Observing her audition, he says, "There is something eerily familiar about you. Have we met?"
She confusely replies, "I don't believe so. Are you sure?"
He responds, "It is like a forgotten memory trying to resurface."
She says with curiosity, "Mayb...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The red light above the Operation Theatre finally turned off.
A doctor pushed the doors open, exhaustion dragging down every line of his face. He pulled off his gloves slowly, as if the weight of what he was about to say sat heavily on his shoulders.
A nurse hurried beside him.
"Doctor, the Singh family's relative arrived," she whispered.
The doctor nodded. "Where?"
The nurse pointed to a woman standing near the wall, her fingers were trembling. Her eyes were swollen--fear, sorrow, shock--everything mixed in her expression.
She stepped forward. "Doctor... I---I am Kirtida's sister. Radhika's... Masi."
He looked at her carefully and his silence alone made her knees threaten to collapse.
"Please... tell me," she begged. "My sister... my brother-in-law... and Radhika? Doctor, please... my child---how is she? What happened?"
The doctor exhaled deeply.
"Ma'am...the accident was brutal."
Her face drained of color.
"We... we tried our absolute best. But your sister and her husband---" he paused, searching for gentler words but failing, "their bodies were too crushed. The impact was immediate. We could not save them."
A choking sound escaped the woman's throat, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"No... no no, Kirtida... Kirtida...!"
She staggered back, pressing a fist to her mouth as sobs tore out of her.
The doctor placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.
"But the girl... Radhika..." he continued and the woman froze.
"Is she alive?" she whispered.
"Yes," he said. "She is alive."
She placed her hand to her chest as she cried in relief.
"But--"
The word sliced through her hope.
"But... she suffered severe head trauma. A crack in the skull. We operated and fixed it. Physically she will recover with rest."
He hesitated, jaw tightening.
"But mentally... the shock to her brain was massive."
Her breath hitched. "W---What do you mean?"
The doctor met her eyes.
"She has forgotten her own existence."
Silence fell like a stone.
The woman shook her head violently. "That.. that cannot--- Doctor, she is only eighteen---she is my niece---she ..."
