Ankur Maheshwari:
I just completed my shift and stepped out. I shoved my hands in my coat's pockets and leaned against the reception. "Sometimes, I just want to go home." I pouted.
"You really want to spend some time with your wife?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Bro, then you should resign as a doctor," he chuckled. "Tell you what, come closer," he braced on the counter.
I leaned closer.
"Get sick," he murmured.
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because I got sick leave and lots of time with my wife when I was sick," he extended his arms like a child to emphasize.
"But I am a doctor."
"A man first," he patted my shoulder.
"You are too much," I smiled.
"Just honest," he shrugged.
I looked away while shaking my head.
Thud-thud-thud
I turned to the dimly lit corridor. A silhouette was running. Her hair was trailing behind her. Shadows blurred her face.
Then, she came closer and stopped before me, panting. "Anshi?" My younger sister. My eyes widened.
"What happened?"
"Bhaiya, Naina bhabhi... accident... car."
I didn't need more details. I sprinted through the darkness.
To Naina. My wife.
I ran in the parking lot, looking for her car. It was in the corner. In an instant, I was there. I opened the car's door.
I saw Shyam, my brother-in-law.
He was holding an unconscious Naina, bleeding from her head. Her face was pale and streaked with blood.
I squeezed the seat. I couldn't blink. I couldn't move.
Someone pushed me aside.
I didn't protest. Just watched. Some nurses laid her down on the stretcher and took her away.
My ears rang, dizziness overpowering.
The world narrowed.
I couldn't feel my body.
Nothing was clear.
I almost dropped when firm arms held me up. I didn't realise how I ended up lying on a bench.
"Ankur! Ankur!"
Someone called me. A familiar voice. "Open your eyes, Ankur."
Jake shook me.
I slowly opened my eyes, blinking. I looked around.
"Where is Naina?"
"She is in the ICU. Doctors are treating her. But you should rest."
He tried to lay me down again.
"You passed out."
"No!" I jerked myself free.
I rushed to the lift, pressing the button for the top floor.
Within minutes, it swung open.
I strode to the ICU.
But stopped.
ICU was never a big deal for me until today.
My fingers curled around the handle.
Click.
I stepped into the ICU.
The cool AC air hit me.
Still not calming me.
Naina was sleeping.
Pale face, eyelashes resting on her cheeks, and a bandage around her head.
At this moment, she was nothing like my wife. Not lovely. Not healthy.
Tears rolled down my cheeks, every step I took towards her cost me another tear.
My fingers trembled when I felt her cold skin beneath my palm.
I gently ran a hand over her forehead.
She stirred, eyes slowly opened. I softly smiled for her.
Yet she tensed up.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"You...you don't know me?"
"No, I don't."
I pulled my hand away like I was burned.
She was just there. Yet so far away.
From me.
I was nowhere in her memories.
She forgot me.
_
Naina Maheshwari:
An ache shot through my head. I slowly opened my eyes. A stranger was touching my head.
"Who are you?"
"You don't know me?"
"No."
He stepped back.
White walls. Aligned beds. Blue curtains. Nurses in pink uniforms.
That was when it hit me.
Hospital.
I turned around.
I was on a bed.
"How did I end up here?"
I whispered to myself.
"Ah!"
As I turned one more time, it stung harder.
"A-are you okay?"
The stranger came closer. His hands hovered over my shoulders.
"No, I am not."
"L-let me call the nurse."
"Hmm," I whimpered.
Soon a nurse came.
"Hey, hey, calm down. Just lie down."
The nurse laid me down again.
"How did I end up here?"
"You had an accident."
"A-accident?"
I tried to sit up, but she stopped me.
"Just rest now. Your family is here. You'll be fine."
She left.
The stranger was gone too.
But I couldn't care less.
I closed my eyes. Exhaustion caught me.
Soft hushed whispers.
I stirred a second later.
I looked up with half lidded eyes, adjusting to the bright lights.
Someone was sitting beside me.
"How are you feeling now?"
she asked.
I stared a bit longer.
Anshi.
I took a breath of relief.
"Anshi, tell me what happened to me?"
I held her hand.
Curious to shape the blurry pictures.
She put her hand over mine.
"Don't worry. I am here. You'll be fine. You had a car accident. But the doctor said you are not stable now. You might be discharged within a week."
She calmly explained.
I didn't push further. I was safe and that was enough.
For now.
"Did you do any makeup? You are looking older," I frowned while touching her face.
Her jaw dropped.
"What? I am only 26."
"What are you saying? You are 22."
"I am- leave it. I am 22 for you."
Something flashed in her eyes, I couldn't name it.
"Call me old if you want," she pouted.
A soft laugh escaped my mouth.
A comforting weight settled over my shoulders, she held them.
"Don't move too much. You are just medicated. Not healed," she chided me.
"Is that a warning?"
"Yes"
"Fine"
"Get me something to eat at least"
"Yeah, I'll call Shyam"
That stuck.
That name felt wrong.
"..."
"I want oranges," I said.
She picked up her phone and texted.
I couldn't help but wonder why that thought popped up.
Just for a second.
Minutes passed.
Shyam came with oranges.
"Hey, Naina. How are you now?" He whispered, while sitting down beside Anshi.
"I am feeling a bit better."
He nodded.
Anshi was already peeling the oranges for me.
"You know, Shyam. When we were kids, we used to spray the orange juice on our necks because it smells refreshing," she looked at him, a faint smile forming on her face.
A chuckled rumbled through Shyam, "That must have been fun."
"It was," she said.
Shyam picked up a peel and squeezed it against Anshi's neck.
He leaned closer, just a bit more than normal and smelled her neck.
Anshi blinked.
"Hmmmm, smells nice," he pulled back and ate a slice of orange.
Like he hadn't just riled Anshi up.
"What was that?" She giggled.
"What was what?" He feigned innocence.
"You are not that innocent."
I didn't realise, a smile was on my face. Not until, "Look, I made her smile." Shyam pointed out.
I laughed, low yet free.
But I didn't miss the nudge he gave to Anshi, his eyes narrowed with something playful.
_
Ankur Maheshwari:
I was sitting outside, my hands trembling in my lap. I just wanted to meet my Naina. I wanted to see whether she was okay or not. But she had refused to even recognize me. Was it temporary amnesia... or had she truly forgotten me? No... no.
I shook my head slightly and whispered, "This must be temporary amnesia. I'll ask the doctor when he comes. It must be written in her reports, right?"
The doctor was on his rounds. Every day before going home, he checked on all the patients once.
Just then, the doctor walked out of the ICU. I immediately stood up to talk to him. Doctor Tiwari smiled faintly after seeing me.
"Don't worry. Your wife will recover soon."
I nodded silently, but those comforting words failed to lighten the weight crushing my heart. Perhaps Doctor Tiwari noticed the helplessness in my eyes.
"What happened? Look at me and tell me."
I lifted my gaze toward him.
"Sir... when I went to meet my wife today, she refused to recognize me. Could her injuries be more serious than we thought? Is she really okay?" My voice broke with pain. My eyes were filled with hope and an unnamed fear.
He gently patted my shoulder.
"Ankur, for now, just take care of her. As soon as the reports arrive, I'll tell you whether it's temporary amnesia or not. Alright?" His voice was calm and soft, as if he truly understood my pain.
Then he checked his wristwatch.
"Well, I should leave now. Otherwise, my wife will refuse to recognize me too if I am late again," he joked softly before walking away with a small laugh.
"But my wife has already forgotten me..." I muttered to myself in a wounded voice.
"Bhaiya,"
Shyam called me. I turned back. Anshi was with him.
"How is Naina now?"
"She is fine, bhaiya. She is sleeping right now and she ate the oranges you brought."
"I knew she likes oranges. That's why I already brought them for her."
"Don't worry, bhaiya. Bhabhi is recovering and soon she will be back," Anshi whispered in her sweet voice.
"I hope so."
"Don't hope," she said.
"Hnh?"
Shyam and I both looked at her with confusion.
"I-I mean believe. Hoping alone is not enough. You should believe it."
I smiled slowly. Shyam encircled an arm around her shoulders, squeezing.
Jus
t like I used to do with my Naina.
"Okay, bhaiya. We are actually going out for dinner. Come with us," Shyam asked.
"I am not hungry."
"Bhaiya, please-"
"Anshi, nhi."
I pinned her with a look.
She immediately complied.
"Theek hai, bhaiya. Ham aapke liye pack krwa layenge," Shyam said and then they left.
I was alone.
Once again.
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