chapter 2

THE PERSON WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

I don't know from how long I was staring at a blank space before I heard a voice of vegetable seller. Scratching the back of my neck, I realized that I am running out of veggies.

Should I buy or not?

What if the vegetables has virus on them?

My heart felt heavy and I decided not to take any risk but then what am I going to eat? If not today then another day, I have to buy it.

I kept on thinking for few minutes before I thought of stepping out in the balcony. There was a man with his cart waiting for his customers but no one came out of their houses to buy anything.

I guess I should also do the same.

Calming down myself a bit, I asked him. "Are you a Muslim?"

I waited impatiently for his answer.

"Yes. I am."

I quickly took my steps back as strange fear gathered around my senses. My breath became abnormal and I couldn't help but overthink about the possibilities of my body catching Corona virus from him.

"You spit on the vegetables, don't you?" I asked in fear.

And that thought was enough for me to rush inside my room and quickly wear the mask. I sanitise my hands thoroughly without wasting a single minute.

I don't know what happened to me. Maybe it was in the heat of moment that I screamed at him. "Don't ever come to this colony."

Shutting the door of my balcony, I sat on the floor as tears streamed down my face.

I know that all the videos circulating on the internet may not be true. Probably the video I saw of the Muslim man spitting on vegetables might be fake but I don't know why I couldn't stop thinking about the possibilities that what if something like that is actually happening?

My head throbbed badly as I thought about my behaviour with that poor vegetable vendor. I don't want to become a monster. I know I did wrong with him. I should've never asked about his religion.

I don't know what's happening with me?

I was never like this.