章 2: Part 1

"Who am I?" she asked, refusing the spoon of porridge offered to her.

The older woman, who was feeding her, squirmed in her seat. An anguished frown replaced her affectionate smile, and she placed the spoon back into the bowl.

"You are Vrinda, child. Our dear and beloved Vrinda."

Vrinda's trembling and unstable hand struggled to find its way to the maternal woman's hand. Desperation and despair whirled in her eyes. Her ashen face and lackluster hair never failed to tug at the other woman's heart.

"I am Vrinda, but I don't know who she was. Your identity is a mystery to me, and so is the secret of my amnesia, which is spoken in hushed whispers. Aunty, you stalled telling me the truth for six months. Six months since I woke up bereft of any memory in an ICU. I need to know what happened, Sucheta Aunty. Please!"

Vrinda's quivering voice made a shudder run down Sucheta's spine. Sucheta cupped the vulnerable woman's jaw with her free hand and patted it.

"Soon, Vrinda. Soon."

_______________________________________________________

"She started asking me questions when I went to feed her today, Vivaan. Who is she, who are we, and why doesn't she remember anything? She was going to do that someday. She lost her memory, but her wit is intact. How long can anyone stay sane with no knowledge of themselves and their past?" said Sucheta, her tone reflecting her confusion and pain at the situation.

Vivaan, her son, could not help submitting himself to the wave of guilt which hit his conscience. A photo taken at during better times hung on the wall opposite him. Joyous smiles graced their lips and their fingers were intertwined with each other. The photo was clicked after they had won an intercollegiate dance contest, one of the many they had won together.

She was the love of his life, his best friend since childhood and his partner-in-crime. It hurt him much more than his tears could ever reveal to find himself erased from her heart, along with every memory of hers.

He knew he had to make a choice, whether to tell her the entire truth of her life, and risk losing her once again or be truthful to her, upholding his love to her. He took a deep breath as he chose the mode of action, allowing his heart to win over his brain for the first time in his life.

"Let us tell her everything, Maa. We shall share whatever memories we have with her so she does not feel incomplete or troubled by questions. She can take her decision after listening to our side, but she deserves to know."

"Are you sure that you want to do this? The heart, which used to beat for you once upon a time, will break if she learns this. Her eyes, which held love at the very mention of you, will turn into ambers of hatred. Do you think she can take this, Vivaan?" asked Sucheta, eying her son lost in the bittersweet memories; those which were ruthlessly snatched from her.

"I don't think I can take it if I don't reinstate her trust upon me, Maa. A part of me wants to exploit this chance to win her over again since her heart and mind are blank slates now, but I cannot live with the fact that I betrayed her. Again."

Tears rolled down his eyes as he reminisced about the heart-wrenching moment he had broken her trust, the only time in their lives, and which was the last meet with the girl he had known and loved.

"Think again, Vivaan. It sounds ethical and moral to reveal every bit of her past to her, but can you live through the hate which you tried to escape from?" she asked, placing her hand over his shoulder.

"I think Vivaan is right, Maa. Maybe this is the chance to explain the whole situation from his perspective. He will also get a chance to erase the guilt which is killing him," said Daksh Agarwal, the elder brother of Vivaan, as he walked in after listening to the conversation.

Sucheta let out an exasperated and defeated sigh. Her son had his reasons for his betrayal, but he had never tried to declare himself innocent and not guilty of breaking her heart. In the aroma of lavender in the room and the crimson hued curtains of the room, he had searched for her essence in every nook and corner. His remorse had been evident in his reluctance of consuming or relishing anything he had enjoyed with her.

He was a man haunted by repentance and unvoiced one. She did not want to be the one to snatch the merciful second chance granted to Vrinda and Vivaan.

"So be it. We will all share our memories with her."

Daksh flashed a slight smile at his mother and expressed his approval for her support.

"I have a request. Please don't tell her I am Vivaan. Make up a character, do anything, but don't reveal that I am the Vivaan in the memories."

"What? Why? Don't you like the idea of her warming up to you once again?" asked Daksh, his face making his confusion clear to everyone present.

"I don't want to see disappointment in her eyes for me once again, Bhai. She will consider me to be her friend and her expectations would rise, but the day she hears of that unfortunate day, she will hate me. Again. I don't have the strength to see the flicker of pain and disappointment in her eyes for me. I can tolerate her hatred, and bear every punishment of hers, but not her pain," he said, his voice shaking and his tone revealing his inner turmoil.

Daksh and Sucheta looked at one another before nodding at him in affirmation and staged a walkout to leave him with his memories. Vivaan turned around to sink his sorrows in the ecstasy of their blissful picture as a painful smile adorned his lips.

"I hope you realize this time that I have always loved you and I will be forever yours, Vrinda."

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