Gehraiyaan.

Chapter 09

Advik was out of my sight for another four days, after that phone call. The silence from his side didn't bother me too much, because the reassurance of finding a way out stayed with me. But today, all of a sudden, I feel vulnerable and terrified again. The confidence and the calmness has began wearing off. And there I am, back in square one. Worried. Panicking. Restless and what not.

Me : Hey, Advik? I haven't heard from you in four days. Are you okay? I'm worried.

Me : Okay, listen. I know you're figuring things out for us and I'm honestly so grateful. But can you not disappear out of my life, every damn time? Can we keep talking to each other? At least, a good morning? It's not that hard, right? Because I'm just worried about you all day, when you don't message or call me. Just a good morning. Nothing more than that. Please. I cannot live with the anxiety of not knowing whether you're okay, or not.

Me : Anyways. Message me whenever you're free, I need to talk for a bit.

Me : I love you so much and miss you a lot :( I hope we can fix all of this ASAP!!!!!

He's offline; the message doesn't even get delivered, let alone read. I throw my phone aside and get started with the household chores; it's a Sunday morning and there's simply too much work to do - starting from washing the dishes to drying the clothes.

After around 6 hours, I get a hold of my phone and check for any response from his side - it hasn't been delivered yet, which is an extremely suspicious thing because Advik is never offline and definitely not for six hours!

A sense of worry stirs within me, as I keep checking my phone only to find a bunch of undelivered messages and somehow I've fallen asleep alongside my phone.

"Morning", Tia waves at me, as I force myself to sit up, perplexed and disoriented. I feel like I've been drugged and I've slept on my left arm at a stretch - I guess - it's immovable. "You slept at 7 yesterday. Maa was asking if you were feeling okay", Tia tells me, ironing her clothes.

Wait. What? Did I sleep all night, at a stretch? Blindly, I search for my phone and check the time. Shit. It's 9 in the morning. It's Monday. I've slept for over 12 hours.

Advik's messages still haven't been delivered.

It barely takes me a second to make up my mind to call up his best-friend - Rohit. Why would he be offline for that long? Advik cannot stay still without peeping into his social media accounts. He's addicted to it. Why would he quit all of a sudden? Something must be wrong.

"Di, what should I iron for you?", Tia turns to look at me, as I rush to the washroom. "Pick anything", I answer, shutting the door.

Once I've dragged myself out of the deep slumber since yesterday, I dial Rohit's number and call him up, while sitting in the worn-out wooden bench in our small garden. My heart races in my chest as I listen to the outgoing calls.

"Hey, what's up?", Rohit greets in his usual cheerful tone. "Ro, I've been trying to contact Advik since yesterday and he's offline. You know, he's never offline, right? Did you talk to him?", I head straight to the point and Rohit reverts with silence. That's not what I want from him, I'm getting enough from Advik!

"Rohit? You heard me right? We haven't talked in four days", I inform. "What did you talk about the last time?", Rohit questions. How does that even matter?

"About the wedding. He said he's still convincing his parents and that things are under control", I narrate, briefly.

Silence, again. He's getting on my nerves, honestly.

"About the wedding...", he whispers, thoughtfully. "He never called you after that?", he questions, right away. "No. Is something wrong?", I question, worriedly.