Fates

Part 58- Scattered Memories

"Hello." Pragya heard Riya's dad say from the other side of the phone.

Pragya was at a loss for words after hearing Mr. Mehra's voice. That voice sounded very familiar but Pragya couldn't figure out why. And so Pragya was lost in thought trying to figure out why that voice sounded familiar, forgetting that Mr. Mehra was waiting for her reply.

"Hello Ms. Anuradha?" Abhi asked after getting no response. Abhi didn't know why he felt something tug his heart when Prachi handed the phone to him.

"Uh- I how is-" Pragya said snapping out of her thoughts, about to ask about Riya, when Prachi interrupted her.

"Mumma, Riya just woke up, Uncle is with her right now, I'll call you back later to tell you how Riya is, and you can also talk to her." Prachi said smiling happily at seeing Riya awake. Uncle had handed her the phone when he felt Riya move and was comforting her.

"Okay take care of Riya, and call me later." Pragya said with a sigh of relief, smiling happily, thanking God for making Riya better. And then the call was cut.

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Abhi had been talking to Prachi's mom when he felt Riya's hand which was in his own move, his attention diverted and he absent-mindedly handed the phone to Prachi to calm Riya as she tried to sit up.

"What happened?" Riya asked sluggishly as she awoke in her bedroom. "How did I get home?" Riya asked confused as she took in her surroundings.

"You fainted at lunch, and your blood pressure increased, but you're fine now." Abhi said gently, helping Riya sit up on the bed with pillows in between the headboard and her, to support her. After Riya was sitting up Abhi kissed Riya's forehead, running his hand in her hair to tame down the current bedhead that Riya had, smiling softly.

As Abhi was doing all this, he didn't see Riya's eyes go wide in shock as memories of this afternoon came back to her.

'I saw Dad with a woman.' Riya thought to herself in shock.

'They were hugging. Oh my God, they were hugging!' Riya thought to herself as the reality of the situation hit her.

'Is Dad having an affair with someone?!' Riya thought to herself, yelling in her mind.

'No eww, Riya he's your dad don't think like that!' One side of Riya's mind said.

'But they were hugging!!' Another side of Riya's mind yelled louder.

'So friends can hug.' One side of Riya's mind reasoned.

'Can friends hug? Can they?! I'm sure that friends love to hug in the middle of the night, all alone, away from their family.' Another side of Riya's mind said sarcastically.

'But who was that woman?' Both sides of Riya's mind said, finally agreeing on something.

"I remember." Riya said out loud in response to her mind.

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"No, you don't remember." Prachi said alarmed when she heard Riya say the same words that she had said before fainting, causing Riya to snap out of her thoughts and Abhi to look at her in confusion. "I swear if you say the words 'I remember' one more time I will literally smack you." Prachi said in all seriousness, abruptly hugging Riya.

"Wait, wait are you crying?" Riya asked teasingly when she felt the shoulder area of her shirt dampen where Prachi had rested her head while hugging her.

"No, you're crying." Prachi said in a teary voice, her head still resting on Riya's shoulder, still hugging her.

"Really because it sure looks like you're the one crying." Riya said teasing Prachi once more, hugging her back. "Okay, Prachi enough stop crying now." Riya said smiling, breaking the hug to wipe away Prachi's tears, causing Prachi to smile too.

Prachi didn't know why she had such a reaction. Most of the time Prachi was very calm and collected. But the relief that she felt when Riya awoke was indescribable, so Prachi had started to cry happy tears.

Now that Prachi had stopped crying, she and Riya hugged once more, enjoying each other's company.

******
Abhi was smiling brightly as he watched Riya and Prachi interact. He couldn't believe that they were the same people who were enemies in the beginning.

He couldn't believe that the Prachi who was now gently caressing the back of Riya's head, while hugging her, Riya's head tucked under her chin. Was the same Prachi who had put Riya in jail. In fact, right now Prachi looked as if she would kill anyone who dared to hurt Riya.

He couldn't believe that Riya who had now rested her head on Prachi's chest while hugging her back, smiling happily. Was the same Riya that had framed Prachi for stealing. Because Riya looked as if she belonged in Prachi's embrace and she wouldn't let anyone separate them even if they tried.

'Maybe if Riya and her older twin sister had grown up together, they would have a relationship like this.' Abhi thought to himself with misty eyes as he thought about what could've been.

"Why is my daughter getting slapped if she says the words 'I remember' again?" Abhi asked out loud, jokingly, but curious to know what had led to such a conversation.

"Because she said the words, 'I remember' right before she fainted, so I got worried when she said it again. I thought she was going to faint again." Prachi told Abhi separating from Riya, reassured that Riya was indeed fine, while Riya just looked at Abhi in question, not knowing what to say or do.

"What did you remember, Princess?" Abhi asked Riya, confused.

"Uh I-." Riya said not knowing how to tell Abhi what exactly she had remembered.

"Uncle, she probably remembered that she has a math test tomorrow, and decided to faint so she doesn't have to go to college tomorrow."  Prachi said jokingly, unknowingly saving Riya from answering Abhi's question.

"Well if that was her plan all along. Then she has succeeded because she's not going to college tomorrow, and then the weekend is coming up, so it'll be like a tiny vacation. Wow, Princess well played." Abhi said jokingly, to which both he and Prachi let out a small laugh, while Riya just looked lost in thought.

"Okay, you guys talk, I'm going to go downstairs and tell the others that Princess is awake." Abhi said getting up and leaving the room, with Riya watching him leave the entire time until she could longer see him.

Thus, it was clear that Riya had remembered what she saw the night of her accident. The question though was how much of it did she remember? Did she remember that the woman she saw with her dad was none other than 'Anuradha auntie,' Prachi's mom, and her teacher? Unfortunately, though, the answers to such questions still remained unclear.

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