AMARANTHINE

Act II (vii) : Something's Gotta Give

"A river cuts through a rock; not because of its power but because of its persistence."

~Jim Watkins ~

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Seeing Shaurya's silence, Ishaani asked again, "Do you not remember anything?"

Shaurya shook his head, he could hear the hope in her voice and the wobble when she had said 'friends', but then, even if the woman looked familiar he could not remember her. He closed his eyes and tried to recall as both his cousin and Ishaani seemed to pin their hopes on him remembering that woman and suddenly he knew, "I know this girl, she was there in the hospital when I regained consciousness. But she said she was Shivani's friend and had just come along with Shivani, which I did find it strange then, for Shivani had never mentioned her. I did not know that you know her.

And yes, she met me a couple of days later with a very weird question; I have never seen her again.

Who is she, Ishaani?" he asked a little softly as he saw her crestfallen face.

It was a very resigned Ishaani who had plucked the album from him, hugged it to herself and answered, "She is my sister, she left home a year ago."

She brushed her tears away with the back of her hands and looking at Shaurya with a very accusing glance, said, "I miss her and I want her back. I am not going to get married without her."

That conversation had taken place almost two years ago, with no change in their stand, and now he was here, forced to accompany his cousin to attend a lecture at the Calcutta Science Centre, one that he had no interest in. He slumped lower in his chair, thankful for the small mercy that it was the very last row and few could see him slouching. He thus missed the entry of the much awaited Dr Sanyal, not that he was paying any attention, till he heard her voice, "Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Dr Aabha Sanyal and today....."

He heard no further, her voice filled his head with visions of sunlight and clear blue skies, of starry climes and moonlit nights as he felt a warm mellow fill his heart. He paid no heed to what Dr Sanyal was talking about; he just allowed the sound of her dulcet voice sing a lullaby to his heart as a strange but familiar contentment stole over him, it was like he held his whole world, his life, his very soul in his arms and at that instant, it was like an inaccessible forever crystallised to scintillating now. He could not understand it but then he did not want to either. Oblivious to everyone and everything around him he surrendered to the warmth her voice seemed to cocoon him in and slipped into a soothing slumber.

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Reyansh was not sure if he should be embarrassed or outraged, both the emotions seemed to be swamping him; he had taken the chance of dragging Shaurya to this lecture without informing his family, he was sure that their melodramatic reactions, especially those of his Chachi, would be unbearable. He had hoped that the sight of Aabha might awaken something in his cousin and had partly been afraid of an emotional outburst that the doctor had warned about. He was not prepared for this; Shaurya had simply slept through the whole lecture and was continuing to do so, almost an hour after the lecture had finished.

He paced the stairs as he spoke on his mobile to Ishaani, "you think I am happy? I just want to shake him awake and kick Bhai all the way home. But then I cannot do that either, I have watched him, Ishaani, and he has not slept so peacefully since the surgery. In the beginning, it was that medication, then the intense physiotherapy and counselling sessions, finally the behaviour of our entire family, constantly treating him like a glass doll. He is not a fool, Ishaani, I know my brother, he cannot remember but I am sure he feels something is missing in him and he is just unable to identify the same. I had hoped that seeing Aabha after so many days could trigger something but then it is unbelievable, the moment she started talking, he fell asleep."