Arshi TS: Better Not Remember.

Nurse Gupta had been working at the Mercy Nursing Hospital for a year now.

It was a tiresome work, talking care of elderly people, but she didn't regret being a nurse. Not even for a second.

It was the only thing in the world she ever wanted to be. Because it was no different from what she had been doing all her life. First, helping her family financially, then, helping her husband emotionally. All her life, she had been helping one person or the other. So helping people was second nature to her. And hence, being a nurse felt like the most nature job for her in the world.

But the reason she chose being a nurse in an old citizen's nursing home, rather than a hospital, was different. Weird as her husband put it.

Strangely, it was with these elderly residents of the nursing home that she felt at peace with.

The moment she would step into Mercy every day and see them smiling at her, she would forget her own worries and could be happy that there are people who truly loved her.

These people had nothing to lie about. They were true and honest people. They didn't lie to you when you asked them how their day went, they wouldn't lie when they said that they were worried that she didn't look so well this morning, and they didn't lie when they smiled at her every morning, as if they just saw their most favorite person in the world, which, according to them, she was.

And that was enough to keep her going.

She loved them and they loved her.

And that was good enough for her.

So it was a big sacrifice on her part, when she had to temporarily replace the senior nurse Elizabeth, who had been working for a rich businessman's wife, for the last 10 years. Not only that she had to leave her people in Mercy, but had to shift to the countryside, because that was where the old couple lived.

And that part was not going well with her.

She had complained, reasoned, argued, but to no avail. She was bound by contract and she had to abide by it, otherwise, be declared as incompetent and have her rights to be a nurse, revoked.

So she shut up, left without kissing her husband goodbye, because they had an ugly fight over her new assignment, and took the first train to the end the earth, according to him.

She stepped into the big villa with a heavy heart. With a heavy bitter heart, more like it, she thought bitterly.

It had just been 24 hours since she came here and she was already missing her old patients. It's okay. You're here to help an old lady. You'll like it here. I'm sure you will. She tried to pep-talk to herself, but failed miserably.

And she knew why that was. Her husband!

She wanted to call him, but their last fight came back to her mind and she stubbornly refused to be the first one to call for cease-fire. Why did she always had to be the one to say sorry first. Why couldn't he take the initiative?

He was being unreasonable but wouldn't accept it. And that infuriated her.

His argument was that why the heck is the wife of a millionaire, working as a nurse? And more than that had to travel to the farthest part of the country to do her damned job?

Her argument was that declining his job meant that she could never be a nurse in any other place and if that if was she couldn't be a helper, then who the hell was she?

He had looked like he wanted to kill a person or too. And would have, if she hadn't left him alone and gone to bed.

It's better not to think about him now. He'll come around eventually. I hope he does. She couldn't resist hoping. Because despite everything that happened between them, he was all she had. And for that reason, she didn't like fighting with him. But this time, he was wrong and he had to accept it.

But in her heart, she knew he was right in his own place. She knew he hated when she had to stay back at Mercy during her night shifts, so going to another city for months was bound to infuriate him.

She sighed.

Trying to calm herself, she thought about the task ahead and that soured her mood even more.

Before coming here, she had heard how difficult that old retired man in his late 80s, who had asked for her, was. Everyone who had to work for his wife said that it was hell and he was the reason why.

When the news of her appointment became common knowledge in the nursing home, the nurses had come to console her. But behind their consolations, was joy. Everyone was secretly glad it wasn't them. That it was Nurse Gupta who had to face the wrath and the bitterness of that old businessman, instead of them.

No wonder I like my unpretentious patients!

But what soured her mood more than anything else was why her?

Why a filthy rich old man does wants me as a nurse when there are hundreds of others, better trained and better experienced.

She had heard whispers that maybe that old man had appointed her from himself, more than her wife, because she was young and beautiful. And that just didn't go well with her, because it was quite plausible. Because the last nurse he hired after judging 73 different nurses was Nurse Elizabeth.

And what she saw in her profile, she too had been beautiful and young when she was appointed 10 years ago.

What a pervert.

Trying not to think about this, she knocked at the entrance door and was ushered inside by a butler.

She did not know what she expected to see but this was defiantly not it. It was so light and airy, with flower vases, Turkish rugs, French windows, with beige curtains. The oak furniture was minimal but she could tell that it had cost a fortune.

It looked like the work of a woman and maybe that's why she was surprised. Not the kind of place she had expected an 80+ year old pervert to have. But what did she know? She had never encountered an 80+ year old pervert before.

Again, she tried to suppress her thoughts as she was made to follow the butler to the backyard and was introduced to the man she had been thinking about. And again she was surprised to see him.

Standing tall, without a hunch in his back, she could tell he was fit for his age. He had snow white hair and laugh-line around his eyes and mouth. He had grown snow white stubble that matched his hair, like he hadn't shaven for a few days. Looking at him, as he serenely worked on the garden humming something to himself, he looked young, almost 60 years old and from his aged features, she could tell that he must have been very handsome in his youth.

She suddenly heard someone politely clear their throat beside her. She turned and found the butler next to her, instructing her to wait will her new employer tended to his garden. Saying that, the butler left her alone with him.

Sighing, she found herself waiting for the next 10 minutes as he hummed and sheared his plants here and there. When she thought he had finished, she began to speak but he just walked past her, ignoring her completely. Baffled, she just stood rooted on her place, not knowing what to do. After a full 20 minutes, he came back, his clothes changed, insulting someone on the phone, but switching to a politer tone as he instructed the butler to get someone's breakfast ready, which he assumed was his wife.

After that, he finally acknowledged her presence as he beckoned for her to follow him. He took her to the end of the hallway, and without waiting for her, he went inside. She had been slowly following him, putting a respectable distance between them, suspicious of where he was taking her. But when she entered, she was amazed by the room. She had a decent library at her house, but this was a hundred times better than that.

Rows and rows of shelves filled with books, piled neatly cataloged according to the author's name, with comfortable sofas in the middle of the massive library. She suddenly felt at ease, surrounded by books, forgetting who she was alone in the room with.

When finally she realized where she was, she turned back and saw him looking at her with cold calculation. Remembering the words of the nurses, she straightened up and got to business.

"Good morning. I'm Nurse G-" She began to say in a business-like manner, but he didn't even let her finish the sentence.

Looking at her with annoyance, he said, "I know who you are. What do you think? That I appoint people to look after my wife without knowing who they are?" She could tell he found her attempt at introduction as a kind of insult, as if she thought of him as mindless fool who would just hand a matter like his wife's care to just anyone.

As if to prove her wrong, what he said next cleared to her that he was not at all a mindless fool.

Cocking his head to the said, with his hands folded on the study table, he said without blinking, all the while staring at her, "You're 27. Trained from one of the best Nursing schools in the country. Instead of opting for a hospital, you chose Mercy and have worked there, ever since you got your license. A very odd choice someone might say, but we both know better. Anyways, you married the love of your life at a very young age, after a lot of family problems, and till date, you have no kids. You like sweets and helping people makes you happy. But your husband is the complete opposite. Doesn't like sweets and is not known for his philanthropic work. He is a millionaire and is a big name in the fashion industry. Despite being married to a rich businessman, you wanted to be financially independent, so you continued your job, despite the fact that it almost caused you your marriage. And from what I last heard...it's still risking your marriage. So yes, I know all about you. Spare me the introduction." He said in a complete bored voice, but his eyes seemed to be piercing into her, judging her as she stared at him, stunned at the details he knew about her, especially about her married life and her recent fight with her husband.

After a calculative pause, he continued, "Anyways, like your Head at Mercy must have told you, you're here to temporarily replace the previous nurse who broke her hip. She obviously can't come and neither will I allow it until she is well, so in the meantime, you're here to fill her shoes." What shocked her now was the way he was speaking about Nurse Elizabeth. He spoke, completely devoid of emotions like he wasn't even upset that the nurse who served him for a decade couldn't even go to the bathroom herself.

Before she could facially express her displeasure at the him, she felt a change come over his face.

They were minute changes but they were changes no less.

His face softened and she could trace a subtle hint of a smile in his eyes. "Anyways, I am sure you must have read through my wife's medical history. But in case you didn't bother, I'll tell you myself"

And then, the softness she had detected first made itself evident. And so did the smile in his eyes.

"My wife is 79 years old. She is a two months shy of her 80^th birthday. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 10 years ago. Her condition slowly progressed and since the last 5 years, she can't remember anything. Who she is? Where she is? Nothing. So she needs help with the most basic of things. Now this is where you come in. Your only job is to make sure that there is someone to take her to the bathroom, to bathe her every day and to make sure she doesn't get agitated when I'm not around. That's it. You don't have to worry about anything else. Her medicines, her amusement, her rest, those are all my responsibilities."

The smile in his eyes that had become more and more pronounced as he spoke about his wife vanished, and it was now replaced by bitterness only. "However, there are very rare days that she wakes up in the morning remembers everything. And in those days, you are strictly forbidden to go to her. If she even shows the slightest indication that she is remembering something, leave the room and call me without even waiting for a second. Because if you do wait, you might as well kiss your profession goodbye."

Saying that, he ignored her once again, and made a call. The butler came running and placed the tray of food on the table carefully. Asking the butler to show her the way to his wife's room, he picked up the tray and handed it to her. As she took it from her, she heard him say, "Don't screw up. Or you'll regret it, Ms. Gupta. And trust me when I say that. I don't lie." She looked up at him, but just like before, he ignored her and turned away.

******

In the months that followed, her life completely changed.

Her relation with her husband seemed to have taken a downward turn.

When she realized that he was not going to call, she decided to call him herself, but every time they talked, they ended up fighting. And every fight was worse than the last one. Every night she would cry herself to sleep at the harsh things he had said to her and the things she had said in reply. And then the guilt would follow and the tears would increase their pace. She did not know what to do. He was refusing to cooperate and she was sick of the fighting. She wanted to stop fighting one way or the other. And she did not like either of the ways.

In these dark days of her personal life, the only thing she found that could lighten her mood was the old couple. And that was a surprise to her.

Sir, as the old businessman had told her to call him, to her relief, did not turn out to be a pervert, like she had believed.

On the contrary, he was least interested in her. He completely ignored her and she only existed when she had to take Ma'am to the bathroom, or when she had to give Ma'am a bath.

She found it surprising as why did he even have a nurse in the first place if he did most of Ma'am's work, like taking her for a walk in the garden, talking to her, amusing her, himself.

And why her? If he was not personally interested, like the nurses had her believe, why was she appointed?

And this baffled her to no end. Because she had no answer to that. If he didn't let me do my job completely, why am I here, at the expense of my marital life?

Because she, as a nurse felt odd standing at the corner, while he gave her tablets, checked her for temperature, her blood pressure, and asked how she was feeling...

But more than that, what baffled her the most was how he behaved with his wife. It was too unreal for her to believe it to be true. Because she had never seen a more caring husband before.

And soon, she found herself respecting sir. Though she didn't like the calculative way he looked at her, as if waiting for her to make a mistake, but she couldn't deny that he was a great husband.

Since Ma'am couldn't remember anything, he would humor her everyday. Sometimes, he would pretend he was Ma'am's father, sometimes her uncle, her cousin, her brother, her servant, her neighbor, her son, her friend, her doctor. But never her husband, oddly enough.

Ma'am would wake up and think of him as a different person, and he would act like the person she thought he was. And this never ended. It repeated everyday, and sometimes twice or thrice a day.

And this had surprised her to no end...

Because by the looks of it, he must be pretending to be a different person for his wife for the last decade and didn't seem to grow tired of it. In fact, she thought, he was actually happy at doing this.

And this was strange to her. Very strange. Wouldn't he be more happy if she remembered, for once who she was and who he was? She thought as he introduced herself as a different person, yet again. This time, her servant.

To that question, she soon got an answer. Much to her shock.

No.

Arnav Singh Raizada, aka Sir, did not at all want his wife to remember anything from her past.