Mumbai
“Welcome, Vyom, come inside,” opening the door widely, Vanishka Roy, aka the mother of Avishka, welcomed Vyom warmly, who was coming from Bangalore for a case.
Beside him stood Artharv Roy. Advocate Vyom Mishra is the son of Artharv’s best friend, Ved Mishra, who resides in Bangalore with his wife, Naina Mishra.
Dinner
“Om, I have cooked all your favourites, which you used to love, made by hand,” excitedly chirped Vanishka.
“Vedic, come,” shouted Vanishka.
“No, mumma, let her come, then only I will eat,” a voice came from behind the closed door. It’s Vedic Roy, younger brother of Avishka, who is preparing for IIT.
“Vani mom, let’s wait. Let her come, then we all will have dinner, if it’s fine with you,” Vyom kept his proposal hesitantly.
At dot 11 p.m., the doorbell rang. Artharv opened the door.
Outside the door stood their only daughter, Avishka, with a white coat hanging from her hand, weariness all over her face, and not to forget, a stethoscope hanging, circling her neck.
They all had their dinner after her returning. On the head chair, Artharv; on her left side, Vanishka; beside her, Vyom; on Artharv’s right side, Avishka; beside her, Vedic.
Night 🌉
Avishka is standing on her balcony, staring at the distant view of the city, thinking about their awkward meeting at the dinner table after a long time.
Her trance broke when she felt someone was staring at her with so much intensity. On moving her head to her right, she found Vyom staring at her from his balcony.
Then suddenly, he came by jumping onto her balcony, like Spiderman, from his balcony to hers, as he had been given a room just beside her.
“You,” Avishka whispered, looking at Vyom’s action.
With slow steps, Vyom minimized the distance between them and came near Avishka, a 1-inch gap.
They just looked into each other’s eyes—her eyes just admiring the man whom she left as a boy.
And his with something fierce. She can’t understand it—some hidden anger, which had been kept asleep for a long time.
Avishka can feel Vyom’s hot breath on her face, and their closeness made her anxious.
She is so lost that she didn’t get to know when Vyom held her wrist and folded her hand behind her back.
“Fucking 16 years, huh? No meetup, no calls,” Vyom stated, gritting his teeth.
Her already quick heartbeat, with Vyom’s furious words, made her startled.
“I don’t have your number,” with a fumbling voice, she whispered.
“Liar. Can’t you take the number from your dad? Don’t you know that your dad used to call my dad? You can ask her,” he spat with venom.
“I…” With his rude behaviour, she got scared; still, she tried to defend herself.
“Bloody liar,” Vyom again chided, gritting his teeth.
She just kept staring at him, and he kept looking at her with frustration.
A knock on the door broke their staring competition. Vyom glanced at the locked door, then left her wrist and left just like he came.
Claiming herself, she asked Vedic to enter, who asked her to help him solve his derivation.
“Avishka,” with a smile, asked, “why do you always keep coming to me with your maths, when I am from a biological background and both your parents were engineers?”
“Uff, di, I don’t want to disturb them; they already slept. See the time,” he asked her, motioning at the clock, which struck 1 a.m.
“Di, what happened to your wrist? It’s looking like you are hurt,” taking hold of both her wrists and examining them, Vedic asked.
Taking back her wrists from him, “I got hurt; it’s nothing serious. Come, let me help you with your derivation.”
Next day
“Mumma, dada kahan pe hai?” Avishka asked while coming out of her room, seeing the silence.
“Oh, you came. Come have your breakfast, and Artharv went to leave Vyom,” Vanishka replied while arranging the table.
Hearing Vyom had left without letting her know made her feel bad.
“Okay, bye, mumma. I am leaving for the hospital,” she also left hurriedly.
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