Chapter 4

ShikhaKhushi

@ShikhaKhushi

She frowned as the pain returned with more sharpness. With a gasp, she opened her eyes. Why couldn't she remember? For her, when she had gone to sleep last night, she had been twenty-four and her father had just announced that his childhood friend, Harish Singh Raizada, would be returning from Bangkok after years, and suddenly she was waking up to discover that two years had passed since that night and she had no idea of it. Every time she tried to conjure up a memory, her head would hurt like hell. The doctor had told her not to force herself but she needed to know. No one was allowed to tell her everything in detail, she was supposed to remember by herself. But when would that happen?

Khushi [earrings] sighed with exasperation and she stood up, annoyed with herself, and suddenly she realised she was not alone. The young man from the previous day, whom she had not recognised, stood at the door again, silent and observant. Her eyes widened and she felt warmth flood her cheeks. They had told her he was Harish Singh Raizada's son, Arnav. But it felt too vague. She felt that she knew him more than that. She just couldn't remember... Timidly, she smiled at him. "Hi," she said, taking a tentative step forward. "Arnav, right? Harish uncle's son? I'm so sorry... I'm usually forgetful, but I never forgot this much." She stopped to giggle at the irony. He didn't say anything, but a strange humour settled in his eyes, giving them a different gleam. She took a deep breath in. "So... You must know me, right? Were we close? Were we friends? He Devi Maiyya! I hope I didn't give you too much trouble over the past two years? Did I? Dada says I'm very crazy..."

He still remained silent and her voice trailed off. She bit her lip nervously. Maybe they hadn't been that close? Maybe he even hated her? A soft smile appeared on his beautifully carved lips, making her heart flutter... She barely knew him and he already affected her so much? He Devi Maiyya...

***

He couldn't help the smile that drew itself on his lips. How he wished he could grab her and kiss her. His Khushi... She had been like this before he had broken her heart, happy and crazy... Why had he messed things up? "Yes Khushi," he finally allowed himself to speak, trying to control himself as best as he could. "We were pretty close." So close, I ended up shattering you. "And you were quite troublesome." If you could just imagine how you nearly killed me, lying there lifeless... She grimaced cutely, yet smirking. "I'm really sorry for that."

He clenched his jaws together and folded his arms on his chest to stop himself from crossing the distance between them and hugging her while she rubbed her hands together, still shy. "But you will help me, won't you?" she asked. "To get my memory back? It's so annoying..."

"Khushi, come, we are leaving." Her eyes widened on seeing her elder brother, who was glaring at him coldly and she ran up to him, smiling. Arnav met Shyam's eyes with an apology in his, but he received a silent warning in return. "Will Arnav come with us too?" Khushi wanted to know. "No," Shyam gritted out, without looking at his sister. "I'm sure he has more important work to do. Let's go."

Arnav felt the slap in the other man's retort. The siblings walked away from him, Khushi's arm hooked around Shyam's. When they reached the end of the corridor, she turned to look at him with a hopeful smile and a little wave. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut.

***

"You are not serious, Dada, are you?" she muttered, aghast. "Tell me this is a joke."

Shyam stared at her for a minute then looked outside. "It's the truth, Khushi."

She [earrings] blinked, unable to process what her brother had just told her. Her sister-in-law had left? And it was her brother who had asked her to go? But why? As far as she knew, her Dada had loved Anjali Bhabhi for years, he loved her more than anything else... "Why, Dada?"

He thinned his lips and tried to move away but she held him back. "I don't want to have this discussion right now, Khushi."

"You cannot do this! I know how much you both love each other, and even if I don't remember the past two years, I can tell that it's not the kind of love that will fade so easily. Dada, if you don't want to tell me what's wrong, at least go and get Bhabhi back! You know you won't live without her!"

He gritted his teeth together, feeling the angry tears emerge as he realised Khushi was right. But he could not give in so easily. He had trusted Anjali with his life and she had betrayed him. Was it a crime he could forgive so easily? "She called him to the hospital, Khushi. I cannot forgive her for that. She betrayed me. She knew how much I hate him, she knew how I would react... And yet she called him..."

Khushi frowned. "Who? Who did Bhabhi call?"

***

"Does anyone know you are here?" he hissed as soon as she reached him. She looked a bit upset, he soon realised. His heart skipped a beat. Had she remembered something? But she quietly latched a hand around his elbow and steered him inside the coffee shop, in a secluded corner. He felt strangely uneasy. Did she realise this was the place where they had first started dating? That this was exactly their usual table?

"What did you do?" she whispered after having placed the orders. Arnav stared at her, puzzled. "What did you do to make Dada hate you so much?" he inhaled sharply and looked away but relentless, she tugged at his sleeve from across the table. "Tell me! What happened in these two years? What did you do? You know that Dada asked Bhabhi to leave because she had called you to the hospital? He doesn't want to see you, he doesn't want me to see you. He said I am in this state because of you. He said you ruined my life. What happened between us, Arnav?"

When he looked at her again, her eyes were full of tears. How would he answer that? How could he tell her he had mercilessly thrown her love back in her face? He hated himself. She deserved the truth but he did not want her to have it... He didn't want her to hate him again... Only a couple of days ago, he had seen her, and she had been the same old Khushi he had first met, the chirpy Khushi he had fallen in love with... How could he make her lose all that brilliance once again?

"I need some answers, Arnav, please. My mind won't answer them and no one in family will either. But you said you were my friend. And Dada said you are the reason why all of this happened. So you will have the answers to my questions. Help me, please. Tell me what happened, I need to know!"

***

He closed his eyes to her, and she suddenly felt a cold shiver run down her back. It was so strange. Of what she could currently remember, she had only met him twice but he affected her deeply, as if the was an invisible thread connecting them, a thread that made her react to everything and anything that he did... He opened his eyes again, and when he did, he was directly looking at her. the emotions in his eyes were so raw she felt a jolt of pain in her chest.

"I... I never said we were friends. I said we were close."

She scowled, feeling her nails dig into her palms painfully. "Isn't that the same thing?"

"No, it's not," he spoke firmly. "We were close. Very. Before, it used to be the friends sort of way, but then, things changed." She opened her mouth to say something but he went on raggedly. "It became more than that."

***

She placed her hand on his shoulder lightly. "Go and get her." He lifted his bloodshot gaze onto her. She could see his soul was crumbling apart. "Go, Dada. You know she just did what she felt was right. You are falling apart here and I know Bhabhi is in the same state over there. You know that too. Go and bring her back. I'm really missing her. And her gajar ka halwa too."

Shyam chuckled and got to his feet. "I feel like I'm dying."

Khushi smacked his cheek in an affectionate way. "Devi Maiyya knows why you keep doing things that you regret later. Don't you dare return home with my Bhabhi! Now shoo!"

She smiled until he disappeared but it fell flat once she was alone. She slid down into the loveseat weakly, her limbs shaking. She forced herself to remember but the acute ache in her head was all what came back to her. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she wiped them away, mentally cursing the man who was behind all of this. Arnav Singh Raizada. He had almost told her everything, but he had held himself back at the last moment.

He had implied they had been more than friends at some point. Then he had hesitated, stared at her for long, then sighed. He said he was sorry, but he could not tell her anything more. She had to remember things herself. And he had told her she was not to meet him again, until she had gotten her memory back. He had smiled, then laughed mirthlessly and added that she might not even want to meet him again. The pain his eyes had been bearing haunted her. She wished she could remember...

***

It had been almost a year. Yet, she could neither remember him, nor forget him. She [earrings] watched the raindrops slowly slither down the glass pane while her family was gathered in the hall with some guests to celebrate the birth of her niece's birth. She was happy, yes, but she felt somewhat empty. His parents were right there, but he was not. He had avoided her so carefully she had not seen him at all. Why? Why was he keeping his distance and why was she hating it? And why could she still not remember?

She smiled when her mother asked her to return and talk to the guests. She chatted with everyone, noting that the Raizadas were also trying to evade her, although they mingle with the rest of her family very well. She hid her hurt well but it annoyed her. What had she done? What had he done? Why was all of this happening to her? Shyaama, her brother's newborn baby, gave a cry, causing Khushi to look at her and smile fondly while Anjali cajoled her, but soon, she felt a strange feeling of unease capture her.

Feeling light-headed, she tried to figure out what it could be. She couldn't. Khushi pursed her lips and moved away from the guests to stand in the corner, hoping she would eventually calm down. But she only felt worse as the air grew heavier around her. Breathing hard, she gripped the window sill and closed her eyes to welcome the blinding flash that pulled her back somewhere in time...

***