Titaliya

Chapter 20

When Arnav woke up she wasn't by his side. The nurse from before walked over and adjusted his bed so he was sitting.

"Your neighbor just left," she told him. "She said she would come back in the evening."

Arnav looked outside and saw Aman talking on the phone. He'd never seen a person so stressed. He asked the nurse to call Aman in. Aman was sweating and nervous when he came in.

"Sir, I've found out some things about who attacked you yesterday."

He showed Arnav his phone. There was a grainy video of a man in a plumber's uniform coming up the lift. He was small and bearded, and kept trying to hide his face from the security cameras. He was next seen walking towards Arnav's apartment, and fiddling with the lock.

"I've spoken to the doctors. You were injected with a strong sedative. I think he must have attacked you from behind when you entered your apartment. But that's not the most important thing.."

"The most important thing is that he stabbed me, Aman."

"No sir. The most important thing is why."

"Shyam."

Aman nodded. "Sir, I think we should inform the police. If Khushi ma'am hadn't found you, you would have bled out and died."

Arnav knew any normal person would inform the police. But he wasn't a normal person, and he had Anjali to think about. He took Aman's phone and called her.

"Chote?"

"Just calling to let you know, I'm fine, Di," Arnav said. "It's just a small wound. They said I'll be discharged tomorrow."

"Chote, come back to Delhi. Why are you living there alone? You don't even have anyone to take care of you," Anjali pleaded. "I don't know why, but ever since Khushiji left everything has felt wrong."

"I found her, Di," Arnav told her. "She's here in Bangalore."

The happy scream Anjali let out was enough to wonder if he needed an ENT as well.

"I'll do a pooja for her," Anjali announced. "You both come to Delhi as soon as you're discharged."

"Actually, Di, she won't come."

"Arey, why won't she come? You're her husband. We're her family. Does anyone at Buaji's house know? Why is she in Bangalore?"

"Di, she's not Khushi anymore," Arnav said. "She doesn't remember any of us. She lost her memory, Di."

Anjali gasped. "Chote. She doesn't remember you?"

"No, Di. She doesn't."

"Not even a little bit?"

Arnav cut the call. She didn't even remember him a little bit. It was almost insulting how easily he'd been erased out of her memory.

He made calls to the Bangalore AR office from the bed until the head nurse took his phone away and threatened to restrain him unless he rested. Staring at the ceiling bored him. After cajoling her, he managed to get his phone back. Instead of yelling on the phone, he sent Veda message after message.

***

The phone continuously buzzed in her pocket. If the phone wasn't on silent, she would have been kicked out of class. As soon as the professor left the lecture hall she checked her phone. Seventy two messages and twenty missed calls in an hour. She turned off her phone and shoved it into her bag.

"Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?" Asha whispered.

"He's not my boyfriend," Veda said. Having to correct so many people, she almost felt like she was the one lying. "Just my neighbor. He's in the hospital."