Chapter 5

RR through my eyes (Chapter 5)
Rohit was not quite happy with the way things went in the drawing room of the haveli. After Rudra formed a human chain with Myrah and him he had expected Rudra to blurt out something. Anything to confirm Rohit's doubts. But no. Rohit had tried to push him further - goading Rudra to leave Myrah's hand. And then he could hardly see what followed as it happened in the flash of a second. Myrah was pulled behind Rudra and Rudra himself was standing in front of Rohit. Towering over him - glaring at  Rohit. Daring Rohit as to what he will do if Rudra does not leave Myrah's hand. Rohit saw it then. The possessiveness. The ownership. The seal of belonging and protectiveness. But Rohit had wanted some verbal confirmation. Which did not happen. Myrah came in between and was visibly upset and shaken by the drama which immediately changed Rudra's stand. He let go. And asked her to take the decision. And when she made the decision to not go shopping and went back to her room (with Rohit) Rudra did what he could under the circumstances. Damage control. Got the sareewala home and apologised to Rohit. Well , sort of.
 
Rohit had known Myrah since their first day in the nursery. Had met her almost every week at least - even after they started going to different universities. Till her accident seven years back in India. Both the families and a few of their relatives including Myrah Uncle were on a Rajasthan trip. Myrah used to be a fab photographer. One of her passions had been to tour the world and to capture the moments where she felt connected. And she had been doing the same that fateful day as well. During these photo sessions nobody could reach her through phone. She was immersed in the beauty in front of her eyes, in the lights and shadows and angles and ranges that time stood still. And that day none of them could reach her for more than 24 hours. And nobody felt anything suspicious because Myrah was that kind of a person. After 56 hours they got a call from the hospital about her having met with an accident and that she was in the ICU. She was in a coma for days.
 
The accident changed her a lot. To start with she lost her speech. Fortunately it was only for a year. Once she was out of the coma she was flown to America and treated by the best doctors that money could buy. She could hear but not talk. Funnily enough she responded only to family. And not to the hospital staff or the doctors. He had attributed this to Myrah's defiance of authority. But something happened which made him wonder whether this was the reason.
 
After two months of being in the hospital, Myrah was assigned an Indian born nurse. Somehow Myrah connected with her. Started listening to her and slowly but steadily the family members and friends were relieved that they could leave Myrah with the nurse in case of emergency rather than taking turns to be with Myrah.  Rohit realized from his discussions with the nurse that Myrah used to respond only to Hindi. He tested out this himself and found that the accident has somehow caused her to forget English altogether. He added that to the long list of other changes in Myrah which were not explained. Like her sudden aversion to milk. Her shyness in changing her dress in front of male doctors or even her own father. And her dislike of western clothes. Or rather preference of Indian dresses. The only thing which was Indian about Myrah before the accident was her long tresses. But it seems she has become more Indianized after the trauma.
 
After five months the doctors gave Myrah permission to shift to her home. And the family hired the same Indian nurse. And just like that - one day after almost a year from the day of accident - Myrah started talking. She had no memories of her life before. And her parents tried their best to recreate her memory through photos, videos, anecdotes about her life and through Myrah's own selfies and video messages. She had forgotten all about photography and one of the leading photographers offered to help out through training. But Myrah could never go back to the original creative style.
 
She had recurring nightmares. And recurring headaches. None of the doctors could find any physical problem with her. And thus began her counseling sessions. They helped quite a lot. Myrah who had become very quiet and reserved during that year slowly started being happy and cheerful. Maybe the counseling was too good as the arrogance and defiance which were hallmarks of Myrah 1.0 ( that is how Rohit used to refer to her in front of his parents not hers !!) were absent in the new Myrah. And just like a true friend he saw her through her troublesome time and also all the later years. Following the counselor's advice to the dot by never putting pressure on her to remember her past. Tried his best to keep her happy all the time. Be her pillar of support. Shielding her from all the unwanted prying eyes and questioning people.
 
(To be continued ...)