You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

It is over…?

{6}

‘I will discharge her from the hospital today. Make sure that she takes the medicines regularly and let her visit me after 10 days. I have given these instructions to your parents also but I have something important to tell you, Bhuvan. Usually when a person abruptly loses his memory, his subconscious mind plays a very vital role in deciding how he responds to people. That is what guides him to once again form a relationship with the person whom he has forgotten. I have to admit that I was indeed surprised to see Uttara accept you and your parents without much hesitation. She is really polite and affectionate towards you, despite not remembering anything about your wedding. This only proves that you both indeed loved each other and somewhere deep in her mind its effect is still evident. But… once she regains her memory, there are chances that she may not remember anything about her memory loss,’ explained the doctor.

Bhuvan listened to him attentively but the last statement gave him a jolt.

‘Are you listening, Bhuvan?’ asked the doctor in doubt as he did not get any response from the other end.

‘Yes, doctor,’ he said with his throat almost going dry.

‘Since she is going to stay with you and in the familiar environment of your home, she will recover soon. I am quite confident that she will regain her memory within a few days. Keep reminding her about the major incidents of her past and if possible do take her to the places that you both visited together. In case she experiences headache or giddiness bring her to the hospital immediately. Anyway I wish you both the best in life and I hope your wife recovers soon. See you, Bhuvan.’

‘Thank you very much doctor. See you,’ he said and disconnected the call. A strange numbness enveloped his mind.

What if she forgets the present and recalls the past?

In the evening, he reached home at 8.30pm. As decided earlier his mother was going to stay with them for a couple of days to take care of Uttara. Leela was sent home with Naresh to take some rest because she had spent two weeks in the hospital taking care of her daughter. Kusuma was affectionate towards Uttara and loved her as if she was no less than a daughter to her. Moreover the elders felt that it would help in reminding Uttara about the wedding that she had forgotten. Even though she recalled nothing about Kusuma, she had built a cordial relationship with her during her visits at the hospital. The previous day, Bhuvan had the house cleaned by the maid and removed all evidences from the guestroom where he had been sleeping for the past many months.

Bhuvan greeted his mother when she opened the door and inquired about Uttara. She was in the balcony. He quickly took a shower and wore his cotton boxers and vest. When he reached the threshold, he saw her leaning against a pillar and staring at the sky. She was dressed in a cotton kurta and pyjama.

What is she thinking about? Would she have remembered the argument that we had in this balcony one Sunday afternoon? I only know that we argued! I can’t even recall what it was about…

Suddenly she turned and saw her long-legged husband gazing at her. A bright smile appeared on her face, it was like a child smiling on seeing a box of chocolates.

You made my day!

He smiled back in quiet satisfaction. The apprehensions and fear that he had after the conversation with the doctor were cleared out of his mind. He went and stood beside her.

‘So, did you like our house?’

‘Yes. I could guess a few things which might have been my choice for the house. For example, the drapes must have been my selection. I loved the floral prints on them.’

‘You are absolutely right. The interior decoration was completely based on your preferences.’

‘But there is something about this balcony…’ she said slowly. A sudden fear gripped his heart.

‘What?’ he asked instantly.

‘It looks so empty,’ she said frowning. He looked at her puzzled.

‘This is how it has been ever since we bought this flat a year ago,’ he said casually.

‘Oh…’ she said, still deep in thought. He moved closer and held her hand.

‘Hey, what is the matter?’ he asked softly. She looked up at him with puppy eyes.

‘I love plants. I had grown so many in my home—’

She clucked her tongue and quickly corrected herself.

‘I mean in my parents’ home. Then why is it that I have not grown any plants here?’ she said, clearly disappointed with herself.

‘Really? You never told me that you had so much interest in gardening. Anyway, at least now I got to know about it. I will tell appa to take you to a nursery tomorrow. You choose the plants you want and bring them home. We will make them a part of our family,’ he said winking at her. She was immensely pleased with his words.

‘Thank you so much!’ she said beaming at him. Kusuma called out to Bhuvan as she walked towards the door to the balcony.

‘Uttara has not yet eaten her dinner. Both of you come soon,’ she said and went to the kitchen. He gave her a look of disapproval.

‘Why haven’t you eaten yet? You are supposed to take your medicines also. You shouldn’t stay hungry for long,’ he said firmly.

‘I was waiting for you…’ she said sheepishly. He had to exercise extreme self-control to not pull her into his arms right then and kiss her cheeks. Only after she uttered those words did he realise his craving to hear them from her! With a reluctant smile he tugged her along with him to the dining table. His mother had already eaten her dinner because she was diabetic and it was necessary that she did not delay her meals. She served them dinner and retired to the guestroom where she would be sleeping. They both began tearing into their rotis. She was eating hungrily and he understood that she had tolerated her hunger just to be able eat with him.

‘Tomorrow onwards, in case I am late, please don’t wait for me. You should eat your dinner on time because you need to be strong to take so many medicines. Okay?’ he asked affectionately.

‘No. It’s not okay. I will wait for you because this is when I get to spend time with you. Don’t worry, I can handle,’ she said dipping her piece of roti into the curry.

‘But I can’t,’ he said impulsively. Bhuvan could not believe that he had uttered those words. She smiled at him and shook her head.

‘I will wait,’ she said adamantly. He let out a long drawn breath and gave her a lopsided smile.

‘Alright then! I will come early.’

‘That’s like my man!’

They locked eyes with each other for an extended moment and continued eating. His mind was enveloped in the soothing warmth of her words. There was an unusual calm which filled him. Out of the blue, his last argument with her swept over his mind.

‘What life are you talking about? We don’t have time for each other! When was the last time that we shared a peaceful dinner? There is nothing that holds us together anymore. It is over!’

He froze thinking about their future…

                                             To be continued...