An unfinished scene from Memory Disk

Vishnu, a teenage boy, pedals his bicycle urgently towards his math tuition center. As he enters a dimly lit street, he is abruptly stopped by a group of peers who claim to be from the same tuition. They anxiously inquire if he has completed the homework. Confused, he responds, “What homework?” They inform him, with a hint of fear, that the tuition teacher is punishing those who haven’t done their homework. They then invite him to join them for a carefree ride around the city, as the weather is inviting. Vishnu, feeling a mix of anxiety and determination, politely declines, stating he has to meet a friend. The group leaves, and he continues on his way towards a park. He never intended to go to the tuition in the first place; he was going to meet his crush. He parks his bicycle and walks towards the park wall, whistling to calm his nerves. A bee buzzes close to him, causing him to cover his ears in mild panic until it flies away. He watches the bee ascend towards the moon and begins to sing softly about his newfound feelings, which he suspects might be love. He imagines himself as a bee aiming to extract honey from the moon but fears the clouds of doubt might obscure his path. He believes that if it rains, it could wash away his fears, envisioning a beautiful scenario of dancing with his crush in the rain.

Maha arrives at the tuition on her father’s bike, amused and intrigued by Vishnu’s singing. Her father, wearing a music filter headset, remains unaware. She asks him to drop her at a shop to buy some items for the tuition. After he leaves, she eagerly runs to the dimly lit street and finds Vishnu singing under a streetlight. He doesn’t notice her as he questions the sky about the sudden rainy clouds and expresses self-doubt. She steps into the light, her heart pounding, and sings back to him, asking if they can fly all night in the wind. She suggests walking with him by the sea under the moonlight. Vishnu, his heart swelling with emotion, agrees, but only if they can dance in the rain together first. As it starts to drizzle, she asks with a playful smile what he’s waiting for, and they begin to dance, their hearts racing. When the rain intensifies, she runs to the shade of a tree and takes out her umbrella. Vishnu joins her, slightly disappointed, and asks why she stopped dancing. She explains, with a shy smile, that she doesn’t want to get wet. He playfully takes the umbrella, and they get close and cozy under it, their faces inches apart. He asks, with a mix of hope and nervousness, if she’s ready to say the three words. She teases him by pretending not to understand, her eyes sparkling. Losing patience, he asks if he can go first. She smiles warmly, encouraging him to speak, her heart beating faster.

A harsh yellow light suddenly strikes Maha’s face, and she looks at the source in shock, her eyes widening with fear. Vishnu slowly turns to see an oncoming bike. As the raindrops begin to slow down, he recognizes Maha’s parents on the bike. Her mother dismounts from the still-running bike, her face contorted with rage, rushes to Maha, and starts beating her in a fit of uncontrollable anger. Her father storms towards Vishnu, spewing a torrent of abuse. Vishnu, paralyzed by shock, stands with the umbrella in hand, unable to process their words. He feels as though he’s being drenched in their harsh words rather than the rain. As he regains his senses, he hears Maha’s mother shouting, “This is the fourth time we’ve caught you like this.” Vishnu, overwhelmed and shocked, shouts back at her father, “What the hell? This is my first time!” Maha’s mother intervenes, pulling her husband away from Vishnu. She instructs him to start the bike, makes Maha sit on it, and joins her. Before leaving, she warns Vishnu, “I could spoil your life if I want to! Be careful!” The bike speeds away with Maha sobbing and her father screaming in anger. Vishnu, still holding the umbrella, looks around, his heart pounding, to see if anyone witnessed the scene. He notices an ironing shop man shaking his head in disgust.

The rain stops abruptly, and Vishnu looks at the sky in disbelief, throwing the umbrella away. He begins to walk slowly towards his bicycle, shivering in fear. On the verge of tears, he starts to sing, feeling that love is not real and that he will never find someone like himself. He imagines a lightning strike hitting the bee that wanted to drink honey from the moon. He argues that the other bees never went to the moon because they knew it had already been stung, but then questions himself, “What am I going on about?” He continues to sing about never falling in love again. Suddenly, some of his friends appear in his surreal space, singing words of hope. They encourage him to keep dancing until he finds the right match. They teach him how to dance, promising to support him at different points in his life. Despite his efforts, he fails each time and loses the interest of different versions of Maha. At the end of the street, he decides he has had enough. He tells his friends that he will never dance again because he doesn’t want to. The tuition mates who were riding around the city show up once again and offer him a second chance. He realizes he now has the power to choose. He throws his bicycle away and leaves the street with them. The crowd that was dancing thinks that Vishnu cannot be saved anymore and decides to ignore him, returning to dance with their partners.

They rode through the city, the wind drying the remnants of rain on their faces. For the first time in a long while, Vishnu felt a sense of freedom. He realized that life was not just about finding love but also about finding oneself. Vishnu looked out at the horizon, the vast expanse of possibilities stretching before him. He knew that he would face challenges and heartbreaks, but he also knew that he had the strength to overcome them. With a renewed sense of purpose, he decided to embrace the journey, wherever it might lead. He realized that love would come in its own time, and until then, he had friends who would stand by him.