Shanaya saw the house was empty and looked here and there in the house, her gaze went on the couch. She saw Tia struggling as Daksh had strong grip on her wrists. ‘What to do? How to save her? Yes, he might be thinking I m dead, so I should go inside while their gaze isn’t on me, I will scare him as a ghost,’ she spoke to herself and hid behind the curtain. She threw the vase near Daksh and he got startled. She hid again. He looked around but found no one. She again came out and saw the switchboard near curtains.

She switched the lights on and off to distract him. ‘Who the hell is it?’, he shouted and she again hid but kept on doing it. ‘Dakshhh,’ she said and he turned around to see who it was but all in vain. Shanaya crawled towards him as he turned towards Tia, he was on the floor. She put her hands on his eyes suddenly and he got scared. ‘Who’s it?’, he asked and left Tia. She laughed in a ghostly style. ‘Mallika,’ she whispered and he jerked her hands away and she again hid behind the glass table.
He ran upstairs to his room and closed the door of his room and locked it. ‘Mallika? How’s it possible?’, he thought and hid under the bedsheet. Shanaya stood up from her hiding and went to Tia who was laying on the couch trembling. ‘Tia, get up and tell what was he doing with you?’ she asked making her sit up and calming her. ‘He was raping me, but thank God you came, else..,’ her voice trailed off. Shanaya held her shoulders and smiled at her. ‘Nothing happened right? I came, but you should’ve fought back,’ Shanaya said.

‘Only if I was the stronger one, anyways you tell. You met with an accident and your whole face got ruined, then how come you became fine so early?’ Tia asked with a questioning look on her face. ‘That wasn’t me but Mallika,’ Shanaya confessed holding her hand and Tia creased her eyebrows in confusion. ‘That was Mallika? Please get real, you are Mallika, if it is some dumb joke then please just end it, please,’ Tia said with a quiver in her voice. ‘That was Mallika and I am Shanaya her twin sister,’ Shanaya said in a go and Tia gasped.
Mallika woke up and looked at her surroundings. ‘Where am I? And this room is so empty? Why?’ she said softly holding her head and pushed the duvet off her body and stood up placing her feet on the tile floor. Pain triggered her back and her head throbbed. She moaned softly and leaned to the wall near the bed. It took a little time to adjust to the light and the pain in her back. She took baby steps towards the wooden table and reached her hand towards the jug and grabbed the handle, her hands trembled a little.

She poured the water in the glass and drunk it in one gulp taking a deep breathe. Her gaze went on the guitar on the couch. Unknowingly she walked towards it and sat beside it touching it softly. She caressed it taking it in her arms. A cheery laughter of her and Karan rang in her ears and she felt nostalgic. Although she had a memory loss, she still felt that attachment with her husband. With the sudden nostalgia, she started playing the guitar, she played a familiar tune, the tune she heard continuously in her ears.
Karan came there as he heard the tune.
Tum bhi tanha thay
Hum bhi tanha thay
Milke rone lage (x2)
Ek jaise thay dono ke gham daga hone lage
Tujhme muskurate hain
Tujhme gungunaate hain
Khud ko tere paas hi chhod aate hain
Tere hi khayalon mein
Doobe doobe jaate hain
Khud ko tere paas hi chhod aate hain
Thode bhare hain hum, thode se khaali hain
Tum bhi ho uljhe se, hum bhi sawaali hain
Kuch tum bhi kore ho, kuch hum bhi saare hain
Ik aasmaan par hum do chaand aadhe hain
Kam hai zameen bhi thodi, Kam aasmaan hai
Lagta adhoora, tum bin har jahaan hai
Apni har kami me hum ab tujhe hi paate hain
Khud ko tere pass hi chhod aate hain
Jitni bhi viraani hai tujhse hi sajaate hain
Khud ko tere paas hi chhod aate hain
Do raaz milte hain, Humraaz bante hain
Sannate aise hi aawaaz bante hain
Khamoshi me teri, meri sadaayein hain
Meri hatheli me, teri duaayen hain
Ik saath tera ho toh sau manzile ho
Tanhaai teri, meri mehfile ho
Hum teri nigahon se khud me jhilmilate hain
Khud ko tere paas hi chhod aate hain
Tujhse apni raaton ko subah banate hain
Khud ko tere paas hi chhod aate hain
Karan clapped as she ended the song. She looked up at him, he stood at the entrance with a smile on his face, she kept the guitar aside and stood up immediately. ‘No no, you sit, please, don’t stand,’ he said coming to her, he held her shoulders and made her sit. ‘You sing really nice, well done, your name shouldn’t be Mallika but Sangeeta,’ he said and she felt this dialogue very familiar. She felt herself blushing and a smile forming on her face as he said that.

Shivaay and Anika reached the seaside and he was the first one to step out of the car. He went towards her side and forwarded his hand towards her and she happily placed her hand in his palm stepping down. She was no more in that ugly hospital gown, now she wore a shoulder off top and jeans. They held hands and walked on the wet sand enjoying as the cold breeze touched them. They stopped when they came at the coast. The waves kept coming and touched their feet while Anika held his hand even tighter than it was before.
Back in her childhood, they went to water park with their parents and Shivaay was chasing Anika as usual. She looked back at him while running and fell down in the deep pool going to the depth of the pool. Her hair rose up above her like a wild creature and she kept on forming bubbles in the water due to shortage of breathe. Though it was for some minutes, but she had a fear of drowning since then. ‘Ani, let’s go to the area where the water comes till our knees,’ he suggested. ‘But Shivaay,’ she began to say.
‘Trust me, nothing will happen,’ he said and she agreed and they stepped forward and kept on going till the water reached their knees. ‘I feel as if I m floating,’ she said smilingly. ‘Hmm, but if you feel like drowning, you can tell me,’ he replied smiling back at her. ‘Will you save me?’ she asked innocently. ‘No, I will drown with you,’ he said naughtily and started laughing. ‘I think you forgot that I m no more on my hospital bed but I m free of that drip, now you see,’ she replied angrily and bent down taking water in her hand and splashed at him.
‘O teri, ha ha ha! That wasn’t funny,’ he replied doing the same to her. They started having a water fight. ‘Shivaay its too much stop it,’ she said and entangled both her hands with his hands bending their elbows pushing him with full force while he started moving back out of the water laughingly and now he started pushing her back. She left his hands and started running on the sand with him chasing her and she fell on the sand with him on top of her. They had an eyelock.
O jaana
Khoya khoya rehta hai
Dil tadap ye kehta hai
Tu hai mere jeene ki wajah
O jaana