A mischievous spark shone in her eyes, as she jumped to her feet and grinned ear to ear looking at Amit. Amit looked back at her and gave a weak smile, his thoughts already on cleaning up the colors that she had splattered all around the floor and on the wall. He left the room with a sigh of resignation, reentered with a cleaning cloth. He laid the things on table as he went up to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. “Come Mansi”, he said as he led her away from the room to the next. He then led her to the next room and sat her gently on the bed. “Stay here Mansi, while I clean up the mess” he said while gently reassuring her with a pat on her shoulder.
As he turned to leave Mansi suddenly burst into tears. Amit turned back and hugged her, to help her calm down. When she had calmed down he left the room and proceeded to clean up the mess in the other room. He cleaned up the room and went back to the main room where he poured himself some scotch and sat by the fireplace to relax. As he was sipping through his scotch, his eyes fell upon an envelope next to his glass. He picked it up and started reading it.
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It had been 5 years, since the accident which had left Mansi brain damaged. The doctor’s had diagnosed her with amnesia that had caused her memories to regress back to the time she was 8 years.
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Amit and Mansi had been married for over 7 years. There’s had been an ideal marriage The very much in love couple never shied away from PDA, posting pictures all over social media, went out for vacations to exotic places. To anyone within their circles Amit and Mansi were the perfect couple. In their picture perfect world they were subject to everyone’s envy.
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On the fateful evening they were just getting ready to leave for a party that had been hosted by her best friend Rashmi. Amit had specially gifted Mansi a pearl necklace for that evening. Her phone buzzed “Hey Rashmi, we’re already on our way” she said and winked at Amit. She proceeded to pick her purse and rushed out of her room with Amit in tow. “We’re gonna be late Amit, let’s hurry” she said as she started descending the stairs of her duplex apartment to head downstairs towards the door. No sooner than she had descended a couple of steps when the world whirred around her and she let out a loud scream as she fell. The last thing she heard was Amit screaming out her name and then everything went blank.
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The next few months were a frenzy of activity. The doctors had ruled that Mansi was suffering from amnesia due to the injury sustained on her head during the fall. After a month in the hospital where her injuries healed Amit took her home. The trauma was too much for Amit to handle so he decided to leave behind his hi flying city life and move to the countryside. He bought a Victorian villa with all the trappings including a fireplace and a garden. It was far away from the hustle and bustle of city life and they could stay there in peace.
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Mansi did not know who the person that was taking care of her was. Initially she threw a lot of tantrums like a normal 8 year old, but Amit’s tender care towards her gradually made her feel a bit of affection toward him. She was her mischievous old self sometimes, but her tantrums gradually reduced and she learned to trust the man who took care of her. Sometimes Rashmi aunty also came and tended to her. She loved both uncle and aunty.
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It was 2 years after the accident, One day she was alone and playing at home and suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her head and screamed out in agony before the world around her dissolved. She woke up in a hospital with a concerned Amit looking down on her. She was sedated so all she could manage was a weak smile and she held out her hand to Amit who gently took her hand into his. She recognized the familiar figure of the man she loved and wanted to call out to him but the numbing effect of the medicines overwhelmed her and she drifted back into unconsciousness.
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A couple of years flew by, one day the trio were out in the garden after their customary evening snack, with Mansi playing with the flowers in the garden, Amit and Rashmi aunty stood watch over her from a distance. Suddenly Rashmi aunty collapsed in a heap. Mansi heard Amit scream out her name and ran over to see. Rashmi was clutching her throat while writing on the ground in agony. Mansi burst out crying.
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The doctors at the hospital declared Rashmi dead on arrival. The autopsy ruled that it was a cardiac arrest. Amit seemed broken and all Mansi could do was clutch his arm like he did when he comforted her.
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As lonely as he was after Rashmi aunty died, Amit now paid more attention to Mansi. He doted on her like a daughter. Another year passed but Mansi did not seem to be getting any better. The bouts of pain in her head had subsided but she had not regained her memory.
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The days passed, One day it was late that evening when Mansi again decided to paint. She took her brush and spattered paint over the canvas, and by the time she was finished the paint was not just over the canvas but also on the floor and the walls. Amit was heading to the main room for a drink when he suddenly saw what had happened. He decided to clean up the mess before proceeding to his drink.
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Mansi watched as Amit picked up the letter. His expression changed from one of resignation over his current situation when he picked up the letter, to confusion, he looked around him anxiously and then continued reading the letter. “Amit, I loved you with all my heart, You were the center of my universe. After mom and dad’s death you cared for me but I did not realize it was only a facade to earn my trust and lull me into a false sense of security.”
The reality of the situation struck Amit like a bolt of lightning. He was sweating profusely now. “Mansi” he thought, “she knows”, “But how?” A lot of questions were buzzing through his head as he started feeling a sense of discomfort. He continued reading “I never even realized you were cheating on me, leave alone trying to kill me.” Amit by now totally perplexed looked to get up but couldn’t move. “Amit” he suddenly heard his name being called and turned his head. He was shell shocked to see Mansi walk up to him and sit beside Amit next to the fireplace. The letter he was reading fell from his hand as he continued to stare at her like she was a ghost.
“I could feel that evening that it was your leg, I tripped against when I fell down the stairs, Amit, but I truly believed it was an accident, but then it was all a blur, I had really lost my memory Amit, thanks to you.” She continued. “Your plan really worked well Amit, selling off everything and buying a place here so that you could carry on your life with Rashmi. You cheated on me with my best friend? I really never suspected anything between the 2 of you, I trusted you both so much.”
There were tears in her eyes as she continued “You know the time when I had my first bout of pain in the head, I already had started getting images from our life Amit, our life together” she choked as she remembered the good times they had.
“That day in the hospital when I reached out to you, I already had remembered everything but the medicines got the better of me so I fell unconscious again before I had the chance to tell you anything.” “Later that evening after we came home I walked up to your room and was shocked beyond belief to see you in her arms. I could not believe my eyes but I decided to carry on the charade to try and understand what had happened, and you guys in your complacence spoke everything without even bothering to see that I was not around. I realized that you had betrayed me.”
Amit was now almost choking, and his eyes rolled over , but Mansi was now beside herself with rage as she held Amit’s head in her hands. “Look at me” She shouted. “I want you to know that I know everything, even your plot to kill me where Rashmi tried to kill me with the juice spiked with the pesticide” what you do not know is that I had seen her put the pesticide in my juice and had switched our glasses while you guys were busy canoodling in the other room. It is an effective killer that causes a seizure and isn’t detected in an autopsy, did she not tell you that? I found out where she hid it but using it on you soon would have raised suspicion so I had to wait this long” Amit had now turned pale and was writing in agony. Mansi let go of him and watched as he slowly arched and looked at her with tears in his eyes. She took the letter from where it had fallen and threw it in the fireplace.
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A couple of locals informed the authorities about a villa on fire not far from the village. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot and they recovered the body of an adult male. Autopsy confirmed that he had died of a cardiac arrest. The fire was attribute to the bottles of alcohol beside the dead body near the fireplace. They assumed that he had tripped on the bottles near the fireplace and the alcohol had caught fire leading to the whole place burning down. The villagers spoke of a girl living with him, who was mentally still a kid but nobody came forth to register a missing person complaint.
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It had been 2 years since the police had discovered Amit’s dead body in his burned down villa. The case was closed citing death due to natural causes. The police found no lead on the girl with amnesia and nobody came forward with any information as well. So the case was eventually closed.
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On a bright Sunday morning in North London, a young woman stopped at a local bistro to pick up a latte and a couple of donuts. Here’s your order Miss Mansi, the young woman at the counter chirped. “Thank you dear” Mansi thanked the young woman as she picked up her order and headed back home.
