THE TERRA INCOGNITA

THE TERRA INCOGNITA

It was supposed to be one of those hot sweaty evening. But Nature had always been very capricious. A heap of darkness hurried through the window as the twilight tangled itself with a shadowy weather. The wind was rising from the Northeast and it transmitted the smell of an approaching storm. Cirrus clouds in long gray sheets began to fill up the sky. The moaning wind brought a cold slanting rain that spattered loudly against the shutters before striking off the tarmac pavement. There were still four patients scheduled for the evening but this sudden change of weather may give me a rest from exploring the darkness of human minds.

The knock on the door was almost inaudible by the clap of thunder. I was more than disappointed. I was not doing any good to my reputation as a psychoanalyst, letting my patient face this eccentric mood of nature, so reluctantly I opened the door.

A young man rushed inside bringing in a strong gust of wind. Clad in worn out jeans, he looked marooned. I handed him a towel to wipe the raindrops off his face and motioned him to the comfort of the divan. I wondered why his fragile eyes were lost in the curtain of rain registering signs of changing emotions ranging from agreement to complete bewilderment.

"Rajat Sen?” I asked and received a hesitant nod in reply. Last night my friend Dr Soumitra informed me that he was sending Rajat. “This case would interest you” he had assured me.

“Forgot your umbrella? Or perhaps you didn’t expect the weather to change so abruptly. A storm at this time of the year is so unlikely.” I tried to draw him into a conversation.

"You should be used to unnatural things" he responded with a look of complete disbelief. A soothing voice though, I thought, would perhaps deepen in coming years. The light of the lamp was just perfect to study his wide forehead, an aquiline nose, and those strange, longing eyes.

"So, what brought you to me?"

His eyes were still set at the open window.

"Why have you opened the window? They might come in at any moment."

"Whom are you referring to?” I asked.

"Don't you see them?  They are just there, tangled with the rain, confusing things in their usual able manner.”

I walked to the window and looked outside. Nothing was visible through the curtain of rain.

"There's not a soul in sight." I replied.

He had reassured himself to a sudden calmness. There was an outlandish look in his eyes.

"It  seems no one sees them except me or perhaps they don't want to reveal themselves in front of others” Rajat continued “Dr Mitra this is perhaps my problem. I see shadows in the rain, gyrating in an offbeat rhythm. Those shadows, they come together with the rain and the wind, gyrating, making spirals, dancing in front of me" he was still on looking at some thing imaginary

Thoughts raced through my mind trying to evaluate his imagination. This is going to be a new experience for me. I turned on the tapes where I usually record my conversation with patients.

"So when did you first started seeing those shadows".

Rajat was sitting upright with his hands clasped tightly in front of him. The light of the lamp now illuminated only half his face. A streak of lightening threw a glare at those yearning eyes.

"Just why did it happen when it did I could not say.” It started with a light drizzle. That was the first rain nature had after the scorching summer. They suddenly appeared in rows dancing in exquisite joy. The revolutions they made were expressive. They articulated their love for the trees, the flowers, and the pulsating leaves. They seemed to be in unison with Nature enjoying the nourishing rain."

Rajat stopped for a moment, perhaps to congregate his thoughts. I could imagine he was in a different world but I couldn’t afford to have such kind of imaginations at this time.

"And again I saw them on that February night when the soft rain made a monotonous sound on the roof. They came with the smell of the wet earth blending an aura of compassion, moving together holding hands in pleasure. They seemed to have started a burning desire in the trees. Their presence was something almost palpable, something I could stroke with my hands without closing my eyes and with out ceasing to see."

"And then this strange urge grew. The urge to reach out to them was overpowering. I’ve been craving to be a part of their joy, their indescribable beauty. I want to migrate to their world, the world of shadows. The world of shadows, whose beauty was beyond speech and beyond thought- utterly incommunicable, the other, is our world with its absolute grayness. How to keep balance between the two worlds? How is one to manage? How is one to explain? At times I’m overpowered by an urge to migrate to their world. Tell me doctor would this mean that I've got an obscure mind" there was dilemma in his eyes.

I was silent. A monomaniac, Rajat is obsessed with a particular idea. I had to have more information on this obscenity. This is going to be a difficult case. I had to get into Rajat’s mind.

The weather outside had deteriorated. The wind was no longer a moan; it was a high-sustained keening howl through the swaying trees. I looked at Rajat. For the first time the eyes registered signs of fear. He was afraid of something uncanny, something that violated the way things appeared to him.

"Doctor I can't understand this”. Rajat said in an alarming tone. “They are dancing in a different rhythm. It is a rhythm of rage. They will destroy everything. I could read the spirals they are making. The movements resemble hatred. They are fuming in rage. Believe me doctor the spirals mean destruction. They are going to destroy something. Tell me doctor whether I’m the cause of this rant and rave or is it mankind" he finished breathing heavily.

“It is not you neither mankind. It is just a figment of your imagination. You are conjuring things up.” I answered, still searching for words.

"No it’s not my imaginations. Their presence is a reality. Others don’t see them as they don’t have this belief that some genre like them could even exist.” he tried not to sound unreceptive.

I didn’t say anything. Rajat was still staring at the hostile rain. He was trying to interpret his imaginary spirals. It would take some time to cure him completely.

Suddenly his expression changed. A look of understanding came over him, perhaps with the knowledge of the inevitable to happen. He moved to the edge of the divan, sitting upright.

“Look at them doctor, there’s an evil change in those spirals. They are in the last course of their movements. They are in for a fight against mankind.  Before they finally have their reprisal I must stop them, I must"

Before I could react to this sudden outburst, Rajat sped away through the door. I followed him but he was lost in the curtain of darkness and rain.
   
The rain continued to fall through the night with greater intensity. I sat there trying to evaluate Rajat’s words. Is he living in a fantasy world or are we really failing to visualize the expected outcome of the needless destruction of Nature.

The next day's newsflash was all about the flood that left a thousand people homeless.

Maybe Rajat was right. Maybe Nature's last course of action against mankind has begun.