Chapter One Hundred One: The Girl Who Forgot
The morning after Mithun's sighting, the mansion was buzzing.
Percy had already printed "MISSING" posters with Shreya's photo. Honey was trying to talk him down from "plastering them everywhere."
C.N. had set up alerts for any activity matching Shreya's description. Nothing yet.
Mithun was already out, searching the streets where he'd seen her.
Jay couldn't sit still.
She kissed Keifer goodbye. "I need to look. I can't just wait."
"I know." He squeezed her hand. "Be careful. Call me if you find anything."
"I will."
---
She walked the same streets Mithun had described.
Hour one: Nothing.
Hour two: Nothing.
Hour three: She was about to give up when she saw her.
---
A coffee shop. Corner table.
A woman with dark hair, sitting alone, staring out the window.
Jay's heart stopped.
"Shreya."
She walked toward her. Slowly. Afraid she'd disappear.
The woman turned.
It was her.
It was really her.
---
"Shreya!"
Jay ran. Grabbed her. Hugged her tight.
Shreya stiffened.
Didn't hug back.
"Um... do I know you?"
---
Jay pulled back. Stared.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, do I—do I know you?"
Jay's world tilted. "Shreya, it's me. Jay. Your sister."
Shreya blinked. Confused. "I don't... I don't have a sister."
"Yes you DO! Akshi! Mithun! Chethan! All of us!"
Shreya shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry. I don't—I don't remember."
---
Jay sat down. Hands shaking.
"You don't remember anything?"
Shreya looked at her coffee. "I woke up in a hospital two months ago. They said I had an accident. Hit my head. I don't remember anything before that."
"Two months ago?"
"Yes. They said I had no ID. No phone. Nothing. They called me Jane Doe."
Jay's eyes filled with tears. "Your name is Shreya. Shreya Kapoor. You're from India. You came here for university. You have a family—a huge, chaotic, wonderful family who loves you."
Shreya stared at her.
"I don't—I don't remember."
---
Jay reached for her hand. Shreya let her.
"You have a boyfriend. Mithun. He's been searching for you for months. He saw you yesterday and ran after you. He's been losing his mind."
Shreya's eyes widened. "Yesterday? I—I've been staying nearby. In a shelter. I didn't know—"
"He loves you. He never stopped loving you."
Tears filled Shreya's eyes. "I don't remember him."
"That's okay. You will. We'll help you remember."
---
Jay pulled out her phone. Hands shaking.
She called Mithun.
"I found her."
"WHERE?"
"Coffee shop on Fourth Street. She's here. But Mithun—"
"I'm coming."
"Wait—she doesn't remember."
Silence.
"What?"
"She doesn't remember anything. The accident. Us. You. Nothing."
More silence.
Then: "I don't care. I'm coming."
---
Mithun arrived in ten minutes.
He burst through the door.
Saw her.
Stopped.
"Shreya."
She looked at him.
Something flickered in her eyes. Just for a second.
Then nothing.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know you."
---
He crossed to her. Knelt beside her chair.
"That's okay."
"I don't remember—"
"I know."
"I'm sorry."
He took her hand. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
She looked at their joined hands.
Something felt right.
She didn't know why.
But it felt right.
---
Jay called Akshi.
"I found her. She's alive. But—"
"BUT WHAT?"
"She doesn't remember us."
Silence.
Then: "I don't care. Where are you? I'M COMING."
---
Within an hour, the coffee shop was full.
Akshi. Chethan. Mithun. Jay. Keifer arrived with Keiran.
Shreya sat in the middle, overwhelmed.
"So many people," she whispered.
"Your family," Jay said.
"I don't—"
"You don't have to remember. Just... let us love you. The rest will come."
---
Akshi sat beside her. Took her hand.
"I'm Akshi. Your best friend. Your sister. We've been through everything together."
Shreya looked at her. "I feel... I feel like I should know you."
"You will. Give it time."
Chethan knelt in front of her. "I'm Chethan. Akshi's fiancé. You were going to be my sister-in-law."
Shreya smiled slightly. "That's a lot of people."
"That's family."
---
Keiran pushed through. Rex in hand.
"Auntie Shreya? You came back!"
Shreya looked at the little boy. At the dinosaur.
"I... I think I remember you."
Keiran's face lit up. "REX! SHE REMEMBERS ME!"
Rex seemed pleased.
---
Mithun hadn't let go of her hand.
She looked at him.
"You haven't moved," she said.
"I'm not letting go. Ever again."
"I might never remember."
"Then we'll make new memories."
She stared at him.
Something in his eyes.
Something familiar.
---
That night, they brought her home.
The mansion.
Her room was exactly as she'd left it.
She walked in slowly. Touched things.
"I lived here?"
"You lived here."
She picked up a photo. Her and Akshi. Laughing.
"I look happy."
"You were. You are."
She looked at Jay. "I want to remember."
"You will. We'll help."
---
Mithun stood in the doorway.
She looked at him.
"Will you stay?"
He crossed to her. Sat on the bed.
"For as long as you'll have me."
"What if that's forever?"
He smiled. The first real smile in months.
"Then forever it is."
---
End of Chapter One Hundred One