Species Of Life

44. In His Silence, I Heard Him Cry 🕯️(Updated)

The door creaked softly as Vaish pushed it open. It wasn't locked. Inside, the room lay swallowed in darkness, not a single beam of light to guide her. With careful steps, she reached the switchboard and flicked it on. The sudden illumination revealed Faisu sitting on the bed, his eyes closed, head resting against the headboard. He was breathing—but hollowly, his face etched in silence, lost somewhere too deep for words to reach.

Vaish moved quietly to his side, sat next to him, and ran her fingers gently through his hair. At her touch, his tense features relaxed just slightly, the storm behind his eyelids easing for a moment.

"Faisu..." she whispered softly.

He opened his eyes, and Vaish saw the quiet shimmer of tears glistening at the corners.

"Bhabhi..." he murmured, voice cracking under the weight of everything he held in.

Without another word, she guided him to lay his head in her lap and began patting his head gently, her fingers weaving comfort into his pain.

"You're just like a baby brother to me," she said softly, her voice wrapping around the silence like a shawl. "My small, sweet, cute brother."

A faint chuckle escaped his lips—weak but real.

She smiled. "I know your buddy is always there for you. But there will be times—even like today—when even he won't be the one you can speak to. And for those moments, I'm here. Come to me. Always."

Faisu sat up slowly, emotions still heavy in his eyes. "Bhabhi..."

"I know everything," she said before he could continue, "but what you did with Jan... breaking your relationship like that... it was wrong."

Faisu looked down, shoulders tightening. "But Bhabhi, if she can't keep Buddy in her life... I'm sorry, even I can't"

Vaish leaned in, her voice firm but tender. "Do you really think you can remove Jan from your life just by returning a ring?"

He looked away, but she held his hand gently.

"I always thought you were the mature one, Faisu. I expected more. You should've thought about how to reunite them... not walked away like this."

His jaw clenched. "Bhabhi, how could I try to reunite them when I know buddy will never be happy being with Jan?"

Vaish didn't back down. "How do you know that?"

Faisu had no words.

"They're not just siblings. They're twins. They're incomplete without each other. Which siblings don't fight or argue? But they still belong to each other."

"But bhabhi..."

"Don't 'but' me, Faisu. Tell me honestly—through all these years of their anger and silence, wasn't there a single day when they didn't miss each other? Don't lie to me."

He couldn't. The truth was, he had witnessed it too many times. Sid would always bring up Jan, subtly or not, and Jan too—at least once a day—would lose herself in a happy memory of her twin. That invisible bond had never truly faded.

Vaish watched as he fell quiet again, thoughts spiraling through his expression. She understood it was enough for now. Some decisions could only be made in stillness.

"Leave it," she whispered. "It's too late. Get some sleep."

Instead of laying back on the pillow, Faisu rested his head once more in Vaish's lap. He needed that warmth, the kind of unconditional care only she could give him now. She began to stroke his hair again, each motion a lullaby for his wounded heart.

"I didn't know you loved my baby bro this much," she said softly.

Faisu didn't move, but his voice was steady when he replied, "Bhabhi... he loves me even more."

There was a pause before he spoke again.

"I was ten years old when Mom and Dad died. After that, chacha and chachi took care of me. They were kind, loving even. But it wasn't the same. Chachi cooked my favorite dishes, but she never had the time to feed me with her own hands. Chacha gave me video games because I liked them, but he never sat down to play with me. I used to cry myself to sleep every night. Every single night."

His voice trembled, but he continued.

"People always say no one can take the place of your parents. But they're wrong. A real friend can. A month after my parents passed, buddy entered my life. He was my classmate. I didn't want friends then. I used to sit alone on the first bench. But one day, the teacher made him sit next to me."

Vaish smiled gently. "He was mischievous, wasn't he?"

Faisu let out a laugh, this one a bit freer. "He was. Didn't care where he sat. Even on the first bench, he ruled the whole class."

"Seriously? I need to ask him how many beatings he got as a kid."

"No one ever scolded him. Because he wasn't just naughty—he was brilliant. Never came third in class, always first or second."

Faisu paused. "And after my parents... the first time I laughed... it was because of him. He cracked a joke in class. No one laughed, except me. I laughed like crazy. I couldn't stop. That was the first time we talked. And in a week, we became best friends."

His voice grew distant with memory.

"Then I told him everything—about my parents, my loneliness. And he forced me to stay at his house for a few days. We shared a room. One night, I broke down crying. He said, 'Cry all you want tonight. But after this, no more tears.' And bhabhi... I cried for three whole days. No one else was allowed in the room. For those three days, he never left my side. Like my shadow."

He paused, eyes wet but peaceful.

"And after those three days... I never cried about my parents again."

Vaish bent down and kissed his forehead.

"He's a gem," Faisu whispered. "I don't know what I would've become if he hadn't been there for me."

They talked a little while longer, about random things, lighter memories. And finally, Vaish stood to leave.

"Good night, Faisu."

He nodded, a little calmer now. As the door closed behind her, the silence in the room no longer felt empty. It felt... healing.

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