The doctor pulled up to the orphanage and rushed inside. The matron was at the door, expecting him.
She led him to the children’s quarter. She had all of the boys leave, except for the one the doctor was to see. The doctor then went in, and examined the child.
When he came back out, he said to the matron, “There’s isn’t any illness of any sort…and he doesn’t seem to have any sort of brain damage…who is this child exactly? I don't remember ever examining him, or simply seeing him before.”
“Well,” the matron started, “we found him, about a month ago, unconscious and covered in blood. We have no idea who he is, or where he’s from. After we clean him up we examined him. He was unharmed physically, but something obviously happened to him mentally.”
“Wait, a month ago? What day? What time? Where?”
“Um, I don’t remember the specifics... Here, let’s go into my office. I'll look him up in the archives.”
“Alright.” They went into the office, and the matron offered the doctor a seat. She poured him a cup of tea. She sat down at her table and tapped into the computer. she clicked around in the files, and found the ones on the child.
She read aloud, “We found him on the eighteenth, in the early dawn. he was near the eastern edge of the jungle.” At this information the doctor leaned forward in his seat, and took on a very amazed and interested expression. Seeing this, she asked, “Do you know who he is?”
“Well not exactly…but on the eighteenth, there were two deaths, in that part of the jungle. A middle-aged woman, and a young girl about eight or nine years old. Their corpses were found around noon of that day. Well, what was left of the corpses, anyway. You couldn’t even tell what they were at first.”
“Death by what do you think?”
A somber tone took onto his face. “Land mine.”
“Oh...another one...Do you suppose he had anything to do with it?”
“It’s possible. We still need to get a DNA scan of the corpses, and then we’ll know who they are. If you want, we can scan the child as well to see if they’re related.”
“That would probably be a good idea.”
“Ok then. When he calms down, do you suppose I could talk with him?”
“Well. You can try. We’ve all tried. He doesn’t talk at all, except when he gets into these fits.”
“Ok. I still want to try though.”
~~~~~
A long while later, the child finally calmed down and the doctor entered the room carefully. The child was sitting on the hard wood floor, staring at the wall with a scared expression. He acted as if the wall was about ready to jump out at him and eat him. The doctor made a mental note of this.
The doctor sat down next to the child with a creak, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. At his touch the child shrieked, and ran to the corner, staring at the doctor with utter horror. This did not shock him. He expected something like that to happen. He then inched closer to the child, trying to appear as gentle as possible.
In a soft tone, the doctor asked, “ Hey, what’s your name? My name is Doctor Samnag Krat. I am here to help you.”
Seeing no response coming, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a little yellow car. “Here. This is a gift from me to you.” He said, holding the toy out to the child. The child’s eyes were still very wide with fear. He kept glancing around, like there was something in the room that was dangerous.
The doctor placed the car next to the child, smiled, stood up, and then left the room.
Finding the matron, he said to her, “ I have an idea what is wrong with him. I’m not fully sure, but it is a logical guess. Can you let me know when he gets into another fit?” The doctor then started walking towards the door.
“Sure, I can do that. But wait, what do you think is wrong with him?”
Stopping and turning to face her, he stated, “Well, he acts as if everyone and everything is going to attack him. He has the nightmares obviously, and you said he doesn’t interact with anybody, not even the other children. It is also very possible that he has to do with the recent land mine accident. I’m guessing that he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.”
“I’ve heard of that. What is it exactly?”
“PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder. When a person goes through a traumatic event, whether physically being there or being involved in some way, the event can sometimes stick and haunts the person. They have nightmares, flashbacks, and those things. They act strangely, exactly like how he is acting.”
“Oh… If this is what he has, how can we possibly help him?”
“Continue to try and comfort him. Try to see if you can get him to talk it out and try to make him smile. Hopefully time will heal him as well. I will come by regularly and give him some therapy sessions. That’s all I have for now though. I will get back with you when I have more information.”
“Ok Doctor. Thank you for coming by.”
“Anytime. I want to help people get better, so it’s no problem for me.” And he turned and slipped out the door.
