A certain set of people have an inherent need to understand themselves and fellow human beings at a deeper level. Another set of people have exploited this need of human beings to delve into another mind.
I can list out the people in the second category. On top of my list are the psychiatrists and psychologists. They think they understand the human mind. Granted, their methods are scientifically rigorous. Then there are those who claim to know a person from their body language. There are also those who will look at your face and judge you from the shape of your nose, colour of your eyes, curve of your lips and make your character sketch. There are the astrologers who will ask for your date of birth, time of birth, place of birth and tell you your characteristics. There are the palmists who will look at the lines on your palm and tell you your future. There is an offshoot of this in the people who can read the lines on the soles of your feet and tell you your future. Time and again, many of these so called personality readers have been exposed as shrinks, pseudo scientists, con men and cold readers with the intention to fool gullible ones into parting with their money. Well, perhaps some of them were just people with a foot fetish.
Anyways, do you know what I believe is the one thing that can really tell you about the innermost thoughts of a person? Do you know what can really tell you about what he holds most dear and what the person considers as his most precious memory? His password.
You might find it hard to believe me. Even I was a non-believer. Till I attained enlightenment. Right here in this medical institute. They gave me that pill that was supposed to give you a super power. I thought it did not work. I felt no difference except for a faint buzzing in my head every time someone came close to me. Then I started paying attention to the faint buzzing sound. I started listening to the faint buzzing sound. Then I could hear what it was telling me. It was telling me their password.
“Ms. Tina, the doctor has discharged you. You are free to go after you fill up these forms. To all external tests and by your own testimony, you seem to have received no super power from the pill”, the nurse broke into my train of thoughts and handed me a bundle of papers.
I did not tell them about my superpower. They would have taken it away from me. And thanks to my common sense and pragmatism, I decided to keep this superpower for myself. I am pretty sure, this is the super power I got from the pill. What I got from the pill was either this buzzing or a lot of common sense or both. But, I like to believe that I was born with a lot of common sense. Yes, this faint buzzing in my head that tells me passwords in the only super power I got from the pill.
I looked at the nurse while I took the papers from her. “Metacin10mgCrocin20mg” was her password. She must be someone who takes her job really seriously. I would trust my life with someone like this. I looked at her name plate. If I never needed a nurse, I would hire her. I handed her the filled forms with a smile.
It was liberating to be on the street after 4 days in the hospital. I went straight to my home and I knew the first thing I had to do. I rang the doorbell. My husband opened the door and exclaimed, “Tina thank God you are back, when did you get discharged? I would have come to pick you up.”
It was too noisy. I could not hear the buzzing clearly. I stepped inside. He closed the door and followed me inside. Still too noisy. Damn the traffic and our road side facing bungalow.
There was only one thing left to do. “Akash, I need a hug” I said and walked closer to him.
He put his arms around me gently and patted my head. “There there baby, everything will be alright. What did the doctor say?”
The buzzing was louder now but it was still not legible to me. Damn the loud TV volume. I hugged him tightly. As tightly as I could. Yes, I could hear it now. No, I could hear it if Akash would stop chewing that damn chewing gum. Damn him and his smoking and his attempts to hide it from me. There was only one thing left to do. I kissed him on the lips. Passionately enough to make him stop chewing. Yes, yes now the buzzing was crystal clear.
Aisha123?
Aisha123??
I heard it again, louder and louder and clearer with every breath, Aisha123??! That is his password?
I pushed him back.
“What happened Tina?”
“What is your password Akash?”
“What?”
“You heard me, what is your password?”
“What?”
“Don’t you what, what me. Tell me your password Akash”
“I can open my email for you you can check anything you want.”
“I don’t need your email, I check it every night anyway on your laptop. For the last time Akash, tell me your password or do you want me to spell it out for you?”
“So, this is the superpower you got?” said Akash and stepped back and looked at me from top to bottom.
“Why Akash, why? After all these years? Who is this Aisha? You never told me about her. You lied to me about your ex”
“Please Tina, Aisha is not an ex. She was a childhood friend of mine. I just needed a name that is not mine.”
“Why not my name Akash? Why not any other name Akash? Why this female?”
“Ummm, Tina, you don’t understand”
“I understand perfectly Akash. Even after 5 years of doing all I can for you, is it too much to ask? Is it too much to expect? I also want to be someone’s password”
“Look Tina, you were the first choice for my password”
“Then what happened?”
“It needed 2 special characters and 3 numbers”
I stepped closer to him and heard the buzzing again.
Aisha was spelt with two “at” symbols and a dollar symbol.
Akash held my shoulder and pleaded “I could not make two special symbols in your four letter name Tina, I was in a hurry, I needed the email id to register on the site to get the link to download the movie we watched on our honeymoon.
“You thought of her on our honeymoon?” I screamed
“I was thinking only of you, I tried twice to add special characters to your name Tina, but then, but then, I, I just typed the first name that came to my mind.”
The pleading had now shifted from his hands to his eyes.
“I can’t even look at you now Akash, please leave me alone.”
“Tina, please, look, I am going to change my password right now. I don’t care if I forget my password and lose my email. I will change my password right now.” And Akash stepped into the bedroom.
I would have followed him inside, but I stayed back, took my phone out of my pocket, opened my email and went to “change password”
Post Script
This piece was written at a session in Write Club on 21st May, 2016. The theme was to write about someone who wakes up and discovers that he/she has a superpower.
Image Source: Dreamstime
Wow!