Arjun cast an impressive glance around her apartment. The decor was tasteful and he smiled appreciatively. Initially, when he was informed of his impending stay with Riya, he had felt a thrill of sorts, along with a nagging curiosity. After all he was a man with no memories. But arriving here fifteen minutes earlier, he had felt an odd sense of familiarity. He didn't feel as incongruous as he expected to be. Rather it felt like he had been here dozens of times already.
Sinking comfortably into the plush settee, he scanned the area once again- this time thoroughly. The room where he was sitting was undoubtedly the drawing place. The walls around him were colored a calming shade of blue, spattered here and there with pictures of her and what he assumed to be her family and friends. Everything was impeccably arranged in the room. The couch with which he had acquainted himself, was flanked with two arm chairs on either side of it, surrounding the coffee table. The sofa set was peach in color, the fabric soft. The coffee table on the other hand, was of glass and covered with an embroidered drapery. There was a narrow, long, mahogany table too at the far side of the room, on top of which an intricately designed vase with lilies stood along with a small clock. The rest of the room boasted of a television on top of a walnut colored console and a DVD player on the bottom shelf, an ottoman on the other side of the room and a teak wood rack dedicated to books, CDs and Music Player behind him. Indeed, Riya's drawing place radiated a kind of opulence and of course her refined taste.
He gave a cursory glance to the room once more before the woman in question entered the living room with two cups. She sat beside him and placed both the cups on the table. She faced him once that was done and biting her lower lip, ventured, "Does anything strike you?"
Arjun shook his head, observing the way she heaved a sigh.
"But, I feel like I have come here before."
Nodding and pursing her lips, she gave him a stiff smile at his sincere response and then, handed him the cup of steaming tea.
"It's your favorite cutting chai, sir."
Arjun looked from the hot liquid to Riya, his eyes regarding the latter thoughtfully before prying the cup from her fingers and giving a tentative sip.
"Mmh... it tastes wonderful."
She smiled again, this time less forcefully and bringing her own cup of coffee to her lips, gulped the scorching liquid.
The room fell into a companionable silence, the sound of sipping their respective beverages punctuating the erstwhile silence. Just when the silence seemed too palpable, Arjun spoke up, "Either you earn a lump sum money working for the ETF or you come from a strong financial background. I think, it's the latter but I can be wrong." He shifted his body to face her entirely and regarded her with the same thoughtful expression.
She sighed. "You are right. I do come from a good financial background as you so eloquently put. My father is a business tycoon and my mother is his business partner... But how did you-
Arjun sweeped his uninjured hand in front of him.
"Oh yes. I am sorry." She gave him another one of her smiles.
"Tell me something about you Riya."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Riya choked on her coffee and stared at Arjun, gobsmacked. Arjun had never wanted to know anything about her before. Never.
"What?"
"Well, if I ask you anything about myself, you won't answer. So tell me something about you."
"I... uh... don't... what... what do you want to know about me?" She finally managed.
"Let's start with your family. Tell me about them."
Riya dropped her gaze, her hands forming a knot in front of her. Her family. Well, she didn't really have a family, did she? She just had an all the time busy dad and a complaining mom. She did not have a family, per se.
Still, she replied, "Well, as I said my father is a businessman. His name is Prasenjit Mukherjee and my mother's name is Barnali Mukherjee. I am their only daughter."
Arjun nodded his head, beckoning her to continue.
"Presently, they are staying in London. Well, our ancestral home is in Kolkata, where my relatives live. But we don't talk to them anymore, so it's a moot point really."
One beat later. "You miss them, don't you?"
She snorted at the naivety of the question and replied, "What's there to miss? I never had 'parents' in the first place. No. I don't miss them. And I am sure they don't miss me either."
"That's not true. I am sure they miss you. How can they not?"
Riya placed her coffee cup on the table and glanced surreptitiously at the man sitting beside her. The prospect of Arjun offering her words of comfort was almost laughable. And yet here they were. Sitting together, on her couch, and discussing about her bloody life, like it was the most natural thing ever. Granted this was not really Arjun, at least not the Arjun she knew. This man, this man was someone else. An entirely different individual.
"Have you ever thought what would happen once you get your memories back. What if your past self regrets the actions of the present self, hm? Have you ever thought about that?"
He mulled over the question for a minute, before opening his mouth, "The question here is 'if' I get the memories back. What if i don't? Worrying about my future will cause harm to both my past and my present self. So, I would rather enjoy the present then get my pants in a twist, don't you think?"
Almost instantly, a mellifluous laugh left her throat. She attempted to stifle it but it was in vain as her shoulders jerked with mirth and she fell back onto the couch. Who knew Arjun Suryakant Raute could be funny as well?
Arjun simply beamed at her.
It was another normal day.
Really.
~.~
Too short, right? I know I was disappointed too. But I guess, this was sort of filler chapter before more important things begin. So, yeah.
If anyone's out there, reading it, please drop a comment. So, that my muse comes back chop-chop.
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