Deja Vú

Nitya shifted positions in her sleep because she felt something ticklish on her skin, but found it difficult to fully open her eyes. As soon as she changed her side, she saw that the guy on the laptop screen was still watching her and smiling after seeing her sleep like a child. She quickly opened her eyes and said, "Oh! How long have I been sleeping for?"

"Ah! Don't just wake up, sleep some more. You haven't been getting enough sleep these days, and you are burdened with plenty of tasks as well, so just sleep and let everything vanish for a while."

Nitya was going to give him some sassy reply when her phone vibrated, signalling a call from one of her new friends. As soon as she received the call and said "Hello", a cheery voice was heard from the other end.

"Hey! How are you feeling, girl?"

"I am fine, but what happened; why are you asking me this?"

"Nothing, I just got confused that you might not be well; as you were in the hospital when I called you for the first time!"

"Oh! You still remember that?"

"Of course I do! You were sitting there, just casually roasting yourself; and I was like 'Damn, this girl is cool! I should be friends with her!' This was the reason I visited you that day as well." He explained giggling, which was audible on the other side as well.

The person from the screen scrunched his face in jealousy, meanwhile Nitya, oblivious to him, replied. "I was not roasting myself, it was the reality. And I am really a crazy person, I am warning you!" She giggled as well.

That was when the person on the screen un-muted himself and spoke up. "Either I am coming there tomorrow, or you will be visiting me this weekend- you choose."

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After the doctor gave her a shot and declared that she would be awake within some minutes, Mehul went out to buy some breakfast for everyone and the newly prescribed medication for Nitya. Just after he left, Ruchi moved so she could be closer to Nitya in case she needed anything. Ruchi looked around the room for the source of a faint rumbling sound, but eventually she realized that the sound was due to Nitya murmuring something in her sleep. She hesitated for a moment, but the very next moment she was shaking Nitya to wake her up from whatever dream she had been seeing, fearing that it might be a nightmare.

Nitya opened her eyes to find Ruchi sitting in front of her. She couldn't understand where she was; and looked around the room as if she had been sent to a new world, and was considering herself as an alien. She wasn't able to speak anything for a few minutes, just staring blankly as if she had seen a creature of some new species discovered for the first time. Ruchi looked at her, trying to analyze the situation. She then asked firmly "Are you okay dear? Is anything hurting you? How are you feeling now?"

Nitya was still zoned out and she gave the reply to Ruchi's question in the form of another question. "Who, me? Where am I? I could be anywhere on the earth, but why am I supposedly here of all places? Where are my brothers and Surbhi or everybody else, and why are you here?"

Ruchi was staring at Nitya, surprised, while she was panicking by herself. During her ongoing rant itself, she suddenly remembered that she had been suffering from a high fever. Everything came rushing back to her, that she hadn't actually forgotten but had spaced out a little, because of the clashing situations she had found herself in right after waking up.

'She must have been having one of those weird dreams again'- the explanation for the absurd incidents eventually dawned on her. But something was weird- that particular boy of her class had never called her before, wait what was his name again?! She didn't even know the name of the person she had been talking so amicably to, the new guy in class. She really needed to seek help from a psychiatrist; yes, she would wait for Surbhi to return and she needed to sort her thoughts as well, maybe she really was taking too much stress. Nitya was totally lost in the monologuing which was going inside her head, making the plans related to the future, when she heard Ruchi's voice again.

"Kiddo! Are you okay? Are you still not feeling well? Do you not remember anything clearly?"

She tried to smile awkwardly and spoke, "No professor! I am absolutely fine, sorry for reacting in that way before, I was a little zoned out earlier. And sorry for bothering you, I am really embarrassed about this!"

Ruchi looked at the timid girl with affection and with a heavy sigh, finally asked the question she had been withholding herself from asking since the day before. "Nitya! Child, look, it might seem like a very personal question but do you mind me asking you something?"

Nitya looked at her professor; her initial confusion was cleared away as she suddenly remembered that she had almost spilled about her brother's crush last night. Assuming that Ruchi probably wanted to ask about that, she replied diplomatically. "Yes professor, you can ask me anything...but I will really appreciate it if you ask this question from Bhaiya only, as I am not the perfect person to speak about this. You see, this matter is totally related to him, and-"

Ruchi interrupted her before she could make things awkward again. "Nitya, please let me finish first, my question was about something regarding you, not about your brother."

Nitya stuttered for a moment and then replied "Okay ma'am," dreading what she might ask her.

Ruchi took a deep breath and began. "I know that you are not obligated to do so in any way, but I would really like an honest answer. Is there something wrong between you and your college friends, or are you feeling low these days because of that?"

Nitya was totally overwhelmed. Not knowing how to respond, she was praying to the Gods to send their messengers to save her. At that exact moment, her phone vibrated and she received a call from a new number. She always used to think twice before receiving any call, but this time she quickly picked up the phone and spoke up "Hello, who is this? And how may I help you?"

The person on the other end replied, "Hey! This is Kabir, one of your classmates. I need some help regarding notes, can I borrow yours' instead?"

"I'm sorry, I am currently in the hospital as I am not well! But I will definitely help you out after getting discharged."

"Are you crazy? You are in the hospital and still thinking about helping me? Just take rest and think about yourself, and chill out a little. And tell me which hospital you are in, so I can come and visit you."

Nitya started to narrate the address to him, when the reality hit her like a tonne of bricks- this exact situation was something she had been dreaming about earlier!

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