Remember Forever

“Hey wait!!! Anwesha!! Hang on a second!!!”

She whipped around, her green eyes burning with emotion though her lips were pressed in one thin line.

“What?”

“Can we be friends?” I asked breathlessly.

Anwesha Bannerjee never talked with anyone.

Not even once.

At least not since I can remember anyways.

She wasn’t a dunce either. In fact, she had been the class topper as long as I could remember…not to mention the fact that she always submitted her assignments on time.

Nope, not a dunce. Nor a slacker.

Just aloof.

She sat in the no-man’s zone; the first bench in the middle column of seats–bang in front of the teacher’s desk. She never had a bench partner, nor anyone with whom she had lunch.

It was funny how she managed to remain friendless for so long.

“Give it up,” Akash drawled in his usual bored voice. Tall, gangly and fair with short spiky hair and bespectacled grey eyes, he was my diaper buddy. And he had this really uncanny ability to read my thoughts before I became aware of them myself.

Kind of creepy.

“Give up what?” I asked innocently though I knew what he was talking about. Compared to him, I was shorter and had a tanned complexion. My hair was stubbornly untidy and no amount of oil or gel could tame them–and I had given up on combs a long back. My eyes were golden brown like my cat Ruffles–a fact which Akash harped on constantly. Ruffles was supposedly my long lost brother.

“Anwesha. She’s a wall, bud. And no amount of staring will crumble it.”

I hadn’t realized I was staring at her.

“Dude,” Akash began, rotating my head so we were face-to-face.

“What do you see in her? She’s as rude as it gets…not to mention a loner.”

I cocked my head, thinking.

“Maybe she’s cute?” I suggested.

Yep, you can classify her as cute. She was tall and slender with thick, wavy black hair usually tied in a ponytail. Her almond shaped green eyes, a well-shaped nose, a dainty chin and full lips gave her an aura of innocence and vulnerability.

But that wasn’t the reason why I was interested in her…I don’t know. I just don’t know.

Akash sighed and went back to what he was reading, muttering in exasperation. And I couldn’t blame the guy.

**

“You really want to flunk maths this term?” the teacher sighed, handing me my class-test score sheet. I hated maths from the bottom of my heart–why do those squiggles matter anyway?

“I will try my best in the mid-terms, sir,” I said tonelessly, eyeing the score. It was really pathetic.

“Study all night and day if you have to, but pass for Heaven’s sake,” he replied before moving ahead towards the front benches.

“And congratulations Anwesha for topping the test yet again,” he said smiling as he handed Anwesha her score sheet.

I stared at the back of her head.

I remembered my last encounter…the closest I had to a conversation with her.

There was something up.

And I intended to find out.

**

It was break and as I returned from canteen with my usual sandwich, I saw Anwesha go downstairs from my peripheral vision.

I followed her.

She walked to the back of the building to a secluded patch of grass and sat down.

She was having lunch alone.

I sat down next to her, startling her.

“Umm…” she said, clearly flustered.

“Hi! I am Rishi…we are in the same class…” I said awkwardly.

“Oh!”

She began eating in silence, staring at her food.

“You don’t er…talk much…” I said in an attempt to break the silence.

She did not reply.

I slowly unwrapped my sandwich and bit into it slowly.

“We cannot be friends,” she said suddenly before walking away with her lunch box, not even looking back.

I kept staring at her…did I do something wrong?

**

“Hello Anwesha!” I said brightly as I sat down yet again next to her in the grassy patch.

She didn’t acknowledge my presence but thankfully didn’t shoo me away either.

We ate in silence, the wind blowing softly.

“We cannot be friends,” she said yet again.

“Okay okay…but we can eat together, right? We don’t need to be friends for that,” I said quickly.

She looked confused; heck, even I was surprised at what I said. I mean, what sort of a stupid logic was that?

“Alright…but promise me that you won’t talk to me in class,” she said slowly before proceeding to pack up her lunch box and walk back to class.

I mentally skipped with joy. Go figure!

**

“Really?” said Akash, surprised for perhaps the first time in his sixteen years of living.

I puffed out my chest proudly as we cycled back home.

“I guess you must be the only student in the entire school to have had a conversation with her.”

I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Maybe. And she’s not rude, you know. She’s actually quite nice.”

“Your call, Rishi.”

**

It was five minutes into break and I fidgeted as I stood in the staff-room. Apparently, my math teacher had taken it in his head that I needed a lecture to get my brain number-tuned.

“…you need to put in more effort…” he droned on as I stared at the passing seconds on the room clock.

“Sir, it’s break!” I blurted out.

He checked the time on his wrist watch.

“So? What was I saying…”

“I am sorry sir!”

With that, I dashed out.

**

I was panting heavily by the time I reached the place. To my surpise, Anwesha was sitting with her box unopened.

“You waited?” I asked, astonished.

She nodded before looking away.

“You said you will come…so…”

“Thank you!” I practically yelled, scaring the poor girl.

She couldn’t help but smile as we both began to eat.

**

It was Friday, four days after we started this weird practice when we had our first conversation.

“You like math?” I asked, stuffing the sandwich wrap in my pocket to throw away later.

She nodded in assent.

“Yes, I have always liked it…there are so many things we can do with just ten digits. Isn’t that fascinating?”

I nodded, a bit skeptical.

“I take it you don’t like the subject,” she said, smiling.

I saw her smile for perhaps the first time.

I shrugged.

“Those squiggles make me go insane…I should have never taken up science,” I groaned, recalling my math score-sheet.

To my further surprise, she giggled.

“It isn’t that hard…you need some practice, that’s all!”

**
Saturday was my free day but I knew Anwesha was in the prep classes so, to her surprise, I joined her for lunch in the usual place.

“I didn’t see you in the prep class…were you there?” she asked, puzzled.

I shook my head.

“Nope. School work’s more than enough for me.”

“Then…um…” she trailed, looking in her lunch box.

“I thought you would be alone today…so…”

After eating, I brought out my deck of Duel Masters playing cards.

She looked at me quizzically.

“Everyone plays Duel Masters after eating,” I said as an explanation.

She browsed through the cards curiously.

“I take it you don’t know how to play,” I said.

She nodded.

I proceeded to teach her about the attack cards, the defense cards and the other rules of play.

And she defeated me five times in a row.

“Man, you have got one superb memory,” I said as I packed up the cards.

Her face darkened slightly but she soon recovered. Must have been my imagination.

**

“She’s an awesome person actually…she’s kind and nice and is quite friendly.”

Akash listened to me with his trademark dispassionate expression.

“And what makes you think that?” he asked.

We were sitting in the verandah of his flat, munching popcorn and feeding the kernals to the squirrels.

“She talks, you know. I mean, you should converse with her–she’s pretty intelligent.”

Akash shrugged nonchalantly.

“I will take your word for it.”

**

By Monday, the lunch became an inseparable part of the routine. We talked about the Biology project due on Wednesday, and I was surprised the way she could imitate the Biology teacher to utter perfection.

“I didn’t know you were such an amazing mimic!” I said appreciatively, awed by this another new revelation.

“You should participate in the annual talent competition!”

She shrugged.

“No,” she said softly.

“I can’t.”

“But why?” I pressed on.

But she went back to class, leaving my question in the air.

**

On Thursday, I brought a flyer to show her. A cup-cake shop was opening up in the lane leading up to our school and as a part of the promo offer, cupcakes are on huge discount. Anwesha must love sweet things as her tiffin box always had a sweet for dessert.

And I was right.

“That’s so awesome!” she squealed after reading the flyer.

“I love chocolate cupcakes with those cream centres…they are heavenly!”

I grinned at her excitement.

“Let’s go then…it’s opening on Monday so let us drop in there after school.”

“Monday?” she said slowly.

I nodded.

“I don’t think so…” she said in a softly, the excitement all but vanished from her voice.

I gave her puzzled look.

“Don’t worry…you go on,” she smiled, but her eyes looked sad.

**

We spent Friday playing Duel Masters…and I lost again.

And I did not lose purposefully. She was just a better player.

She told me how she hated broccoli which was supposed to be dinner and I agreed with her wholeheartedly. I too hated those green thingies.

Though I kept my promise of not talking to her in class, it was quite obvious that she wasn’t that cold towards me as earlier. In fact, she even gave me a tiny “Good Morning” wave when she arrived. And she smiled a bit more.

All hell broke loose on Saturday.

**

“Forget me, Rishi.”

I stopped in mid-bite, surprised.

“What happened, Anwesha? Did I do something wrong?” I asked, my blood running cold.

She shook her head.

“No…you did nothing wrong…but it’s for your own good. Forget me…I will forget you too…” she said softly, turning her head away from me.

I was shocked beyond measure.

“But why…” I asked.

“Why Anwesha?”

“Because I will forget you…I will…”

I crawled on my fours to sit in front of her and shook her by her shoulders.

“How? How can you forget?” I asked, my eyes burning.

“We are not friends, Rishi!” she snapped, looking at me. I could see tears swimming in her almond green eyes.

“We eat our lunch together, we swap stories, we play Duel Masters and you say we are not friends! Then tell me, what are friends according to you?” I asked, unable to understand why wasn’t she listening to reason.

“Don’t! Don’t tell me we are friends! We are not friends!!” she replied tearfully.

“But WHY dammit? Why do you keep yourself in a shell? Why don’t you talk to people? And why are you pushing me away? Is it your parents? Have they forbidden you to make friends?” I asked in top-speed, my voice rising steadily.

“No,” she replied softly.

“My parents haven’t forbidden me.”

I let my hands drop to my sides.

“It’s me who doesn’t want to get friendly.”

“But why?” I asked yet again.

She stood up with her unopened lunch box.

“Because I will forget everything on Monday…every good memory…”

**

“That’s what she said,” I concluded.

Akash and I were playing Grand Theft Auto on my PlayStation in my room.

“She wants you to forget her…well, hard to break it to you but that’s what you call rejection,” he said in his usual stoic manner.

I sighed. How could I ever expect any sympathy from him?

“So you are saying that I forget her,” I said, crestfallen.

Akash paused the game to look at me.

“What do you think? You spent time with her the last two weeks…you tell.”

“You have come this far…I mean, the way you were stressing out last week…even I can tell that you have moved up.”

I thought as I pressed the “Play” button.

That carefree giggle…

That excited voice…

That animated manner of speaking whenever the subject was math…

The day she waited when I was late…

“No, I won’t give up.”

Akash smiled.

“You have grown, Rishi.”

**

On Monday, I mustered my courage and went up to where she was sitting in class. She was reading a book.

“Hey,” I said, as a way of greeting.

She looked at me…with the eyes of a stranger.

She was not avoiding me…the eyes truly belonged to someone who didn’t recognize me.

I remembered the conversation I had with her father after I tracked him down yesterday.

“She forgets every good memory fortnightly…no, she doesn’t forget her studies or us for the matter. But the rest, yes. The doctor says it’s a type of amnesia…and it might be curable. She’s taking medications…let’s see what happens.”

At that moment, the truth hit.

All of it.

It was not a method of rejection or some fantastical solution or even imagination.

It was the plain, untarnished, raw truth.

She forgets…after every two weeks.

Her memory resets after every two weeks.

She wants friends, more than anyone else. But she’s afraid that she would forget them after fifteen days…and all her memories would disappear.

For the first time I realized how difficult her life was.

Life without friends, without fun, without laughter was worse than hell.

It was then, I made a solemn promise to myself.

I knew about her condition.

I knew her suffering.

But she didn’t know that I knew.

So, every fifteen days, I will make her smile. I will make her see the brighter side of life.

I will make her see how friends were important.

Every fifteen days, I will ask her as I will ask today…

And I will keep on asking until she can remember…

And I will keep starting over and over until the day she can finally remember the warmth and the comfort friends can bring…

“Can we be friends?”