Banim Boys Part 3

Around midnight Shalini woke up with fear. She thought she had arrived in an unfamiliar place, the bed she  was not hers; it did not feel like hers. She was alone and the room wasn’t lit. After few minutes of searching, she found the switch for the light, the room was bigger than she thought, a king size bed and some furniture. The tapestry and the bed linin were made of a rich material; it was indeed an elaborate room. ‘Where am I?’ she asked herself.

Confused, she decided to get out of the room. She walked through the hall; she heard no one and saw no one. ‘Place looks familiar’ she recalled but nothing concrete struck her, she was marvelled at the pictures that were hung on the wall. But only one caught her eye the most, it was portrait of a lady, young and beautiful.

‘She was our Aunt’ said a deep voice from behind. Fear crept down Shalini’s spine

‘Who are you?’ she asked. Ajay gave her an incredulous look.

‘Shalini? It’s me Ajay, we met earlier this morning’ 

‘Who are you and where am I?’ she asked again.

‘Oh not again, SHALINI REMEMBER ME? AJAY! WE MET NEAR THE TREE’ he shouted in disbelief.

‘Who is there in the hall?’ said Aryan in a sleepy tone and entered from Ajay’s side.

‘Ajay what are you doing here alone with Shalini?’ he questioned.

‘Who are you both and where am I? How do you know me’ cried Shalini. Her body started to tremble, she tried to hold the wall for support.

‘What’s happening?’ Aryan said dubiously.

‘Wait Aryan. Shalini calm down! its Ajay, we met near the tree I gave you lift to my home, you forget things easily’, Ajay tried his best to make her recall thing.

‘Forget things easily, when did this happen’ snickered Aryan ‘Shut up will you!’ Ajay shouted at Aryan and stood tight lipped.

‘I want to go, I want to get out!’ and within no time, Shalini started shouting and screaming. Ajay was trying to calm her down; Aryan still couldn’t possibly say what was happening. It took no time and the whole house assembled in the hall

‘What is this happening? Ajay and Aryan what are you doing and why is this girl crying and howling? What did the two of you do to her?’ said their grandfather in a stern voice. The man was on a wheelchair but the impact of his voice hadn’t faded away.

‘Let me go! Who are you all, I want to go home!’ shouted Shalini. Geeta and Sarika Shiradkar, the only present ladies out there tried to calm Shalini, they wiped her face and told her to calm down. Shalini controlled herself. Her face expression changed, all the anxiousness and worry faded instantly. Soon she recognized all the faces around her.

‘Why are you all here? And why are you two holding me?’ she looked at the two women. 

Everybody literally had their jaws dropping. Ajay decided to speak first

‘Shalini, it is me Ajay! Do you remember?’

‘Of course I remember you, why are you asking me this? And what are we all doing in the hall? In fact I was in the guest room’ she said innocently.

‘So you don’t remember a thing girl, nothing of what happened in the last fifteen minutes’ asked Mr Shiradkar

‘No, what happened? Did I do anything?’

‘You seriously don’t remember do you?’ asked Aryan dumbstruck

 ‘Everyone back to your rooms, we will deal with this tomorrow. Sarika escort this girl to the guest room’ said Mr Shiradkar.

  ***

The next day, Mr Shiradkar asked Aryan to take Shalini to their family doctor.

‘It’s a case of Dementia, sometimes people forget who they were but recollect their memories later. Like you said, she remembered and forgot’ the doctor explained

‘But is there a solution?’ Aryan asked

‘Yes there are medicines that I can prescribe her, but you know what they say time is the best healer’

‘How long will it take?’

‘That I will have check once her reports come, I think not much’

‘Does she remember anything of last night?’

‘Yes, when I examined her she could recollect of what happened at night and she was very sorry for it. You see her brain has forgotten the major part of her life, she doesn’t know from where she was or how she grew up but the other better half is trying to contain the memories’

‘Can that forgotten memory be gained?’

‘We shall wait Mr Shiradkar, like she remembered her name again I think she should remember everything too. Until then I think I would advise you to take care for her, leaving her alone wouldn’t do much good’

Meanwhile, Ajay and Armaan had gone to the police station.

 ‘So she doesn’t remember anything?’ asked the police officer

‘No Sir, just her name and we are not even sure if that’s her real name’ replied Ajay

‘Hmm…Any identity card or receipt that gives us any idea of who she is’

‘No, but I found a bill dated two months back in Sahibapuri’

‘Sahibapuri? Well that’s a start, do you have her photo for verification purposes’

‘No, but I can get it to you as soon as possible’

***

Days passed, the police didn’t find anything on the amnesiac, Shalini. But her health improved since the day she started taking her prescribed medicines. She did her best to remember her past life but failed most of the times. Being with the Banims enhanced her memory, in fact over the period Sarika Shiradkar, Ajay and Aryan’s mother became quite fond of her. Shalini just didn’t rule her heart; the family patriarch, Mr Shiradkar secretly favored her too.

‘Gopal I really wish to see this girl as my granddaughter in law. There is something about her that reminds me of my daughter, her eyes and her smile’ said the old man to his friend. Geeta Shiradkar who had eavesdropped Mr Shiradkar’s conversation gathered the perfect plan for her son’s win.

‘Armaan! Armaan!’

‘What Ma?’

‘You just keeping eating food and your brothers will take over the entire empire’ she said with the non-motherly approach.

‘Huh?’

‘Okay do you like that girl Shalini?’

‘Maa?!’

‘Look your grandfather is smitten by her, try to get her to like you and the chairman seat is all yours!’

‘But how?’ asked Armaan. And the mother started to conspire for his son's victory.