~Far From The Maddening Crowd-One Shot (original version)~
“NO! it’s not Tuesday today, its Sunday..” said the beautiful, blue eyed lady stubbornly for the umpteenth time. “ but maam Sunday was day before yesterday, today is Tues…” the already scared maid flinched in her place even before she could complete her sentence after hearing a loud crash sound..she covered her ears with her palms and looked at the floor were the broken pieces of the flower vase was scattered…”You think I am a fool…when I am saying that today is Tuesday, then it must be Tuesday. Yesterday was Monday and….”she went on justifying herself when a handsome young man aged around 27 came running down the stairs hearing all the commotion, he glanced at the broken glass on the floor and then at his wife who was busy yelling at their maid. “Ananya what happened sweetheart?? Why are you so angry? And how did this flower vase break??” asked Vansh her husband. “Vansh, thank God you came…look at Maria..I am telling her that today is Sunday but she is just not listening. She keeps on saying that today is Tuesday” Ananya complained , walking towards Vansh. “Careful baby, don’t hurt yourself..” said Vansh worried that she might step on a glass peace while walking towards him. Once that she was near him, he held her from her waist and kissed her temple. Thereafter he looked at Maria “ Maria, as Ananya already told you its Sunday today, and I woud not like to have any further arguments on this” Vansh said strictly…”But sir…”Maria tried defending herself but was cut short by a very stern Vansh “enough Maria..I do not want to argue any further and next time do not argue with Ananya…I hope I have made myself clear?” ….Maria nodded meekly and went on to continue with her work. As soon as she left Ananya hugged Vansh tightly, he to responded with equal favour…they stood like that for a while and broke apart when Vansh felt something wet on his chest. “Hey what happened to my baby?? Why is she crying??”...asked Vansh in a soft tone, gently swiping off her tears with his thumb. “I am not insane Vansh” Ananya said sniffing…”Of course not sweetheart…who told you that??” asked Vansh concerned. “Then why was Maria fighting with me over such a thing….I told her repeatedly that today is Sunday then why was she saying that today is Tuesday…its Sunday today, right??” asked Ananya innocently and with a fresh bout of tears forming in her glass like blue orbs….Hearing her Vansh immediately took her in his arms “ Aww my baby, yes it is Sunday today, don’t listen to Maria, she does not know anything, hmm?” although he knew that Maria was not wrong, it was indeed Tuesday but Ananya’s happiness mattered the most to him and if him agreeing that it was Sunday made her happy then be it. “hmm” she replied back while staying in his arms. After a few moments of silence Vansh broke apart and picked Ananya up in his strong arms “Okay now my princess must be tired, so let’s get her to bed”……….Vansh brought Ananya to their room and made her sit on the bed with her back rested against the bedpost, he went towards the side table, opened the drawer, took the tablets and came back to her….”Ananya, sweetheart, here take your medicines” he said while passing her the tablets. “Vansh, why are you giving me this medicines? I am not sick?” asked Ananya with so much confusion in her voice…Vansh looked at her dumbfounded, he did not know what to say, he kept on staring at her as if in some sort of trance….”Vansh??” he was brought out of his daze with Ananya’s voice…he steadied his mind and replied in the most casual way possible “Ananya, baby these are vitamins, you know a lot of diseases are in the air and I don’t want my baby to fall ill right, so like the old saying goes:- precaution is better than cure” . “Oh in that case, you should have them as well, I don’t want you to fall ill either” said Ananya with care. “Yes, sweetheart I had them already, now its your turn” he said lovingly, making her understand…soon enough she had her medicines and laid down with her head on his lap, while he caressed her head till she fell asleep.
He kept on stroking her hair thinking about his life, her life, their life. They were madly in love with each other and tied the knot 3 years ago. Soon after their marriage Ananya was not feeling too well, plus she had been acting quite forgetful and was mostly irritated. Vansh took her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She apparently had the disease since years but nobody noticed probably because the symptoms were not highly visible…however her symptoms became more prominent with time. Vansh was shocked with the information he received but decided that he will not tell her anything; he resolved to make her live a normal life. Life was not easy for him but having her with him made it less complicated. In spite of knowing about her illness his love for her never faded rather like wine it just got better. There were days when she did not remember anything or anybody not even him but he did not give up rather he took it as a challenge… “wooing a girl is the best part of any relationship, and I am lucky that I get the chance to do it repeatedly” he would say making light of the otherwise serious situation. He did not force her to believe in what is true rather he believed in what she found true. He walked with her like a shadow; he made sure she lived her life to the fullest. He pampered her, took care of her like a baby; she was his baby, his love, his life….
Few days passed after the argument with Maria. Vansh was thoughtful enough to apologise to Maria. However he also made it clear that she was not to indulge in any sort of argument with Ananya...she should agree and do what Ananya tells her and if she has any problems be it with Ananya itself she was to tell him and not her. Like that a few more days passed. ...He tried to spend as much as time as he could with Ananya but at the same time he had an empire to run all alone and so he had to go to office as well. It was a Monday morning and Vansh was all set to leave for his work...he had instructed Maria to take good care of Ananya and call him if there was anything wrong...He then went to his room to find Ananya still sleeping..he knew that her medicines make her drowsy and so he did not bother waking her up until he was completely ready. He went towards the bed and sat just beside her, he slowly caresses her cheek "hey gorgeous, wake up" he whispered softly into her ears. She stirred a little disturbed with the sudden voice and his her face on his stomach. He chucked at her behaviour and tried waking her up again. "Baby, I have to go to work, wake up sweetheart". Hearing him she immediately got up and said "your going now??? But you promised to take me shopping today" she said with an adorable pout. He knew that he had promised her that he would take her shopping but he had told her that will go on Sunday. However, he did not want to tell her that and so he acted all guilty and hit his palm on his forehead "Oh God! I forgot sweetheart, I am so sorry, but baby pls can we go tomorrow as I have a very important meeting now which cannot be postponed" said Vansh. Ananya looked at him with a not so pleased look but agreed anyway "Vansh your becoming so forgetful, anyways since the meeting is so important you carry on". " thank you so much sweetheart, I love you. You take care of yourself okay?" Said Vansh. She simply nodded her head. Such was the beauty of their relationship, Vansh took all the blame on himself just so that Ananya would not feel bad about herself. Giving her a hug and soft kiss on her forehead, he left for his work.
Vansh reached his office and attended his meeting. After which he was sitting in his cabin and talking to his best friend and financial advisor, Parth Sharma. " so buddy tell me how's is life going? How is Ananya?" Asked Parth in a chirpy voice as they had met each other after a whole month. "Life is good and with Ananya it's just better" replied Vansh with a bright smile. "You know what Vansh, I am so proud of you, had it been anybody else in your place, they would have left Ananya till now...but your love is true, it's the purest of all. I know it's not easy to handle a patient suffering from Alzheimer's but the way you have taken care of Ananya, nobody can even call her sick. Your love is really strong man!" Said Parth with a genuine smile. Vansh smiled and said " your right Parth our love is very strong but our relationship gets its strength from Ananya, there are days when her brain does not remember me but her heart knows that it's her Vansh and that's all that matters dude! I don't care wether her brain recognises our relationship what is important is that her heart should feel our love which I know it does...and how can I leave her, don't you know Vansh Khanna is a very selfish man, I am sorry but I can't leave my life, my love for anything" Vansh winked at Parth to lighten the atmosphere. " yes of course the oh so selfish Vansh Khanna. So tell me what have you planned for your birthday, just two days left, I want a party this time!". Vansh looked at him for a moment and then said "sorry Parth but I can't throw a party...I mean Ananya won't be comfortable with so many people hovering around us and I don't want her to be in any sort of discomfort...plus I don't even know how will she react so..." Vansh was cut by Parth " relax buddy I understand, I should have been thoughtful, I am sorry" Vansh just smiled at him.
Both friends were busy catching up when suddenly Vansh's phone rang. Looking at Ananya's name flashing on the screen a wide, dimpled smile spread across his face. However his smile was only for a mere moment as the very second he answered the call he heard her sobbing over the phone which nearly made him skip a heartbeat. "Ananya, sweetheart what happened? Why are you crying?". Asked Vansh getting up from his chair in a complete panicked state. "Va..Vansh I..I am scared Vansh..I don't know we're am I, I wanna go home Vansh..but..but I don't know how..." Said Ananya while sobbing over the phone. "Ananya, relax sweetheart..." Vansh tried consoling her but was cut in between by a furious and very scared Ananya "how can I relax Vansh...you don't understand Vansh...I don't know we're am I and how to go home...how can I not know my own house Vansh". Vansh's heart clenched hearing her but he knew that it was not the time to break down, he had to be strong for her. "Ananya sweetheart, try and describe the place were u are...take a deep breath baby, calm down and tell me..."..." I don't know Vansh..there are a lot of trees and some...swings...I don't know there are a lot of people and so..so much of noise...my head is hurting Vansh" she said helplessly with tears..." No..no baby don't cry I am coming okay..don't worry I am coming..you stay there, don't go anywhere, okay?" "Okay!" She replied back slowly. The way Ananya described the place Vansh was sure that she had gone to the park near their house..she might have gone there without informing Maria as if Maria would had known she would have definitely called him up. Seeing Vansh so tensed Parth decided to accompany him, he had somewhere guessed what had happened and so did not question Vansh further...
It took about 20 mins for Vansh and Parth to reach the park, once they were there the searched frantically for Ananya. After a long search Vansh finally spotted her at the far end corner of the park, hiding behind the tree with her palms covering her ears and tears flowing down her cheeks...maybe she was trying to hide from the loud notice of people walking and playing around the park. Vansh's heart twisted looking at her in such a state...yet he calmed himself and went towards Ananya, the moment she saw him she hugged him tight..crying bitterly in his arms..."shh..quite baby it's okay...I am here, with you..shh" Vansh was consoling a shaking Ananya in his arms..." I..I can't remember were we live Vansh...how?? How is that possible??" She asked feeling angry at herself, Vansh did not know what to say, he just rubbed her back in order to calm her down...but she just did not stop crying...exhausted as she already was she fainted in his arms...he immediately picked her up and took her in the backseat of the car with her head on his lap, while Parth took charge of the drivers seat...once they were home Vansh immediately took her to their room, laid her down on the bed and gave her an injection for her throbbing headache and also because of the panic attack that she got...he sat beside her caressing her hair...he knew that if her illness was difficult on somebody then that was her...the poor soul did not even know what was happening to her...Parth decided to leave the couple alone and so after giving Vansh a reassuring hug he left...
Vansh too was tired with the day's events and thus dozed off in the same sitting position.....The next morning Vansh woke up first, he saw Ananya sleeping peacefully and smiled, he kissed her forehead and went to freshen up. After a while he came back and saw that Ananya was still sleeping, he would not have minded her sleeping but she had to eat something as she did not even have dinner the previous night. So he gently woke her up "Hey beautiful, rise and shine" he said gently stroking her check. Ananya opened her eyes and stared at him blankly..."wake up, sleeping beauty, let's have breakfast...your favourite is..." He went on talking but Ananya just stared at him blankly..."who are you?" Asked Ananya suddenly.. Vansh was taken a back for a moment, he was not hurt for he knew that it was not in her hands to remember anything not even him...he smiled a little and said "Hi! I am Vansh Khanna, your neighbour's nephew ...I am here on a short vacation, but they(neighbours) had to go somewhere urgently and some work is going on in there house, so they told me to stay here...Sanjana Aunty said you would not mind..so" . He hoped against hope that she would buy his excuse and to his amazement she did..."uhmm if Sanjana Aunty has said then okay, you can stay" Ananya said a bit reluctantly...Vansh gave a small smile to her and smiled at his fate...one day before his birthday she did not remember him but she still remembered their neighbour...however keeping aside his thoughts he asked her to be his friend...she seemed a bit hesitant which was noticed by him so to make her comfortable he said "don't worry I don't bite...but ya I talk a lot, that you will have to manage". She let out a small chuckle and accepted his friendship...." Step one complete, let me see how long can you stay away from Vansh Khanna's charm sweetheart" thought Vansh with a wide grin...well if she did not remember him then that meant only one thing it was time to impress Ananya Khanna again and oh boy only he knew what a difficult task that is....
The whole day Vansh and Ananya were together..talking, eating , watching, doing something or the other but they were together and that's all that mattered...By the end of the day Ananya stared developing feelings for Vansh unknown to her actual love for him...though she still did not recognise him but her heart felt something that made her feel that he is not a stranger...while having dinner Vansh as usual was flirting with her and she too enjoyed it but then spoke faking an angry glare "Vansh Khanna are you trying to flirt with me"...Vansh looked at her gave his million dollar smile and said "trying to flirt?? Are u mad, I am not trying sweetheart I am flirting with you". Ananya's mouth hung open hearing his retort and this way with a little cute banter here and there they finished there dinner.. Vansh gave Ananya her medicines saying that Snajana Aunty gave them for her as the weather was very cold outside and her immunity was very low. It was around 11:30pm when she finally slept...once Vansh was sure that she was sleeping he went to freshen up and change his clothes...while removing his T-shirt from the wardrobe his eyes caught a bright pink paper that looked like a card ready to fall off the wardrobe. He picked it up and saw the words "Happy Birthday Vansh" imprinted on the front page...he realised that it was a handmade birthday card for him and his heart swelled up with joy realising that it was made by Ananya..he took the card with him, sat on the bed beside Ananya and began reading the message in it...
"Dear Vansh,
Wish you a very Happy Birthday Sweetheart. I love you so much and am thankful that I have you in my life...Vansh, I know something is wrong with me..I don't know what but I just know that something is wrong but you know what I am not scared because I know that I have you with me. As long as you are with me I can fight the world...I love you Vansh...I really do, I know I can personally tell you this but don't know why my heart told me to write it down and give you this. I don't know why... Anyway whatever it is I hope I am the first one to wish you this year also and I hope you like this card...Happy Birthday Vansh:) I love you...and will always do so!!
Love,
Your Ananya
Vansh kept on looking at the card with moist eyes and then turned towards Ananya, he gently kissed her forehead letting his lips linger for a few some seconds..."thank you my princess...thank you so much...and yes baby you are the first to wish me as always. I love you sweetheart" he whispered ever so softly in her ears.
True their life was not a bed of roses but neither was it a path of thorns. They loved each other and the fact that they were together meant the world to both of them. There were a number of obstructions and hurdles in their life but rather than looking at the grey clouds they preferred to enjoy the dancing raindrops!!
