"Since you're up already, why don't you put the clothes in the washing machine? By then the breakfast will be ready too"
Meena walked past him and dropped a kiss on his cheek. Raghav didn't move an inch. By now it was clear to him that he was jumping through different versions of his life every time he slept. He now had to find Joseph. For some reason, he felt he could help him.
***
He couldn't find Joseph anywhere this time. Neither was his contact number in his phone nor was he on the AIIMS website. His email ID was invalid and Raghav was sure he wouldn't find him at his house like the last time.
Meena walked into his room and noticed he was searching for something.
"Looking for something, honey?"
Raghav felt really awkward when she called him that. Yes, she was his first love. But he had been living with Preeti for 2 years. Seeing someone else as his wife was really weird. He barely spoke to Meena.
"Is something wrong? You seem to be so silent today"
"I'm searching for a friend's contact"
"Whose?"
"His name is Joseph"
Meena seemed to be surprised by the name.
"Why do you want Joseph's contact?"
Raghav immediately turned to Meena. Did she know Joseph?
"You know him?"
"Honey, stop acting weird. We both agreed not to talk about him"
By now, Raghav was tired of trying to explain his situation to everyone in different versions of his life. All he wanted was to find out what was happening and somehow return to his original life.
"Please don't ask me any questions. I don't know what happened with Joseph and why you don't want to talk about him. Just give me the damn contact number and I'll go away"
Raghav walked outside as he dialed Joseph's number. Meena sat on the bed with tears in her eyes.
***
Raghav knocked on Joseph's door. Since there was no response, he was about to knock again, but the door opened. He couldn't believe who was standing behind the door.
"Preeti?"
"Hello Raghav, please come in"
Then he saw Joseph walking towards the door.
"Hey, Raghav. Long time. Come in, why are you standing outside?"
He had no clue about what was going on. Were Preeti and Joseph living together?
Raghav and Joseph sat on the sofa as Preeti went into the kitchen to get some snacks.
"Tell me, Raghav, is something wrong? You sounded worried during the call"
"What is Preeti doing here?"
He wanted to get to the point, but seeing his previous life wife living with his best friend was completely devastating.
"What do you mean, Raghav? Preeti is my wife, where else do you expect her to live?"
That sentence broke Raghav into pieces. This was the last place he wanted to be in. He was married to his college crush and his best friend was married to his wife. This was a world completely messed up. He thought the best thing would be to go back and sleep again so that he would wake up in a better version of his life. But that's when he noticed something weird.
Joseph's right arm looked odd.
"What happened to your arm?"
"What do you mean?"
"It looks odd"
"Ah, yeah I am still working on making it look realistic"
"Wait, you mean it's not a real arm?"
"What's wrong with you? It's a bionic arm, don't you remember?"
Raghav was stunned. In this world, Joseph lost his arm and developed a bionic arm. Maybe this was it. Maybe Joseph could help him.
At the same time, Joseph realized something was not right with Raghav. He seemed to have forgotten about his life.
"Hey Raghav, I think you are not feeling well"
"No, it's something else. I need to talk to you in private"
"Let's go to my room"
***
Joseph locked the door.
"Tell me, Raghav. Seems like you have forgotten about your life"
"This is not my life"
Joseph was surprised at first. But then he understood what was going on.
"Raghav, what do you remember about this bionic arm?"
"I was diagnosed with a tumor on my right arm and it had to be amputated. You helped me build a similar bionic arm. But it didn't end up working well."
"No, Raghav. This bionic arm was built by you. I don't know much about this technology. I'm an astrophysicist. You are a neurologist. You built this arm for me when I lost my original arm in an accident"
Raghav was exhausted from exploring different versions of his life. He wanted to scream. He was angry. He just wanted all this to stop. But Joseph continued talking.
"Let me get it straight. You don't remember anything about your life. Not even about your wife and job."
"Yes, no. I don't know any of that. This is not my life."
"Okay. Have you heard about realm hopping?"
"What hopping?"
"Looks like you haven't. Have a seat and just relax. I am going to tell you something very important that might explain what is going on with you"