The Void In My Heart - 9. A FRESH START

Joey woke up early in the morning and checked for the time in his cellphone. He had received a couple of messages. As he opened his message box, he was surprised to find that one of the messages were sent by the doctor. Other message was sent by Meg. He felt elated and his fingers trembled as he opened the doctor's message first. It read "hey Joey, I know you must be asleep. I am sorry for whatever I said yesterday. Let us meet and sort things out when I come to the center. Good night ". Joey was so happy that he read the message several times.

He then opened the message sent by Meg which read "hope for a good day tomorrow. I talked with Dr.Felix and things seem to be taking a positive turn. Good night".

Joey felt ecstatic. It had been a long time since he was so happy. He jumped and hollered as he opened the windows. He immediately called up Meg, who answered half asleep "so early ? Are you alright ?"

"Of course I am ,all thanks to you girl", Meg was happy to sense excitement in the voice of Joey. She knew her mission had been successful.

"I will tell you the details later. Have to get ready before 9 am", the boy sounded like he was about to go on a first date.

He disconnected the call and started getting ready to meet the doctor. Felix arrived at the center at sharp 9 o' clock. He was amused to see the boy waiting outside the door of his office. Joey was walking in a fast motion and rubbing his hands to keep them warm. Weather had been getting colder since last few days. Felix smiled at him and Joey smiled back. "So eager to meet me ?", the doctor folded his arms.

"No, uh , yes..yes", the boy fumbled and said "I wasn't expecting your message after what happened between us. I wanted to thank you and apologize to you".

"Come here buddy", the doctor hugged Joey and the boy hugged him back. Joey, for some reason, felt relieved of all worries when he was locked in the embrace. "I am sorry as well, shouldn't have spoken so rudely the other day ", the doctor said.

"Would you like to become my friend Dr.Felix?", the boy extended his hand.

The doctor smiled ,"shouldn't you be calling me Felix then?" He shook hand with the boy and the day marked the beginning of a new friendship in the life of Joey. "Would you like to accompany me to café in the evening? I have a lot of errands to run", the doctor wanted to make Joey feel like he was at home and not in some captivity.

"Yes, I would like to go out. It's been days, since I saw the market or busy streets. Thanks for the invite ", the boy was glad that after almost a year, he will be going to the marketplace with a friend.

"The mischievous four", as Joey and his buds were called , used to hang out every weekend. They would hike, shop, dine, party, swim,prank strangers, and have a lot of fun. Most of the shopkeepers knew them not only because of their notoriety but also because of their helpful nature. They used to help old age people cross roads, and sometimes promoted products of small shops to help the shopkeepers.

The boy was apprehensive of facing the crowd after a long time but he also knew that the doctor's company would not let him feel uncomfortable. He went to meet Meg as the doctor proceeded to his office. Meg was waiting for him in the garden. "Hey, I hope this time you won't be saying that things didn't go your way", she said in an ironic tone.

"I got no reason to say that when I have a friend like you. Thanks a ton Meg. I had lost hope of even talking to him but you really lifted my spirits. Perhaps, Susan would have done the same", he looked up at the sky.

"Now don't you start crying kiddo", Meg jokingly said. "I am glad that things got resolved between you two", she smiled and patted Joey's shoulder.

"I had to ask you one thing. So many teens seem to have improved in terms of their social well being. Why are they still here ?", Joey asked.

"Everyone is not fortunate to have a family Joey. The teens who were brought here as orphans consider this center as their home. Dr.Reeves doesn't charge a penny from them and himself looks after their education", Meg replied.

"You mean to say that this center has a school as well?", the boy was eager to know.

"Yes, you can put it in that way. Dr.Felix also takes some of the classes. This is what makes this center so special. That day is not far away when I will also bid adieu to this wonderful place", Meg sighed.

"I have understood one thing clearly. Meeting and separation are bound to happen, though we wish that separation never takes place. I guess, the best thing is to enjoy the journey as long as we are with ones whom we love and for whom we care", Joey smiled.

"Is this coming from the same boy whom I met a couple of weeks ago?", the girl narrowed her brows.

"I know. I can feel the change in me and you are responsible for changing me as a person. It feels good when I think that I have got a friend for the lifetime", the boy hugged Meg who smiled and said "yeah indeed and I am glad that I could bring that much needed change in you."

"What are you going to do rest of the day?", Meg asked Joey.

"I will call Adam to tell him that everything is ok now. Then I will see what activities are lined up for the day", he replied.

"Someone didn't use to attend the activity classes", she smirked at him.

"Yeah, from today I will", he chuckled.

"Good luck for the first outing", Meg wished him and left. Joey, too , returned to his room and called up Adam to tell him about the latest advancements in his life. Adam was glad to hear that all differences had been resolved and his brother was showing signs of improvement in his demeanor.

Day passed by quickly and there were 15 minutes to go before 6 pm. Although, Joey felt like the time had stopped. He had been ready since 5:30 pm and kept looking at the clock. He left the dorm at 5:55 pm and waited for the doctor to come out of his office. He was having mixed feelings. On one hand, he was all excited for the café meeting and on the other, he was confused as to why he was getting so nervous as if it was his first date. He was lost in his thoughts, when he heard a familiar voice"shall we leave buddy?"

Joey got startled as he looked at the baby blue eyes looking at him. "I am sorry, I was thinking something", the boy said.

"It's ok. Infact I am 10 minutes late, so I owe you an apology", the doctor smiled at him. "No formalities Felix", Joey chuckled.

The doctor took out his car which was a nice sedan, a Skoda model. Joey could figure out that the car was properly taken care of. Joey was happy as he was going out in the city with someone known to him. As the doctor drove, he chatted with Joey to make him feel comfortable.

In about half an hour, they arrived at a café which looked pretty lively. "Happy Moments", the name of the café , glittered with red and yellow neon lights. Joey was not surprised when few people greeted the doctor. He was one of the renowned doctors of the city. They took a table for two in one of the corners. Outside scene was clearly visible from there. "So what would you like to have?", the doctor asked. Joey thought for a few seconds and said "I would like to have cold coffee".

"Wow! It's one of my favorites as well", Felix exclaimed and placed order for two glasses of cold coffee. "Thanks for the invite Felix. I am coming to a café after a long time", the boy expressed his gratitude.

The doctor smiled and said "well, I wanted to bring you out so that you don't feel like you are in a prison. This is a part of the therapy".

"That means you take other teens for an outing as well?", Joey asked.

"Yes Joey, it's my way of getting them accustomed to the outside world, so that they don't feel alienated anymore", the doctor told in a genuine tone.

"Ah I see", Joey knew that the doctor gave an honest answer, but what he couldn't understand was the feeling that followed hearing the answer. When the doctor had asked him about going to café , he felt special. Now the same feeling had changed to being treated normal like others.

"Why am I feeling a little bad!", he murmured to himself.

"You said anything?", the doctor asked him.

"Um..nothing", Joey tried not to bring his disappointment on face. He smiled at the doctor who smiled back at him.

Joey couldn't understand why all of a sudden , he had started feeling uneasy. No word was spoken for a while and Joey thanked the waiter, in his heart, for bringing the order.

"Cheers to the beginning of our friendship", the doctor raised the glass. Joey, despite fighting an inner battle with his emotions, smiled and said "cheers". They started sipping coffee.

The doctor broke the ice between them by asking about the well being of Joey 's family. The boy told him they were fine and Adam felt guilty of not hearing the doctor's viewpoint in the dorm incident. The boy barely talked for rest of the time. "I was thinking, we can go for dinner if you want", the doctor told Joey but he refused politely saying he wanted to go back to the center.

"No problem. Some other time", the doctor smiled at the boy and they got up. Soon, they were back at the center.

"Hope you had a good time at the café ", the doctor wanted to make sure that Joey felt comfortable around him. "Yes, indeed", the boy lied so that the doctor didn't feel bad.

"Let me know whenever you feel like going outside", the doctor said.

"Yeah, thanks a lot", Joey was experiencing strange feelings. He could have spent more time with doctor but the thought that he was being treated like others, disappointed him for some reason. All his excitement about first outing with the doctor had diminished.

He walked back to his dorm, his mind caught in a vortex of thoughts. His mood which had been extremely good in the morning was completely off and he couldn't even understand the reason behind it.