Prophets and prophecies

KS entered my clinic beaming. “Did you hear the news last month that Russia and America have dumped their nuclear weapons into the sea?”

I had. It was big news; the end of the cold war. “Was it you?” I asked.

“Of course. Russia and America realised that I am the ultimate superpower. They fired their missiles at me, which I deflected into the sea. They now claim that they willingly destroyed the weapons.” His eyes twinkled, seeking my approval of his explanation, yet mocking me to defy it.

That was KS, a Punjab clerk. He had come to psychiatric outpatients at the insistence of his wife, who was fed up with repeated complaints …