sᴛᴀʀ-ᴄʀᴏssᴇᴅ - 𝒜 ℬ𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓀𝒶 𝒱𝒶𝒹𝒽𝓊 𝒜𝒰

Homecoming

Fear plagued Anandi throughout the night. Her faded memories and the blurred images haunted her. What if she'd never remember? What if she'd forget what she remembers now? What if she loses all her memories?

She kept turning, sleep gone far away from her tired eyes. Hours blended into each other and when she heard the chirping of birds outside, she stood up. It was morning already. Jagya would be coming to take her home any time now. The thought of going back to Jaitsar bought a smile on her otherwise lifeless face. She sat back on her bed as the nurse came to help her get changed. She carefully wore the dress her mother had left for her. It was a beautiful red saree along with her jewelry. Now all she had to do was wait. That's all she had done for the past few years. Wait.

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened. She stood up, excited to meet Jagya again. But to her utter disappointment, it was the doctor.

"Anandi, I'm happy to see that you're finally standing on your feet. Does it hurt, your head?"

"No, it doesn't"

"Did you feel dizzy while getting up from the bed?"

Anandi hadn't been paying attention to that as she was terrified of her memory loss. Should she speak to the doctor about it? He will help, said a voice in her head. No! came another voice.  He'll make you stay here for longer!

"No I am fine"

"Well, in that case, you're ok to go home"

The doctor smiled at her and turned to leave.

"Wait! I have something to ask"

"Sure, go ahead"

"Will the...the surgery affect my mind in a bad way?"

"Every major surgery has side effects. You've had two in your head, which is a fragile area. You're bound to have some minor side effects"

"What sort of side effects?"

"Frequent headaches..."

That's not bad.

"...dizziness..."

Not that bad either.

"...weakened memory..."

Oh no!

"Weak memory?"

"...yes. You might not remember things as clearly as you used to"

The news hit Anandi like a wave.

"But...will it affect my past memories?"

"It might or might not. It's a complicated matter. Are you forgetting things?"

"Some of my memories are blurring. Is it something to worry about?"

"Hmm. Matters concerning the brain are always important. Don't worry. I'll look into it. Stay in contact"

She nodded and he left the room. Sitting on the bed, she closed her eyes, hoping for some clarity but all she saw were blur faces.

After an hour or so, Jagya entered the room Anandi was in. She was sitting on the bed, eyes closed. He went near her and lightly shook her awake.

"Anandi, wake up. It's time to go"

Anandi opened her eyes slowly. Seeing Jagya, she smiled warmly and got up.

"Let's go then!"

Jagya's happiness knew no bounds. All the way to home, he was beaming ear to ear. He told Anandi all about what had happened in past 5 years . But unknown to him, Anandi looked around, completely confused. She had lived in the place but she didn't seem to remember the houses or the shops or the signs. She tried hard to clear the memories but nothing came back clear. 

"...then baapu sa thought I had left the door open but it was Sugna jiji and Varun and we surprised him with a chocolate cake and all sorts of dishes. He was so happy! Do you know that we-"

He turned only to see Anandi looking around confused. 

"Chuhiya, are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine"

"If you're sure..."

"Don't worry Jagya, I'm ok"

Jagya continued driving to their home. At last, they arrived.

"Maa sa! Jiji! They're here!"

Gehna's voice echoed through the haveli. Everyone ran to greet them. Sumitra brought a thaal for aarti. Dadi sa rolled her eyes for what seemed like thousandth time that day. She still didn't like all this ruckus. She stood up nonetheless and joined the others in welcoming the incoming two.

Anandi climbed down from the jeep and saw her family. They all held wide smiles upon seeing her. Sumitra and Gehna came forward to greet her first.

"Laado, you look so good !"

"Yes, Anandi, I'm seeing you after 5 years but you look no different. A bit older, yes, but still our same Anandi. I'm so so happy to see you"

Gehna hugged her tightly.

"I'm happy to see you too Tai Ji"

"Come on in, everyone is waiting for you.

Anandi met everyone one by one and was delighted on seeing Varun and Nandu. They were grown up now! At last, she saw the old woman hanging near the door. Sumitra and Jagya took her to meet Dadi sa.

"Anandi, come see, maa sa was waiting for you too!"

Anandi looked at the older woman who didn't look particularly pleased to see her. She touched her feet for blessing. The elderly woman put her hand on Anandi's head and motioned for her to stand up.

"Well, if we're done with the pleasantries, can we go inside now?"

"Yes maa sa. Come on Jagya, bring Anandi inside"

"Uhm Jagya, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Um, who is that old woman?"

Jagya's eyes widened in shock and then he started laughing.

"Oh come on chuhiya, stop joking. That's dadi sa and she won't be happy if we stand here for long. Let's go"

Dadi Sa.

Dadi Sa. 

Dadi Sa who?

author's note

please do tell me if you're liking the direction this is going in. If you want me to do anything else with the story, I'll gladly change it :)

and sorry for the delay