to contact his family so that they can give you some idea about his past because it is unlikely that he will open up of his own accord,’ Dr Lodwal added as Radhika was still lost in her own thoughts. ‘Do you like him?’ she asked.