“Arey Vrinda! Such a pleasant surprise, come in!” welcomed Sucheta Agarwal, moving aside to allow her sons’ best friend to walk inside.

“Good evening, Aunty! How are you? Why didn’t you come for the party last week? I missed you dearly,” complained Vrinda, enveloping Sucheta into a bear hug which the elder woman reciprocated affectionately.

“I had to go to Kolkata for a presentation, Vrinda. That’s why I could not attend but I hoped that my sons could make up for my absence,” joked Sucheta, pulling her to the modest couch in the living room as she took the seat beside her.

“Bhai had tried his best to give me company in that boring party but your other son, Aunty, he was busy talking to every girl in the party and enjoying their attention,” replied Vrinda, a slight frown forming on her face as she reminisced the happenings of the evening.

Before Sucheta could reply, her elder son, Daksh Agarwal had made his entry with a question,

“Hey Vrinda! What brings you here today?”

Looking at his playful smirk, Vrinda was sure that he was trying to tease her but she was not going to give the reaction he expected of her.

“Vivaan and I are partners for our final project for the year, so I thought I will discuss with him,” she answered.

“Looks like your college is giving way too many projects nowadays!” remarked Daksh, teasingly, much to her annoyance as she could feel the blush rise up her flaring cheeks.

But Vrinda Chaturvedi was not the one to back down, she knew how to give it back.

“Aunty, I think you should plan for trip to Karnataka sometime. There are such amazing architecture wonders, hill stations and what not. Also, there’s River Kaveri, which Bhai might like a lot,” suggested Vrinda, cocking an eyebrow at Daksh, whose eyes turned into saucers at Vrinda’s open teasing to which his mother could hardly conceal her smile.

“Don’t you think you are getting late to work on your project?” questioned Daksh, trying to distance his mother from his friend before she spills every secret of his, in the name of revenge.

Giving a lopsided grin to Daksh, Vrinda stood up to make her way towards the destination that had brought her to them in the first place.

“How many times do I tell you to not tease me in front of Maa, Vrinda?” complained Daksh in a soft voice as he followed her in the facade of guiding her, despite of her reminding him that she almost grew up in the same house.

“You were the one who started it, Bhai, so I thought why should you have all the fun?” replied Vrinda with a smirk as she pushed open the door separating the two lovers.

“Enjoy your time, although I know you will hardly work upon anything,” said Daksh, pulling her leg once again.

“AUNTY!”

“Shh! Sorry! I won’t tease you!” pleaded Daksh, holding his ears in a gesture of seeking apology from her.

“Yes, Beta?” shouted Sucheta as she worked in the kitchen.

“Can I have some of the Pedha you served last time? I loved it!” answered Vrinda, her lips pulling themselves to a side as they formed a victorious smirk.

“Sure, Beta. DAKSH!”

With the smirk still playing on her lips, Vrinda showed her hand towards the kitchen as Daksh playfully hit her head after ruffling her hair affectionately, much to her annoyance, and staged a walkout.

Giggling, Vrinda turned around and walked into the room belonging to the one to whom her heart belonged, only to find it empty. She eyed towards the balcony, placing her bag on the bed, to find it locked from inside and then turned towards the washroom to hear any signs of his presence in it.

“Searching for someone?”

His whisper made a shiver ran across her spine and a smile adorned her lips as she turned around to face her love.

“Yes, I was searching for someone who never leaves a chance of teasing me and annoying me. Yet, I cannot help but enjoy the same,” she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck as his hands went around her waist, quickly pulling her into an all-consuming embrace.

They had enjoyed the solace of each others’ arms thousands of times since their childhood but they had never managed to comprehend the way it continues to shower its magic over them, making them await for the next, the minute they part, and filling their soul like the ambrosia of the Heavens, erasing every pain and angst of theirs.

“If I don’t tease you, whom else will I tease? After all, if I even talk to some girl, you make sure to terrorize her by telling things like I am going to make her do my projects and I am going to flirt with every girl in front of her. I am left with no choice but you,” complained Vivaan, pulling out of the embrace, despite his heart protesting against it and his soul yearning for more of her essence.

“So you are telling me that I am your last choice?” questioned Vrinda, with a pout which was threatening to make Vivaan’s facade fall apart.

Vivaan did not utter a word but answered her question by chuckling, to which Vrinda folded her arms to her chest and turned around, only to look at their photo together hanging on the wall opposite his bed, so that their happy moments could be the first thing he sees in the morning every day.

Vivaan wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her to himself, with her back resting on his chest and his chin resting on her shoulder.

“I think it’s only fair that you occupy every bit of my wish-list - be it the first position or the last - when you occupy the whole of my heart, Vrinda. So yes, you are my last choice, first one and the only choice of mine for myself,” he said, the streaks of love resonating in his husky tone, making an adorable blush dance over her cheeks.

“You think I took your words seriously, Mr. Agarwal? I was just giving momentary pleasure to you by allowing you to think that you succeeded in that lame idea of yours to make me jealous,” she giggled, wrapping her arms over his as she rested her head backwards over his shoulders.

“Oh really? You are so considerate of my pleasure, sweetheart, so I think you must be knowing which other pleasure I might be interested in, especially concerning you,” he prompted, drawing lazy circles on her waist as he nuzzled her nape passionately.

“Before this discussion on pleasure proceeds any further,” interrupted Daksh, walking in with a plate of pleasantries and the Pedha demanded by Vrinda, “..let me complete the task assigned to me.”

Vrinda and Vivaan jumped apart but while still holding hands, as Daksh forwarded the plate with a smirk twisting his mouth to a side.

“Just a request, I would like to become Jeth to Vrinda before becoming Tauji but enjoy!” laughed Daksh, closing the door behind him as the pair in question could not help but feel embarrassed to be caught in an intimate position.

“Let’s get started with the project or we will never finish it! The submission is hardly two days away!” instructed Vrinda, picking her bag up and zipping it open to use the contents for the project.

“Your wish is my command, Madam!”

“She started asking me questions when I went to feed her today, Vivaan. Who is she, who are we and why doesn’t she remember anything. She was bound to do that someday. She lost her memory but has her wit intact, strangely enough. After all, how long can anyone stay sane with no knowledge of themselves and their past?” said Sucheta, her tone reflecting her confusion and pain at the situation.

Vivaan, her son, could not help but submit himself to the wave of guilt which hit his conscience. She was the love of his life, his best friend since childhood and his partner-in-crime. It hurt him much more than his tears would ever reveal to find himself erased from her heart, along with every memory of hers.

He knew that he had to make a choice, whether to tell her the entire truth of her life, while losing her once again or be truthful to her, upholding his love to her. He took a deep breath as he chose the mode of action, allowing his heart to win over his brain, for the first time in his life.

“Let us tell her everything, Maa. Let us share whatever memories we have with her so that she does not feel incomplete or troubled by questions. Let her take her decision after listening to our side but she deserves to know,” replied Vivaan, eying a picture of them together, captured while they were heartily smiling at one another after winning one of the multiple awards they have won together.

“Are you sure that you want to do this? The heart, which used to beat for you once upon a time, will break if she learns this and the eyes, which held love at the very mention of you, will turn into ambers of hatred. Do you think that she can take this, Vivaan?” questioned Sucheta, eying her son lost in the bittersweet memories; those which were ruthlessly snatched from her.

“I don’t think I can take it if I don’t reinstate her trust upon me, Maa. A part of me wants to exploit this chance to win her over again since her heart and mind is a blank slate now but I don’t think I will be able to live with the fact that I betrayed her, once again,” he exclaimed, tears running down his eyes as he reminisced the previous time he had broken her trust and which unfortunately was the last meet with the girl he had known and loved.

“Think once again, Vivaan. It seems very right to reveal every bit of her past to her, but can you live through the hate which you tried to escape from?” she asked, placing her hand over his shoulder affectionately.

“I think Vivaan is right, Maa. Maybe this is the chance to explain the whole situation from his perspective and to erase his guilt,” pointed Daksh Agarwal, the elder brother of Vivaan, as he walked in after carefully listening to the conversation.

“So be it. We will all share our memories with her,” accepted Sucheta, sighing deeply as she let out a prayer that the tumultuous situation ends well for everyone.

“But please don’t tell her that I am Vivaan. Make up a character, do anything, but don’t reveal that I am the Vivaan in the memories,” pleaded Vivaan, turning around to face his family.

“But why? Don’t you like the idea of her warming up to you once again?” demanded Daksh, his face revealing his confusion clearly.

“I don’t want to see disappointment in her eyes for me once again, Bhai. She will consider me to be her friend and her expectations would rise but the day she hears of that day, she will hate me. I don’t have the strength to see the flicker of pain and disappointment in her eyes once again towards me. I can tolerate her hatred, and bear every punishment of hers but not the pain,” he revealed, his voice shaking and his tone revealing his inner turmoil.

Daksh and Sucheta looked at one another before nodding at him slightly and staging a walkout to leave him with his memories. Vivaan turned around to look at their pictures once again as painful smile adorned his lips.

“I hope you realize this time that I have always loved you and I will be forever yours, Vrinda.”

“Vrinda Chaturvedi...”

The pale lady, dressed in simple and comfortable clothes, repeated after Sucheta as she looked at the picture of herself and her family in the album, hoping for some sense of familiarity strike her but it was of no avail. She just felt blank and lost despite scrutinizing the family photo with every bit of her consciousness in a hope of igniting her mind.

“He was your father,” said Sucheta as she pointed to the man with kind eyes who held himself in a prideful posture, “Bhanuprakash Chaturvedi.”

“Bhanuprakash Chaturvedi..” Vrinda repeated after her once again, in a futile attempt to rouse some memory of the man who was her father. But the only solace was the warmth which spread through her as she continued looking at him.

“And she was your mother, Sandhya Chaturvedi nee Trivedi.”

The woman in the pictured was a simple and docile looking lady whose smile emanated love and affection. Vrinda could feel the warmth coursing through her heart increase despite not able to recall anything about the woman, whom she was sure, loved her dearly and she loved her the same if not more.

“You used to call them Paa and Maa. Your father began one of the most successful companies of Uttar Pradesh - DioTech, based on DNA structuring and biotechnology, being a molecular biologist himself. The company produces a major part of the technology used in hospitals, medicolegal setups and labs along with their own lab which is one of the main centers of DNA Fingerprinting in the country. Your mother chose to be homemaker, despite a sound knowledge in finance,” explained Sucheta, showing the data related to DioTech and a few more pictures of her family.

Vrinda found herself proud after listening to her father’s achievements and her mother being a homemaker did not shock her since her smile was unadulterated and her eyes held so much of love which, despite losing her memory, Vrinda felt that she could have lost if she had worked in the corporate world.

“Am I the only child?” questioned Vrinda, hoping that she had some family left in the world.

To avoid the repercussions of the revelation, Sucheta decided to divulge the truth about the death of her parents while Vrinda was still in the hospital when she had fervently questioned about Sucheta’s identity and demanded an explanation for the delay in rescuing her, from what she described to be the hell descended onto earth.

“Yes, you are. Sir and Didi had many siblings themselves and they saw their parents struggling to balance between their kids and they thought that they were not capable of balancing in the way their parents did and they decided to have just one child. Quite luckily for them, they wanted a daughter and God decided to bless them with you,” answered Sucheta, reminiscing the jubilation dancing on her parents faces at the time of her birth.

“And my name? I heard the nurses speaking that my name is not a very common name. Why Vrinda?” the lost lady asked, wondering if there could be any special story behind her naming.

“You were supposed to be Radha Chaturvedi. According to astrology, you should be addressed with name beginning with ‘ra’ and your mother had chosen Radha but your father had a different wish. He never believed in these superstitions and hence quashed the restriction. More than the superstition, I guess, it was the meaning of the name which mattered to him. He wanted his daughter to be known for purity like Vrinda, which is another name for Tulasi, rather than Radha which is the name of eternal lover of Krishna. He had heard of so many failed love marriages, humiliated parents and cheated spouses that he despised the idea of falling in love and hence everything associated with it,” Sucheta explained, the happenings of the naming ceremony playing on the canvas of her mind.

She always found it slightly irritating that he publicly rejected the name chosen by his wife because Radha was the epitome of love, forgetting that she is a Goddess and it was love that kept the world going.

Vrinda could not understand the psyche of her late father. It was true that he had the right to decide the name of his daughter but not believing superstitions yet believing that name can hold so much value felt contradicting to her.

“How was I as a child? Fast learner or slow?”

--FLASHBACK--

“I don’t know what is wrong with Vrinda, Sucheta. She is almost fifteen months old and she still has not taken her first step. I am worried if there is any problem with her. Our family doctor, Ayush Ji, said that she just does not have the will to walk and there is no physical disability. I wonder when she will take her first step,” exclaimed Sandhya, as she flipped through the book about children and walking to find any solution to her daughter’s problem.

“Relax, Didi. I am sure she will start walking anyday. If there is no developmental anomaly, then it is just a matter of time that she will start walking. Maybe, she is waiting to surprise you,” consoled Sucheta, placing her palm over Sandhya’s shoulder affectionately in an assuring gesture.

“MALKIN! Beti Ji Chalne Lag Gayi Hai!” shouted the nanny, making Sucheta and Sandhya jump from their seats and run to the play area where their kids were playing to witness a beautiful sight playing out infront of them.

Vivaan had just started to walk and Sucheta could only guess that seeing someone of her age walk in front of her compelled Vrinda to stand up and begin walking but the beauty lied in the way their tiny palms were intertwined and it appeared that the two kids supported each other, making their way to their mothers.

Sucheta smiled warmly at the kids before looking at Sandhya, whose happiness knew no bounds, in a loving way. Sandhya had helped her greatly after the birth of Vivaan despite giving birth few weeks before her and it gave Sucheta great pleasure to see her son helping her friend’s daughter.

Although they had begun walking, they could not walk for a long distance. Vrinda was the first one to land on the ground while her weight pulled Vivaan down due to their joined hands, making their mothers run to their rescue once again.

--FLASHBACK ENDS--

“Vivaan? Who is he?” questioned Vrinda, the mere utterance of his name making a shiver run across her spine in the most tantalizing manner.

Sucehta knew that the question would be coming and she vested hours wondering what could she answer in reply to the question.

“My son and your bestfriend - Vivaan Agarwal.”