I, Annika Singh Oberoi should not be allowed to fight at all. There are many reasons why. For example, right now I am arguing with the man I kissed a few hours back.
And As I stand before him with a pointed finger, I am not really sure what I'm angry about.
My hand falls a million milliseconds later. I stare at the ground, regretting my sudden run for him. I continue to regret it, as he boops my nose, "Okay Ms. Pink."
"I'm not-" I roar, trying to look scary. But I look more like a weak doll.
"I'm not Ms.Pink," I speak in a lowered voice, "You see this arm. It wants to punch you so bad. Would Ms.Pink be able to punch you?"
"Go ahead, I won't stop you," he adds with a secret smile.
I close my fists to keep myself from hitting him. If only we did not have a live audience.
Oh, he knows what he's doing.
"What is happening?" Rudra whispers.
"I don't know but I like it," Gauri muses, looking shorter than usual standing beside Om and Rudra.
I turn my gaze to our third, fourth and fifth wheel, and they all slowly retreat," You know what, I shouldn't have gotten in your car in the first place. It's all" I look around searching for the scapegoat," It's all Gauri's fault."
"My fault?" She taps my shoulder, not enjoying our catfight anymore. The other two monkeys stand beside her, trying to understand the mess Shivay and I are weaving.
"You called him!" I accuse.
"I called him to pass a message to you, Annika," Gauri explained," I tried calling you. But you weren't picking up so I thought you must have slept off. Then I called Shivay to remind him to bring you here the next morning to sign for Uncle's discharge,"
"You know I trust you, Why didn't you just sign them for me?" I ask.
"Because," Om nods," The hospital has a strict policy about this. They won't hand their patient to anyone other than family. Especially one recently out of the ICU."
"Wait," Gauri shouts before I can respond. She has a deciphering look on like she is finally figuring it out. She studies us from top to bottom like a sleazy flirt, glaring at our dresses.
The same clothes we have been having since yesterday.
I steal a glance looking at Shivay, he does the same. Like we are hiding a secret.
Then I remember, we are.
"Om can we talk somewhere else-"
"Yes. Gauri I'm starving- my head does not feel so good," I say, right after him.
The three musketeers all hmm together, leaning against the wall.
I feel a heavyweight against my forehead as I lose focus, making my head spin. And I fall. The last thing I see is Gauri Kumari Sharma's smile turning into a sulk of horror.
*
Seven. Eight. Nine.
There are a total of nine stars in the night sky.
I rise up from the ground slowly. Where am I? There is nothing but greeny grass around me.
How did I come here? I was in the hospital last I know.
A wild noise erupts, like static, ringing loudly.
I hold my hands to my ears to stop it but the noise is coming from within. I hear a faint knock, that becomes stronger by the second until it is the only sound I hear. My eyes flutter open and find myself staring into a portal of sorts.
No. It can't be a portal. Because the face staring at me, is my own. Yet not mine.
I am below a sky no more but enclosed within metallic walls and dark blue tiles. The me in the mirror looks at me like I'm a stranger. I study her with the same eyes.
Then she laughs, and I feel lighter instantly. She points toward my cage of walls. I may be trapped in a room, she isn't. Instead, there is a dark sky above her, with nine stars.
My sky.
"How many times will he have to save your life?" She speaks, her voice silkier like she sleeps in the night without a care. Snores and all.
"Who?"
"You know who," she wears a knowing smile, "Tell me, how many times till you realize it?"
"Realize what?" I study the other me in doubt.
No way she's me. Look at her. Everything about her is different. Her clothes, her stance, her hair, her earrings.
But the spark in her eyes...That's me...
She plays with the edge of her salwar, exhausted with the rounded questions, "Realize that he, is the only one that can save you. From the things you don't know about, from the things that were kept from you, from the things you have forgotten- and- and from carrot."
What the frack is she saying?
"Carrot?" She mumbles, her voice changing, deeper, "Carrot."
I feel a sudden jerk before the light hits my eyes. And I wake up with a dry mouth next to Gauri. "Carrot?" I mumble.
"Yesss!" she chuckles, shocked to see me awakened by their talking, "We were talking about stalking the canteen for Gajar ka halwa after you woke up."
My arm is covered in red marks, "Did I fall asleep again?'
Gauri ties my hair up and wipes my dried face with a tissue, "Yes. You fell asleep actually. We thought you collapsed."
Om continues, "The doctor checked you, said your vitals were fine."
"But that didn't stop Shivay from getting a second recommendation. He was keen on it for some reason."
I knew why. Because only he knows that this is not the first time I've fallen unconscious
"Even after that, you were perfectly healthy," On continued, "So we came to the ground floor waiting area. Fully air-conditioned, super quiet- And it worked. You slept like a baby for more than three hours."
Three hours?! There is a square digital frame, hung on the wall, showcasing the time as: 1:08 pm.
"There is some food in the Dabba if you want, "Gauri tilted her head in implication, towards a box kept beside Rudra.
"Damn it," I pick myself up, "I have got to stop falling asleep in places."
Rudra laughs, but Om narrows his eyes, "Where else have you been sleeping?"
I fashion my eyes such that he gets exactly what I mean to say, without me having to say a thing.
Om looks away then. And I find myself, searching for something. Someone.
Rudy clears his throat, while Gauri lowers her voice, "He's not here. Fourth floor. Outside Dad's room."
"I never asked for Shivay," I stretched my neck side to side.
"Strange," Gauri says, "I never said his name."
I roll my eyes at my best friend, before escaping to find Shivay.
*
"Shivay?" my voice bounces off an empty corridor. Where did he go? "Shivayyy."
That's when I hear something, near my dad's room. I follow the sound.
It came from the room beside my father's. I shove the handle, discovering it to be open.
I push the door, taking a step inside.
A strong hand encloses over my mouth, but I bite over it and I hear the attacker scream. I recognize his voice as I turn over.
"Shivay!" He shakes his hand, grunting," Sorry sorry sorry."
I catch his hand, holding it still.
There is a red patch that has gone white in the middle, on the side of his palm.
I blow air on his palm, trying to cool it, whilst handing him a water bottle from the tabletop with my other hand. He gulps it down in less than 10 seconds.
"Better?" I speak between the puffs of air.
"Yeah," he slowly pulls his palm away. And he fully grasps my presence before him," You're okay," he states it like a fact as my eyes lock with his.
What should I say now? What. Should. I. Say. Now.
"You were looking for me?" He says, out of context. No, he has a context. The context of me being here. It is me, that doesn't have a context.
This is your chance. This is where you ask the question. Or just say it in plain words. A simple sentence. Made out of words. Words that are made of the alphabet. A B C D E F G H- The 27 English Alphabets. Or is it 26? Was I ever educated? I J K L M N O P Q. Q Exactly. Why, Why am I so worried?
"I know why you did it."
"Excuse me. I've done a lot of things, you have to be specific."
I close my eyes, "I know why you kissed me."
I wait until I hear nothing for a long moment. When I open my eyes again, I see him controlling his laughter," What?"
"Kissed you? We're not in high school Annika."
Oh, if he wants grown-up terms, I can give him grown-up terms.
"I know why you seduced me. That grown-up enough for you? It was to distract me, wasn't it."
"That's what you think? What I did was to distract you?" He crosses his arms tight.
"Well yes?"
Shivay walks away, his footsteps hitting the floor harder than human feet usually do. He's angry. But he won't say it.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Away from you. You see, I wouldn't want to confuse you into thinking my presence here was to distract you, again."
"Your presence is not a distraction," I move closer.
"See Annika. I've been lying so long, that I feel nothing when I lie now. But you? You're no liar. So don't," he tries to get away, but I hold his shoulders sturdy.
He stops struggling at the force of my hands. What are we doing? Why are we trying to hurt each other? I drown his face in my eyes, trying to understand what I mean to him.
"I never tried to distract you. You're not one, people kiss with the purpose to distract," his hand clutches my face, pressing the back of my ear," Annika Singh Oberoi, You're so much more than that."
His forehead is against mine and my eyes close naturally, "Funny. Because no one's trying to get me."
He laughs, "That's actually my fault, not yours."
And for the first time, do I ever smile at him, a smile that isn't followed by me having an existential crisis. We drift back, trying to sink back to the light in the room.
Shivay hasn't stopped staring, "Okay, to prove you're not a distraction, let's do something normal."
"Normal?" Like he knows what the word even means.
"Normal like let's go on a date."
"It's cute that you think I'm the dating type," I hit his shoulder lightly.
"Come on. We clearly-"
"Choose your next words wisely Mister," I warn.
"We clearly don't hate each other. What's one date gonna do?"
"Okay, Tonight," I say putting my foot down, I don't know how to say no to him anymore. I look at his handsome face all bubbled up in smiles and I feel something circling in my stomach.
I could get used to this. But will everyone?
"Annika," He says, before I can, "I want you to keep this quiet."
"Why? You too afraid of being seen with your boss?" I lock my arms
He has the audacity to lock his arms around my waistline. I almost pull another feat. But then I remember, I'm not fighting anymore.
He smiles, "I'm not your assistant anymore,"
Then his smile drops as he backoffs hearing footsteps near us, "You don't know who can be trusted, Annika."
"Then tell me."
"Trust me, you'll know everything when the time is right."
How do I explain it to him I can't. It's not him who has forgotten his entire life. It's not him who cannot drive a car. It's not him living in the dark, unknown to his past, his flaws, his advancements, unknown to himself.
But I know he doesn't deserve to be lied to either.
"Okay," I lean in, placing a kiss on his stubbled cheek, hoping the right time comes soon, "I will safeguard your secret."
"Our secret," he murmurs.
I move away the second I hear Gauri calling for me. I give him one final smile, "Later."
And then I swiftly move out of the room. Gauri is by the elevators and I conveniently crash into her.
"I was finding you! Annika, where were you?" Gauri looks past me.
"I was near dad's room," I lie. Well not really. Technically I was near dad's room.
Yeah, Annika you tell yourself that. A voice inside speaks.
I scrub the voice out, focussing on Gauri, "What happened?"
"Actually the office is asking for some assistance on this deal- with the Gupta's."
Tarun Gupta. The deal we left hanging in Romania. We needed that deal badly.
"They just need an update about it. No need to sweat. In fact, you don't even need to go. Send Shivay. He's right there," Gauri suggests.
How should I explain the complexity of his position in my life right now?
Maybe I don't have to, I can just talk to him, alone.
So I get up, but Gauri is on my tail like a bug. No, no. I am not ready to talk about this now, even to the person I call my best friend. I need a diversion, a lie, something.
"You know what? I have other work for him here," I say, trying not to blink too fast," Tarun Gupta has mailed me the contract. I'll mail it to the office. Maybe Rudy or Om can handle it.
"Okay," Good! One problem at a time. They will be long gone before realizing there's no deal until now.
Gauri pauses, "Oh before I forget again, the receptionist wanted to speak to you before you signed for uncle's discharge."
I nod at her and head towards the elevators, knowing exactly what is about to happen. I am ready for this. I know it in my bones. I know it too well as I reach the ground floor.
It's the same receptionist from earlier. She looks delighted, seeing me again, "Ma'am."
I return her smile, "I came to sign my dad's discharge papers. Room 40- something."
"Oberoi right?" she goes through a few files, "Here."
The form is a declaration that just needs my name and signature. Then why are my fingers shaking so much? So much that the pen almost slips.
I scribble it up quickly, handing it in.
"Just a minute, I need to enter this in. You're Annika? Annika Singh Oberoi," She checks my name and types it in. Then the system pings, silently. I know that she knows. By the way she stares at me, with that pity in her eyes, then back at the computer.
"Ma'am," she speaks in a lowered voice, "I'm sorry but you need to get a psych evaluation from your therapist before we leave your father in your care."
My breathe breaks, "I-"
"I need you to understand that this is to avoid any physical or psychological damage to your condition."
I knew this would happen. I knew it the second I walked in here. They would get their hands on me again. These hospital freaks never do let go.
"Alright," my jaw clenches.
"But if I get it, I will only from Dr. Ekta," she knows me better than anyone here. If she gives me an okay, no one will question it again.
"Okay, you can get a clean certificate right now if you're okay with it. The doctor is free."
I nod, "Room 609. Take care," she blinks, not believing her computer system.
I wouldn't either.
Who would?
That screen details my accident from scratch.
No one would believe the person standing before them today, was so close to the grave then.
My name is fed to every system in this building. Registered every great scar I left behind. From my memory loss to my coma, to my revival. It all happened in this hospital. I doubt if anyone remembers, or if they're acting like they don't for my sake.
It doesn't matter either way. Where I stand, I've got nothing and everything to lose, at the same time.
There is a glass door before me, with a wooden plate that reads, "Dr. Ekta V," The name of my old therapist.
Earlier today, I felt safe too soon. I am still fighting, just not against Shivay.
As the real fight has just started.
I exhale, as I knock on her doors.
⋆ ⭒ ⋆
Words: 2784!
I'm telling you as we get close to ending this book, the chapters get bigger and bigger.
Now to the story: Okay there's the therapist, Dr. Ekta. Yes, she knows about our main lady's past and she may just let something slip to Annika. Cuz Annika is going to do something drastic soon.
Ps. Forgive your struggling writer for the delay, trust me life never stops kicking humans. See you next timee!