The café was quiet after closing time 🌙
Too quiet.
Chairs flipped upside down 🪑
Lights dimmed low 💡
The coffee machine finally rested ☕
And in the corner—
Walter snored loudly 😴
Like a broken tractor that refused to die 🚜💤
Barfi wiped the counter slowly 🧽
Careful.
Precise.
Mechanical.
Then—
The door opened 🚪
Hawk stepped inside 👣
And beside him…
A man in his 50s 👨⚕️
Grey hair streaked with wisdom 🩶
Gentle eyes 👁️
A calm presence that felt like warm medicine 💊🌤️
Hawk spoke softly.
"Barfi…"
"This is Dr. Donald Putin."
"The best brain doctor I know."
"He's helped officers after trauma… after war."
Barfi looked up.
No surprise 😐
No fear 😶
No curiosity 🤍❌
Just… empty eyes.
"Why is he here?" Barfi asked quietly.
Hawk hesitated 😮💨
His jaw tightened.
"You… need to talk to someone."
Barfi turned his gaze to the doctor.
The doctor smiled kindly 😊
Not pushing.
Not judging.
"May I sit?" he asked gently.
Barfi nodded once ✔️
They sat at a corner table 🪑
Hawk stepped aside 🚶♂️
Watching like a worried father who didn't know how to help 🧍♂️💔
🧠🩺 The Session — One Hour of Truth 🩺🧠
Dr. Donald spoke softly 🌱
Never rushing.
Never pressing.
"Tell me about your days," he said.
Barfi replied calmly 😐
"I wake up."
"I work."
"I study."
"I sleep."
The doctor nodded 📝
"Do you feel tired?"
"No."
"Do you feel happy?"
"No."
"Do you feel sad?"
"No."
Hawk's fingers clenched slowly ✊
His chest felt tight.
The doctor continued.
"What about anger?" 😠
Barfi paused ⏸️
Just for a second.
"Only when something important…"
"…is taken."
"…or broken."
The doctor leaned forward slightly.
"Did something break recently?"
Barfi answered quietly:
"My… bicycle." 🚲
Hawk closed his eyes 😔
That wasn't just a bicycle.
They both knew it.
"And what did that make you feel?" the doctor asked gently.
Barfi thought carefully 🤔
As if searching a locked room.
Then whispered:
"…Empty." 🕳️
The doctor wrote something down ✍️
"Do you feel emotions when good things happen?"
"A date?"
"Someone caring for you?" 💗
Barfi blinked once.
"Emotions waste time."
Hawk inhaled sharply 😮
Pain stabbed his chest.
The doctor didn't react.
"Do you feel anything toward people who care about you?"
Barfi stared at his hands 👐
Bruised.
Working hands.
"I don't want them to leave."
"But I don't feel… what they feel."
The doctor nodded slowly.
"And when you agreed to date Miko…"
"Was it because you wanted to?"
Barfi answered instantly.
"No."
Hawk shut his eyes 💔
"Then why?" the doctor asked.
Barfi looked up for the first time 👁️
Straight into the doctor's eyes.
"She said she would stop talking to me."
The pen stopped ✋✍️
"And that scared you?" the doctor asked.
"No."
"Then why agree?"
Barfi's voice was flat.
"Because I didn't want to lose anyone else."
Silence fell 🧊
Heavy.
Painful.
Even Walter stopped snoring 😵💫
🩻🧠 The Diagnosis 🧠🩻
After an hour ⏳
The doctor closed his notebook gently 📓
Hawk stepped forward.
"So…?" 😟
The doctor exhaled slowly 😮💨
"Your kid is not violent."
"Not unstable."
"Not dangerous."
Hawk's shoulders dropped 😌
Relief came—
Too early ⚠️
"But…" the doctor continued.
Hawk froze 🧊
"He is suffering from Shutdown Response."
Walter sat up instantly 😳
"…What?"
Barfi didn't react.
Dr. Donald explained calmly:
"When a person carries too much pain…"
"Too much pressure…"
"Too much emotional weight…"
"…the mind doesn't break."
"It shuts down." 🔌
Hawk whispered:
"He's numb…?" 😔
"Yes," the doctor nodded.
"He isn't feeling happiness."
"Or sadness."
"Or love."
"Or guilt."
"Or anger."
Barfi stared at the table 🪵
Unmoved.
"This is not coldness," the doctor added.
"Not laziness."
"This is survival." 🛡️
Hawk whispered:
"…Like soldiers who see too much death." 🪖
The doctor nodded.
"Exactly."
Walter's voice cracked 😢
"Oh god… our boy…"
The doctor turned serious.
"If he doesn't heal…"
"One day he'll stop caring about consequences."
"Right and wrong."
"Even his own life." ⚠️
Hawk felt those words pierce deep 💔
"And if someone manipulates him now," the doctor warned,
"He could become dangerous…"
"Without even realizing it." 🕶️
Barfi finally spoke.
"I don't want to be dangerous."
The doctor placed a gentle hand on his arm 🤍
"Then let us help you."
Hawk's voice broke slightly 😞
"We won't let you fall, kid."
Barfi nodded once.
"Okay."
But inside…
The emptiness stayed 🕳️
Still.
Silent.
Not even an inch moved.