"Love can never die. It fades, it withers, but it still lingers, somewhere in the conscious or unconscious. Love leaves a mark on the soul always, be it a happy memory or a wound."

🖤🖤🖤

"Maa, I'll see later, okay?" Rik ended the call abruptly and slammed the phone on his bed. It skidded off almost to the edge, stopping there.

The ping of WhatsApp messages was heard. Definitely it was his mother forwarding him pictures of girls his relatives had gathered for him. Rik absolutely hated nosey relatives poking unnecessarily into his life. As soon as he had landed a job as a junior doctor at a local hospital, the relatives were behind him like bloodhounds for marriage. He failed to make them understand that he wasn't ready at all.

His small bedroom was suddenly feeling stuffy. He paced to the window and threw it open. It was then that he heard a commotion in the streets below. Quiet by nature, normally he wouldn't bother at these little things, but little snippets of conversations caught his ears.

Something was wrong with a girl. The inner hero in him gave a little nudge. He slipped on his worn-out slippers and swiftly came downstairs.

A cluster of people was gathered at the gate of their apartment. He recognized a few neighbours standing there with grim faces.

"What happened, uncle?" he asked one of them.

The man just gestured towards the front. Rik elbowed his way through the crowd, all the way to the front, and stopped short. A girl was lying face down on the concrete road. Rik's medical brain immediately went into emergency mode. There was no sign of blood or any injury, but she seemed to be unconscious. He moved towards her swiftly and sank into his knees beside her. Then he located her carotid and felt for a pulse. Strong and bounding.

The crowd was still mumbling. No hint of anyone willing to help. And Rik lost his cool demeanour. "Someone is hurt here and you all have been standing here doing nothing?"

"Don't touch the body, young man. It's a police case," someone warned.

"I am a doctor," he said in a gruff tone. "Please don't crowd here. She needs air."

The crowd stepped back reluctantly. The ones behind jostled each other.

"Who dumped her here?" someone asked.

"We are a civilized society. What a calamity," another commented.

"Look if they did something to her..." A third voice trailed off ominously.

Rik drowned out the last of the comments as he gently turned her over. Her body was warm. It appeared almost as if she was sleeping.

"Definitely drugged." Someone offered an unwanted opinion again.

He opened her eyelids, whipped out his phone, and checked the pupils with his torch. They were reacting well. His cautious eyes roamed all over her. No sign of injuries. Dressed in casual denim and a red T-shirt, she looked like a normal girl. Rik's gaze rested on her face. She had a moon-shaped chubby face with little dimpled hands.

"She just fell unconscious somehow," Rik announced, much to the relief of the crowd. "And she wasn't injured," he added, glaring at the half-lit faces in the dark. A few made faces, apparently displeased that no drama happened.

"Help me carry her upstairs please," he begged one of the neighbours.

He raised one eyebrow and huffed. Rik felt awkward, taking a lone girl to his room when he was a bachelor himself. But his duty towards her and his concern for her safety was above everything.

🖤🖤🖤

I opened my eyes to the coarse ringing of an alarm clock. Was it morning already? I blinked slowly. Gentle sunlight was filtering through the blinds, making the dust motes dance in the air.

My mind was empty. I was lying on a small single cot in a room full of scattered stuff. Half of them were books, loads and loads of volumes, on the table, on the chair, books everywhere. Clothes were discarded everywhere too, men's clothes.

I sat up straighter. Where was I?

"Hey." A nervous voice sounded in the doorway.

A young man about my age stood there in a casual T-shirt and wide trousers, with his arms crossed over his chest. Neatly combed curly hair and clean shaved. He was sparkling as if he had just got out of a bath. A pair of thick glasses sat on his nose.

"Hi..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say. Everything felt so fuzzy.

"I'm Rik." He gave a bright smile, cute little dimples forming on his cheeks as he came closer to me, holding out his hands in a pacifying gesture as if I was a frightened animal, waiting to run.

"I am ..." I didn't know who I was. I shook my brain for a name, anything. But my memory met a blank wall.

"Sorry, I don't know..."

"I found you outside of the building yesterday," he said again. "Do you know how you came there?"

I racked my brain again. The blank wall slammed down on me.

I shook my head silently. It was frustrating to not remember anything.

"Amnesia," he muttered.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"It means you are having a memory loss, both recent and remote."

"Oh..." I didn't understand what predicament I had landed myself in and how I would get out.

"Global amnesia," he mumbled absentmindedly, taking up my hand.

I drew back suddenly, breaking free from his grip.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am" he jumped back. "You see, I need to check your pulse."

"Then first ask permission," I quipped, reluctantly handing him my wrist. His brows frowned in concentration. I didn't know who this guy was, but somehow he felt like my only hope at that moment, and he felt safe.

"As good as new." He grinned again. The smile was a permanent ornament on his face now.

"What should I call you?" he mused, pursing his lips.

I shrugged. He stared at me for a brief second. His dark eyes framed by big luscious lashes looked beautiful. He brushed aside a lone strand of hair from my face.

"You're so pretty," he said suddenly. "Can I call you Rup?"

I shrugged again. He could call me anything he wanted till I recalled my real name.

"Do you want to stay here or you want to go home?" he inquired suddenly.

"If I don't remember my name, it's obvious that I don't recall my address too," I sighed.

"Then will you stay with me, Rup?" he asked slowly.

"Only if you allow me to clean this mess up." I gestured to the room. If I was going to stay here, the least I could do was help him organize his stuff.

"Thanks, Rup." He flashed me a million-dollar smile. He looked like he wanted to kiss me right then and there, but was holding back with loads of self-control. I felt blood rush to my cheeks too.

"Thank you for saving me, Rik," I breathed.

"Doctor Rik," he said cheerfully.

Something moved behind him. My eyes shot up suddenly at the movement, but it was gone.

The doors closed shut forcefully, without any wind whatsoever. An ancient song seemed to wail from a distance in the tone of lament. It didn't feel unwelcome. Rather it was a language familiar to me, just I didn't know how. A cold draft suddenly blew my hair, kissing my cheeks, and then it was gone. The room was back to warm again.

"Did you feel that?" I asked Rik.

"Feel what?"

"Feels like my home is calling," I whispered.

🖤🖤🖤

Author's Note : So, here it ends.
Good news, there might be a sequel.
Do you all want one?

Thank you to all that stayed with me till the end.

What did you think of this story?
Where do I need to improve?