Chapter 2: The call

“sssssssshhhhhhhhaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr….hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr cccccccooooooooooooommmmmmeeee………..aaaannnnnn……..sswww……rrrrrr mmmm….”

   

    “Zer…..Zer, wake up…. wake up Zer. Zer..”

 

“Hey, Sharlot, don't waste your breath. You know he is always like this. Just Ign..”

 

Just as Bruno was about to finish the sentence Zer opened his eyes. His head was still hurting like crazy and it took him some time to adjust to the lighting of the surroundings.

"Aghhh", Zer let out a slow mumbling.

 

"Is this another of your blackouts? Zer, Are you okay? This is becoming more intense as days are passing." Sharlot asked worriedly. 

 

"I have told you guys already that he should’ve already taken necessary treatment.”

 

“And by the word ‘necessary’ you are telling me to go to a psychiatrist. Am I right?”, Zer was not liking the tone of where the topic was going.   

 

“Of course. Man, you know that doctors have made it clear that there’s nothing wrong with you, at least Physically. And despite this you are still suffering from headaches and blackouts. I am telling this to you for your good. Just go and do some sessions with a psychiatric counselor.”

 

Feeling irritated from the rumbling of Bruno in his ear, he stared at him and said “ Can’t you shut your mouth for a moment? Maybe I won’t die from the headaches but your chit chat will surely kill me one day. What do you think I am some fucking rotten brain person. Why should I go for a check-up? It’s like………wait are you trying to prove that I have lost my mind.”

 

Zer turned towards Sharlot expectantly but much to his despair she nodded Seriously and said ”But Zer, Bruno isn’t completely wrong. It’s been a month and your condition has not improved, rather it has worsened.”

 

“Now now boy, ha ha ha please call her the same thing you called me just then…….. ha ha ha….” letting out a big smirk as he was just waiting for this moment Bruno said mock

 

Munching his teeth Zer walked away from the table taking his defeat.“Okay. I will see that. Now stop bickering and I have to go home now. Let's meet again another time.”

….………………….

 

Tapping the calling bell, Zer waited outside the intricately designed wooden door. He had to wait for not too long. Soon a thin built man with sharp features opened the door. His eyes were deep and had a sense of maturity and profoundness. From the looks, he was in his mid-forties and well-dressed. The man, with thin-framed Glasses on his eyes, and a cleanly trimmed beard, asked with a low deep voice “yes?”

     With a gesture of handshake Zer politely said “Umm, I am here for a session with dr, Charles.” He took out the appointment card from his left pocket after searching his left pocket and handed the card to the man. “If you kindly inform him. I had set an appointment for this afternoon.

 

 “Ohh, So you are the boy whose email I received last night. The name was Ummm……. Zerian Lakslart. Please Correct me if I am wrong.” The man in front him paused for a moment and then introduced himself. “And where are my manners? I am the dr. Charles you had sent the email last night ha ha…… come.” He opened the door wide for zer to walk in. 

 

“Yes sir” Zer just nodded his head.

 

The warmth and the texture of the tea in Zer's mouth was just as perfect as the man sitting in front of him. Charles was sitting leisurely in his comfy chair sipping tea from his cup.

 

He had glasses on his eyes. His beard was cleanly trimmed. His suit was elegant and from the looks of it would cost a lot from Zer's point of view. But it was not so out of place that it would make anyone uncomfortable.

 

Putting the cup on the table Charles asked in cheerfully flat tone, "So, Mr. Zerian or should I call you Mr. Zer. Tell me what should I call you?" 

 

" Zer would suffice, I guess."

 

" As you like, so Zer, I have already received your file and yes I believe that there is nothing wrong with you. Normally your problem is not something big. just a minor problem. Maybe caused by stress or something like that." Charles paused for a moment then seeing Zer lost in his thoughts, asked "Ahh are you feeling uncomfortable for anything or the tea is to your liking?"

 

" No, no it is very good." Zer replied hurriedly not to offend the other party. 

 

"Ohh thank you. You know I am a very big tea enthusiastic man. Once I visited a place called Darjeeling. Ohhh it was a very beautiful place. Mountains, waterfalls and beauty of nature, just mesmerizing but what kept me connected to that place is the tea you are sipping. The famous Darjeeling tea. My god it's been more than eight years. What do you think? Should I go there once more? Isn't it right for me to take a break from all this work and spend a good holiday? "

 

" Yes Mr. Charles, you are right. " Although intimidating at first but Zer understood that Mr. Charles was a very friendly person.

 

" Oh no no just call Charles. Mr. Charles has some old vibe to it. I am not that old. Don't you think so?"

 

To Mr. Charles's mockery to his own age , Zer couldn't stop himself from laughing seeing the thin strands of white hair in Mr. Charles's head here and there.

 

Mr. Charles also started laughing out loud and taking another sip from the cup asked "So tell me about you too. What do you like just as hobbies ,you know." 

 

Although hesitant at first, Zer had already relaxed after seeing how free minded was Mr. Charles. So, After thinking for some time he started talking about himself.

 

"There's nothing special just, umm, I really love to play games normally on pc. I have an old desktop at my house and I mostly play on it. I have told you I really don't have that special something about hobbies actually. "

 

" Ha ha ha , no no , nowadays who doesn't play games. Even me, once darksiders was one of my favorites. Have you played it? "

 

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" Yeah I know that but I haven't really played it. I know this is not something to brag about but I have been playing the same game for some years. "

 

" SOME YEARS, ohh what game would be interesting enough to be able to bind someone for some YEARS. Normally, this generation of teenagers don't want to spend time on one thing for that long. "

 

" Yepp, but I really like it And I have already finished it three times and running through it for the fourth"

 

" So what is it about? May be I can also give it a try"

 

" Ahh, it's name is 'Lord Of Dragons' . A store about war between dragons and humans. Ughhh it's been ages since it was released. "

 

" Okay got it. So you are just playing it for these years. Would you mind telling me how many years? "

 

" Hey don't look at me like that. I know you are mocking me Charles. It's not my fault. The studio announced that they would start working on the next part but they never did.

Some bunch of shits. You know , I even contacted the author of the story but what he said?

That he had lost interest in the story. From the tone an idiot can understand that he was a drunkard. It was obvious why the next part didn't come out."

 

" Ha ha ha , so you even  called him. How… I mean how did you even get his number? "

 

Somewhat ashamed by his sudden outburst and noticing that he had stood up while talking, Zer slowly sat down on the sofa and said "it took me some time but it was not too hard with reverse search algorithm." 

 

" So, by the way, are you sure that your headaches are not caused by excess gaming? You should know that late night gaming by staying awake is not very good for mind and health."

 

" No, I also thought about it. But it is not the reason I know that. "

 

" How are you so sure about that? You can absolutely share anything with me no matter how funny or trivial it sounds. Just treat me as your friend. "

 

" No. It is not as you think Charles. "

 

" So let that set aside. You were telling me about yourself. Tell me also about your friends and mostly about your family. I actually don't really know much about yourself."

 

" You have already seen my file right. I assume that you've read it." 

 

" Ohhh, it's so boring and why should I? Sitting front to front and talking is much better. Isn't it? "

 

" Yeah you are kinda right. But why do I feel like a student giving his intro to the teacher on the first day of the year? "

 

" Ha ha ha ha ha ha… .is it? "

 

Taking a long sigh Zer leaned back on the sofa. Maybe it is good to share with someone about himself. Not that Charles would judge him. Anyway he doesn't really care. After some sessions perhaps Zer and Charles would never meet again.

 

"You know my name is Zerion Lakstart. I don't have parents, so I can't tell you their names. I don't even want to know their names. They left me in the street when I was just a newborn baby. Bastards. Then I grew up in an orphanage. Some years later a couple took me in. They were a little rich. But soon they died in a car accident. It didn't take a day for relatives of them to come and gobble up their assets. Although the couple was very good to me for that little time. They left some money in the bank in my name. It is not enough to live a luxurious life but enough to get into a good college and finish my studies. And for that I'm very grateful for them. That's all about my family. "

 

" Hmmm, so you had it tough. " Charles took a deep breath after listening to Zer's childhood. It was clear for him that Zer didn't want to discuss much more than that. He said," Go on, tell me about your current life."

 

" It's actually quite good. And except this month, there was nothing bad happening. Although I don't have too many friends, a year ago I met with Bruno. The guy who advised me to check my health, sheesh. He is a good guy but sometimes a bit irritating. And later I came to know Sharlot. A friend of Bruno . "

 

" So why don't you don't you go on a trip with them. It can most probably reduce your stress and I think you really need it. Perhaps Darjeeling, it was a true beauty and you can also send me tea as a souvenir." Charles said happily.

 

" This is not a bad idea. But I don't want to go with them. My headaches and blackouts are becoming increasingly irritating. Going somewhere and in an important moment if i fall into a trance, it would be disastrous. Not only for me, but for them also. ",Zer answered with a shrug. 

 

"But from what I read on your file, it was clear that your condition was not that serious. Do you happen to hide something from me? "Charles asked Zer looking straight into his eyes. From a cheerful tone a moment ago Charles totally shifted his voice to a more serious tone.

 

"......... ", Zer's eyes opened wide for a moment and then again was removed from any abnormalities. But that didn't go unnoticed.

 

" Tell me Zer, what is it? What do you see in the blackouts? What do you hear? "

 

Zer gulped down his saliva. He understood there's no point in hiding it. He straightened his back and lowered his voice, then calmly said, "I hear a CALL. Someone is calling for me from deep darkness." 

 

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