When he woke up, it did not take long for him to realize that nothing has changed. His breakfast was by his bedside which means that the maid had left for the day and that he was alone in the house. His father passed away three weeks ago from a heart attack and his step mother was unavailable and frankly, he wasn’t even expecting much from her. She never cared for the boy. She was already claiming the property and her only obstacle was the custody of John. He was a burden. He was a lonely boy. She was a nurse and that was how she met John’s father. A rich businessman who lost his first wife to a fire accident when John was just two years old. He took care of John with everything he had. The poor kid inherited type 2 diabetes from him along with all the property. He often fell sick and so was always under supervision and a maid was appointed to keep track of his diet and exercise. By the time he was eleven, John became an outcast. He chose to be an outcast.
It was a day after the funeral that John first heard his father speak.
“Johnny…” it was as if his father’s voice. John looked around but there was no one. He was going to slit his wrist when he heard that voice and he stopped. It was as if his father asked him to stop. He was protecting him.
It might be Dementia where people experience hallucinations and such things leading to suicidal tendencies, the doctors thought. They asked John several questions. When the voices first started and whether he was seeing things too. They were sure that the boy needed medical care and that it was better to shift him into a facility when he was still curable. After all, he was an eleven year old boy who lost both his parents. He needed care and attention. But John thought otherwise. He believed that his father was with him. He once felt his father’s touch when he tried to jump of the roof. He was sure that no matter what, his father will protect him.
The step mother was never convinced. He is a spoiled brat who was seeking attention, she thought. One the day the family doctor was going to arrive, she woke him up early morning and ordered him to behave properly and stop with all the father non sense.
“He is dead John, we cannot live like this anymore. I am willing to take care of you but you have to help me. The doctor says he might take you to the facility after he talks to you today. Please don’t do that to yourself.”
She was not all bad. She wanted to help him, if that was even possible.
“How often do you feel like your father is talking to you John?” the doctor asked calmly.
“Every time I try to hurt myself. He is there to protect me and stop me.”
“Is that why you are trying to hurt yourself? So that you could talk to him again?”
“ummm…..”
“Can you see him now John?”
“I can only hear him.”
“Oh.. then can you hear him now?”
“No but if I try to hurt myself, he will speak and you can all listen to him. I am not crazy doctor. I know that it is my father. Give me a chance.” He pleaded
“You know we cannot let you hurt yourself John. That is not how this works.”
John started to cry. He knew deep down in his heart that it was his last chance. If at all his father was really there to protect him, this was the moment. They will take him away from his home. All he needed was a sign. He prayed.
The doctor looked at little John and felt his pain. He knew the kid from the time he was born. He made an arrangement. He would give John a chance and if that were to fail, he should accompany him to his clinic and cooperate with the treatment. John was more than pleased. His father would not leave him at a time like this. His step mother walked into the room along with a friend and all the three stood around John as he sat in his bed with a jar of sugar in his hand. He then looked around the room, prayed for one last time and pretended to take a spoon of sugar and put it in his mouth.
“Johnny Johnny…” the voice was loud and clear. Tears started to fill his eyes but he was still smiling.
“Yes Papa…” he responded.
“Eating sugar!?” he was type-2 diabetic and was never allowed to eat sugar.
“No Papa…” he was crying and laughing at the same time.
“Telling lies..?!” John chuckled, mostly because he was relieved.
“No Papa…” He looked at the other members in the room proudly. His father saved him once again.
“Open your mouth?!” John could never forget that voice. He loved his father.
“Ha ha ha…”
“HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA…”
John did not stop laughing.
After five years…..
After John was taken to the psychiatric clinic that very evening, he was diagnosed with several mental ailments including memory loss, schizophrenia, dementia and slight Autism. John was immediately shifted to an Asylum where he lives today alone in his isolated chamber under constant supervision mostly sedated. One month after he was shifted to the asylum, his step mother married that friend and they now live in John’s old house with their beautiful daughter. John is still undergoing treatment for all the ailments and he is still not allowed to eat sugar because of his diabetes. Also, he got molested by a male nurse in the hospital due to which he often suffer from night terrors and social anxiety. He does not have any friends and he is allergic to the smell of rain.
The Cannibal 