XeNOphobia

Dr.Yami, heard the symptoms and instantly knew what the problem was. How could she not? She went through the same, every single day.

The fear, the sweating,increased heartbeat, the anxiety, panic and dread on meeting anyone new, was what she didn't know life without.

She smirked at the irony of the situation and wrote down  the symptoms on the prescription, circled them and wrote XENOPHOBIA in bold letters.

Blind was what she had thought he was.Old and helpless he had looked. Help him cross the road was what she had done. The way he had gripped her hand, the way he hadn't let go of her. His touch! The way she had bit his hand and run for her life...

She shuddered, came back to reality. She looked for her psychiatrist, Dr. Ram's visiting card and attached it to the prescription.

Since that day, she couldn't meet eyes with any unknown person. Strangers were her worst nightmares. Walking alone on the road, watching a movie in the theatre, a meal at restaurant, everything seemed so frightening, how could one avoid strangers in the real world?

Being a doctor, meeting strangers was an inevitable part of her life. She had given up the idea of practising. But then, she didn't want her fear gobble up her career and dreams. That was when Dr. Ram had given her the best suggestion, ever; to become a paediatrician.

 "If you cannot overcome fear, overpower it.", he had said. She couldn't over come her fear of strangers, but she could easily over power the tiny little strangers. She signed the prescription and asked the nurse to hand it over to the kid's parents. She was not ready for that, not just yet.