The Life of an Eagle Boy

Meet Doctor Poppy I

Ten Years Ago

A seven-year-old boy cried in his room. His voice was hoarse from crying because his favorite doll’s head had been cut off. Another child laughed at the incident.

“Why are you crying? Isn’t it fun?” the other child asked.

“I can’t keep following your orders! You’re not me, we’re not the same!” the boy shouted.

“You said you were weak and wanted to be strong. Now it’s your turn to be strong. Why are you angry?” the child mocked.

The crying boy threw a toy mirror in front of him, smashing it. As he did so, the child in the mirror disappeared. Since then, Rayendra always felt that he was merely a shadow from the other side—always trapped in the mirror and in his mind.

Crash!

The sound of glass breaking echoed. Witri, who had been relaxing in the living room, rushed to her nephew’s rarely opened room. When she entered, she found Rayendra hitting the glass with a toy and his fists, cursing at the broken mirror. “Go away, Andrean! I hate you!”

Seeing the scene, Witri immediately held him back and carried him to his bed. “What happened, Rayendra?!” she asked in concern. Rayendra stared intensely with heavy breathing. He couldn’t look away from the broken glass. A girl behind the door sobbed quietly at what had happened to her twin brother. She never imagined her brother would have to go through this. Witri heard her voice from inside the room, which only made her more worried.

The next day, Witri took Rayendra to a psychiatrist, hoping to understand what was happening with her nephew. Seeing his behavior the previous day made her anxious about what was to come. “Where are we going, Auntie?” little Rayendra asked curiously.

“We’re going to see a doctor, Rayendra. You’ll tell him everything, okay?” Witri responded. Rayendra nodded, not understanding why his aunt was taking him there.

PELITA CLINIC

The clinic’s name was clearly visible from the side of the road. It wasn’t very large but was filled with parked cars. Witri sighed deeply, trying to calm herself before meeting the doctor. Rayendra appeared calm, while Rayina had a face full of questions.

“Auntie, what’s wrong with Rayendra? Why are we going to a mental clinic?” Rayina asked.

Witri hesitated. She hadn’t expected that Rayina, so young, would already understand the difference between a regular clinic and a mental health clinic. Witri carefully answered, “Rayendra needs to find out what’s wrong with him, and we, the people who love him, need to understand it too.”

“Rayina loves Rayendra too! I promise I won’t make him sad or angry anymore!” Rayina declared.

Rayendra smiled widely at his twin. As they arrived at the clinic entrance, Rayendra took a step back. “Auntie, will Rayendra be okay?” he asked.

Witri squatted down and whispered, “Everything will be fine, Ray. Auntie will do everything she can for you.” Rayendra seemed to gain some confidence after hearing his aunt’s reassurance.

“Come in!”

The three of them entered the room. The clinic’s desk was quiet, with no long queue to stretch out Rayendra’s appointment with his psychiatrist.

“Good morning, I’m Nurse Puspa. How can I help you?”

Rayina and Rayendra waved their hands while greeting Nurse Puspa. “Hi!”

“Good morning, Sus. I need to meet Dr. Poppy,” Witri said.

“Did you make an appointment?” Nurse Puspa asked.

“Yes, of course,” Witri nodded.

“Okay, let me check first.”

Witri was distracted by Rayina, who was pulling her hand toward the children’s playground. “Rayina, not now. Let’s meet the doctor first, then we can play, okay?” Witri said as Rayina pouted.

“Under Mrs. Witri’s guardianship, right? Consultation for Rayendra Febian Wardiana, is that correct?” Nurse Puspa confirmed.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Witri answered.

“Okay, Dr. Poppy is ready in Room 16 on the second floor. Please head there,” Nurse Puspa directed.

“Thank you, Sus.”

Witri quickly led her two nephews up to the second floor. The clinic’s Dutch architectural style looked slightly oriental with decorations and lighting that seemed a bit eerie.

Knock, knock, knock!

“Please come in.”

The clinic door creaked as Witri entered with her two children, looking handsome and beautiful.

“Wow, I’m so excited. Please, sit down,” Dr. Poppy said warmly.

“Good morning, Mrs. Witri, I’m Dr. Poppy, and I’ll guide the session this morning.”

Witri nodded. “Good morning, Doctor.”

Dr. Poppy turned her attention to Rayendra and Rayina.

“Wow, what are the names of these excited siblings?”

“I-I’m Rayendra. This is Rayina, my twin,” Rayendra said shyly.

“Hello, Rayendra, hello Rayina, nice to meet you… I’m Dr. Poppy.”

“Hi, Dr. Poppy,” they both responded.

Dr. Poppy smiled warmly at them.

“Okay, Mrs. Witri, you’re the guardian, right?”

“Yes, Doc. I’m their aunt.”

“If I may ask, where are their parents?”

“Father has passed away, Doctor,” Rayina replied.

Witri felt uncomfortable with the question Dr. Poppy had asked.

“Okay, can you explain what has happened and what Rayendra has experienced recently? From our online consultation yesterday, I tried to find the right research based on what you shared.”

“Okay, Doc. Maybe for some time now, Rayendra has seemed normal. The real issue began yesterday when he saw another figure within him. I saw my nephew banging on the mirror and cursing Andrean’s name.”

“What do you see, Rayendra?” Dr. Poppy asked gently.

Rayendra was silent, lost in thought, as if struggling in a deep, sharp mental battle.

“Rayendra… can you hear the Doctor’s voice?”

Rayendra moved slightly, making Dr. Poppy and Witri look at him questioningly.

“Kill, kill, kill, let’s kill him, Rayendra,” Rayendra muttered deliriously.

Witri was shocked by what Rayendra said. It sounded as if someone else was ordering him to commit a crime. Dr. Poppy frowned, trying to interpret what Rayendra meant. She had made one assumption but wasn’t ready to conclude what Rayendra had experienced just yet.

“Okay, then, who is Andrean?”

“Andrean looks like me, Doc. He’s very kind, but when he’s angry, he pushes me and makes me sleep,” Rayendra answered innocently.

Dr. Poppy noticed the difference in Rayendra’s tone and manner of speaking. “Hello, is this Andrean?” she asked, waving her hand.

“Hehehe… Hello, Doctor,” Andrean responded with a big smile.

Witri was so surprised that she fell off her chair. She couldn’t believe that Andrean was standing in front of her. Meanwhile, Rayina looked confused, not understanding the situation, until she finally rebelled and tried to find her brother.

“Who are you? Where is Rayendra, my brother?”

“I’m your sister, Rayina… in a better version.”

Rayina pushed Andrean hard until he fell. “No! You’re not Rayendra!” she screamed in fear and ran to hug Dr. Poppy.

“Ray—Andrean, please explain in more detail, who are you and where are you from?” Dr. Poppy asked.

“I met Rayendra when he was in pain in an old, iron-smelling warehouse. He was crying and scared of what he saw. I was forced to stand up to protect him at that time.”

“Was that incident the tragedy from last year? When Rayendra and his late father were shot by a stranger?” Witri interrupted, still shocked but now filled with curiosity.

“I don’t know. I can only remain silent if he doesn’t let me take over his body—to protect him from danger.”

“You seem mature, Andrean. How old are you?”

“10 years old, Aunt Poppy,” Andrean replied.

Witri and Dr. Poppy exchanged a fearful glance. They couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Okay, Andrean, can you give your Aunt some time alone? You can play here.”

“Please, Aunt. I’ll just stay quiet,” he replied.

Dr. Poppy took Witri to the next room.

“What is this, Poppy? Why does my nephew seem like a possessed person? I’m scared.”

Dr. Poppy bit her thumb as she thought hard about how to explain what Rayendra had experienced. She felt both sympathy and worry because this would greatly change his life—the dual personalities can’t share the same space or time, and they’ll fight for control of his life.

“Answer me, Poppy!” Witri urged. Dr. Poppy took a deep breath.

“This is a very rare case. Your nephew has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), or what we commonly know as multiple personalities. Usually, I can’t immediately guess or see a diagnosis from one session, but after what happened just now, I’m certain this condition exists.”

Witri was silent, her fists clenched tightly. She couldn’t believe what her nephew was going through. “Then what should I do?”

Dr. Poppy seemed puzzled, as this was a case she had never handled before. She needed to find a starting point to understand more about Rayendra’s situation.

“When did he first change?”