Today Nikita didn't want to go to her school. She was complaining of stomach-ache. I thought she might have got her stomach upset due to the chicken leg she took in dinner. It was something abnormal for a seven year old child to take a full leg with five chapatis. I did want to interrupt her but she was eating it so happily that I couldn't.

I prepared mint tea and gave it to Nikita, thinking it would help. Nikita didn't want to take but took few sips when I insisted. I asked her to go into bed after that.

School bus was gone and so the children of the colony. After about half an hour, Nikita woke and came to me. She was weeping. I wiped off her tears with my Sari and asked her what was wrong, was she again having stomach ache? but she nodded her head and said, "No".

I tried hard to get what was going up in her mind but she didn't speak even a word. I kept my hand on her forehead and found that she was also feverish. I applied the thermometer in her armpit. Nikita had fever, 104 degreesF. I decided to take her to the doctor.

Doctor examined her and gave her some medicines and advised me to use boiled water for drinking.

Both of us were back home after about half an hour. I gave the prescribed medicines to Nikita but she was still weeping silently.

I asked her again if she had pain, she replied, "No" so i just directed her to sleep. I was sure when she would wake up, she would feel fresh and fine. She hadn't taken meals today. I too didn't insist her much. She was again slept within no time.

By the evening Nikita had no fever and no stomach ache but she again began crying after she saw a bird flying by in the lawn where were sitting. Weeping into tears she told me that the chicken she ate came into her dreams and warned her to come back and take her leg away as she had eaten his.

I was trying to tell Nikita that it was only a dream and not the reality but the child was too scared.

A week has passed since then but Nikita is still scared of her dream. I am thiking of taking her to the psychiatrist. Sometimes phobias become too difficult to handle.