And the alarm goes off. With her sister sleeping beside her, Meesha's hand reaches out to find her.
"Alarm is snoozing; get up," she murmurs in her sleep. "Go turn it off." To her surprise, she is alone in the room.
She turns off the alarm clock and goes back to sleep without opening her eyes. Suddenly, she feels suffocated. She tosses her blanket aside. "How come I have a blanket on? Who uses a blanket in hot weather?"
Meesha is no longer able to fall asleep. Frustrated, she sits up and finally opens her eyes. She scans the room with a frown. It is a large room with white and grey décor, completely unfamiliar to her.
"What's wrong with my eyes? I'm seeing things early in the morning." She pinches herself to snap back into reality. She rubs her eyes again and again; to her surprise, she is still in an unknown room. She begins to panic.
"Mom! Mom, where are you? You people are definitely playing tricks on me, Didi." "Didi?" She calls for her sister, moving out of bed.
She walks toward the door, her legs trembling with nervousness. She tries to open the door with a shaky hand. Before she can, someone from outside opens it.
Standing at the door is a woman looking astonishingly fresh in the early morning. Meesha has no idea who she is. The woman enters the room.
"I came to call you for breakfast. You do not seem to have changed, though. Go take a bath and then come downstairs," the woman says.
"Wait, where are my parents?" Meesha asks hesitantly.
"When did they come? I didn't see them," the woman replies. Meesha begins to sense something is wrong.
"Who are you?" she asks the woman in front of her, her eyes wandering, searching for her family.
"Pfft!" the lady gives out a little chuckle.
"I know it's 1st April. Don't try to fool me."
"It's 1st April. I believe it should be... uh...uhm.... 21st June," Meesha insists.
The lady's face tenses as she studies Meesha's expression. She holds Meesha delicately as if a slight touch would be painful for her.
"Are you still upset about yesterday?"
The lady assures her that it won't happen again. Meesha's even more confused. The woman looks at her, takes her hand in her own, and tells her to relax. She will make sure it never happens again and will talk it out with Tim.
Meesha nods instinctively, but soon realises what the lady said.
"Who is Tim?" Meesha asks.
"Oh God," the lady rolls her eyes in frustration. Nevertheless, another look at Meesha's face made it clear that she's in no way doing this purposely.
"Tim is your husband and my son, remember?"
"Now, no more questions. Go get ready and come have your breakfast."
"M-m-my husband," Meesha stutters. Her mother-in-law whirls around at the sound of the thud, her heart pounding as she sees Meesha lying motionless on the floor.