The Strange Street to the Wrinkled Memories

A fighter... A promise...

The estival rays of the sun had fallen on her, she still hadn't felt it. The brumal breeze caressed her and the vernal ambiance had enlightened the nature. But she still was not awakened.

She could hear the footsteps of someone approaching her and then leaving. She heard a loud thud and she could imagine it was the door being closed. But her feet were barely moving till now.

Her eyes slowly tried to open up to see where she, herself was. Her eyes kept blinking as she tried to rise her eyelids. Her eyelids shivered until it was opened, she could witness the sunlight on her. She hadn't felt it for a few days. She was still on bed, in midst the four walls.

It was a small room, painted baby-blue. There was a grey window that let in the nature's blessings. The room had a gatch bed, on which she was laying and next to it was a periwinkle coloured nightstand. On the other side, was the medicinal stand. There was a violet high back chair on the corner, and infront of the bed was a clinic mirror.

She tried getting up, but for a moment she paused. She didn't know 'who she was?', 'why was she here?', 'what had happened?'
She blinked back her tears and pushed herself up. She slowly moved her hands towards the cup of water, standing on the nightstand. She grabbed the cup and drank the water, and she washed her face with the leftover. It felt like she had been thirsty for so many years. She turned her face only to see herself in the mirror.

There she was! A gorgeously innocent face was captured in the mirror screen. Dark brown glittering eyes, long blonde braided hair that was coloured black and princess-brown. She had a necklace of black thread and a locket in it, a ring and small ball stead earrings. She was wearing a lavender coloured full-sleeve shirt, and a rose coloured plazo pant. She was tall and thin as if she had been a fashion model.

She sat properly, and stepped on the floor. She slowly walked towards the window, she looked the beautiful outside view of the morning like a three year child enjoying the beauty of her dream world.

Suddenly she heard someone open the brown wooden door from behind. She turned back frightened, and there was a nurse looking at her, standing astonished. The nurse walked to her and made her comfortably sit back in the bed. That woman was in a white shirt with the hospital's name noted on the pocket, white skirt and she had a nurse cap.

They began a conversation, "Hi! You have been sleeping for the past 48 hours. How do you feel?"

She could hear the words and she tried opening her mouth, "I... I..."

The nurse asked, "How are you now?"

She answered softly, "I am fine... Feeling fine now."

The nurse continued, "I knew this would happen. I felt that you are too strong, the day you came here as a patient. You have overcome the accident and you are fine. Our doctors had said that there was very less chances for your survival. But no... They were wrong. You got up! You are a fighter."

She wasn't too happy, her face was dull.

The nurse spread a hand of friendship, "I am Krithika! The senior... Experienced nurse of the Natya Rajya village hospital." She shook hands with Krithika. The nurse went on, "Why have you come to the village, if you are from the village in the valley?"

She looked innocently around her.
"Where am I? Which is this place? What brought me here?"

The nurse looked at her, understanding that she has forgotten her past. The nurse wasn't too shocked because she had treated so many patients, from sickness to organ transplantation, in between which sometimes all these kind of consequences come up.
Krithika updated her, "So I am the first person you know now. This is Natya Rajya village hospital. You were brought here by the daughter of the village librarian. She filled the emergency form, it has your enough details." The nurse stood up and walked to the nightstand. There was the copy of the form, Krithika took it and began, "You are...  Shravya Aarushi from the village near the valley. Four days before you had come to this village, and you had stayed with the librarian and her daughter. The very next day you hit with an accident while going through the abandoned street. The villagers call it the Forbidden Medusa street. You were brought here by a driver and then when we informed your news to the village, the librarian came forward taking up the responsibility as your local guardian."

Shravya sighed, "So why have I come to the village? Why had I gone through the forbidden medusa street? The librarian and her daughter, who are they?"

Nurse calmed Shravya, "You will be able to know it. I hope you will be discharged today noon."

For sometime Shravya forgot her woes as she became normal, when she talked with Krithika. They were more like sisters. Soon they saw a woman coming in, she was wearing a skirt and a crop top, above it was a white coat mentioning the hospital's name. She had a stethoscope semi-circled around her neck. Krithika stood up and informed, "This is our Doctor. Doctor Ahruthi. Ahu, Shravya Aarushi is fine but..."
Ahruthi exclaimed in a deeper tone, "But!"
Krithika completed, "But Shravya has lost her memory. I have told her whatever we knew... About how she reached this bed."
Ahruthi sat next to Shravya. She was a calm listener and a soft speaker, she seemed to be very caring.
Ahruthi began, "We are really happy for you. Your accident was small, but... I mean you were hit by a car and you fell on the road, that did not bring you much injuries. But where you fell was in the forbidden street which has numerous Medusa street's poisonous grass bordering it. The horn of the Medusa street's grass pierced into your skin. So we expected less chances of your survival because very less people could fight with the Medusa street's grass poison. It's as poisonous as venom snakes. But you did well!". Ahruthi checked Shravya's heart beat and blood pressure while speaking and she continued, "I hope you feel fine now. You are alright. You are being discharged. Come on! Feel the air and light."

Shravya smiled whilst her soul was searching for something... Maybe for herself.
Ahruthi and Krithika helped Shravya get up. They moved to the door and then they were at the reception.
Ahruthi made Shravya know with care and concern in her eyes, "You can leave. If you need any help, I suppose you will arrive here." Krithika interrupted smiling, "And no queries for we charge no fees for curing patients that too in this village." All gave off a short laugh. Shravya hugged Ahruthi and Krithika because she worried whether they would never meet again.

Shravya stepped out of the village hospital, waving her hands at Ahruthi and Krithika with love for the bond they have created within such a short time.

She stepped on the exiting gate of the hospital. The hospital seemed to be more like a clinic that were in the developed kingdom. It was a one storey building that serviced legally. It was a non-profitable and organised miniature medical spot. It provided all emergency and medical facilities. The hospital was small but it had people with big hearts, who never expected income. They only thought - cured wounds and rectified pains treat souls as they heal them with humanity that is filled with happiness.

Ahruthi called out once again, "Our junior nurse will join you. In case you have an emergency, she will help you." Krithika summoned, "Akshara!" A woman in the nurse uniform of the Natya Rajya village hospital walked to Shravya. The hospital's name was noted in her pocket. Krithika informed, "Shravya, this is Akshara. She knows the places as well, she can help you out to your village."
"I am not going to my village, wherever it is. I want to find... Why I am here, how did I end up in the forbidden medusa street, who are the librarian and her daughter, who am I? I will stay. I want to meet the librarian and her daughter," Ahruthi and Krithika heard Shravya say.
They nodded hopefully and let Akshara with Shravya.

Shravya was walking with Akshara through the off-road to the hospital of the village.
Krithika stopped her, "Promise us you would be safe. You would find your way home."
Shravya interfered, "Once I find the answers... I promise."
Ahruthi smiled, "A promise to Natya Rajyans cannot be broken, it's the rule from the queen."
Shravya hadn't concentrated on the empress, she confirmed, "You have my word. A promise will always be a promise."
An old men sitting in the waiting room choked, "Yes! A promise of our boy. Mm..."
Shravya, Akshara, Ahruthi and Krithika looked at the aged man who was somewhere lost in a deep thought.

They saw Shravya and Akshara fade out of their sight into the main road to the village houses.

Ahruthi and Krithika said sagely to themselves, "A fighter...", "A promise..."
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Surya_SK