Silent Downfall

Chapter Twenty-Seven

With his face buried in the snowy pillow, Fayzan lied as stationarily as the stuffed tiger by his side. He did not know for how long he had been crying. All he knew was that the people trying to console him had given up by then, and he was left alone in the room. He wished to cry out the stinging sensation in his heart, but no more tears came to his rescue.

The child stirred a couple of minutes later as he felt someone claim the space to his left. He set his vision free to find Waseef, whose eyes looked lost, perhaps in the hunt of the order that had abandoned his face. Fayzan slowly got up to sit before dragging himself toward his perturbed cousin. The boy sat with his forehead pressed against Waseef's chest as the latter locked him in his arms.

"Is he going to die, Bhaiya?"

Waseef let out a sigh. "It's okay, chipmunk. He is okay. He won't die."

"Really?"

"Yes. He was rushed to the hospital in time. He will be fine. The doctor said so."

"How do you know?"

"Aanvik told me."

"What if he tries to die again?"

"He won't. Shranav will scold him."

The boy appeared to be partially convinced. He was certain that no one liked to be rebuked. But more than that, he wished to believe he would not want to die. "But why did he want to kill himself? Is that because I made him come back? Is it all my fault?"

"Silly boy!" exclaimed the captain as he gave the boy a tight squeeze. "It's definitely not your fault."

Fayzan grew redder. "But how could he? Doesn't he know that it would make his mom and baby brother sad? They must have been so happy when he came back!"

Waseef's heart seemed to skip a beat at the mention. "Hmm."

"His poor brother must be feeling so terrible! He is just a kid—a boy of my age."

"Is he?"

The kid nodded. "Yeah. He told me that I reminded him of his brother."

"He did?" asked the captain in a rather robotic fashion.

"Hmm."

"Oh."

The next few moments passed in silence.

"Waseef Bhaiya?"

No response came up.

"Oye!" cried the child in a soft tone as he stroked his cousin's cheek.

"Um?"

"You are sad about what happened to Mayank, aren't you?"

The captain swallowed up the lump growing in his throat. "Yes. A little."

"Do you love him?"

Waseef nodded indifferently.

"Does Nayif Bhaiya love him?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"And Aanvik Bhaiya?"

"Perhaps more than his own life."

The boy looked satisfied at last. "I love him too. He is not a bad guy at all."

*********

Shranav's numb vision was resting against the steady rise and fall of his friend's chest while turbulent thoughts raced through his mind. The meticulous VIP cabin, in spite of its pacifying quietness, failed to fetch even a bit of solace for the troubled soul.

The door that flew open all of a sudden blew back life into his still limbs. Startled, he turned his head to the right at once, only to discover a panting Aanvik in mismatched shoes staring at him with protruding eyes.

"Look what I've found under Mayank's pillow!" cried Aanvik as he waved the folded paper in his hand. "You won't believe what's written here."

Shranav got up and grabbed the paper. "Whoa—what? Did he name us as his heirs?"

"Shut up and open it. And don't wake me if it's a dream."

The batsman walked back to his seat as he shot his friend a perplexed glare. He unfolded the paper and set his eyes on the rather brief note. He went on to read it over and over again while Aanvik continued to scan his face for a vivid shift of expression. There were none.

"So?" asked the captain, failing to hold in the critter that was bouncing in his chest.

Shranav did not bother to look at him as he offered an icy reply. "Have you canceled your flight?"

"N-not really. I kind of forgot about it in the midst of all this mess."

"But Shranav!" he added in a restless voice. "What's wrong with you? You don't seem shocked at all."

"Shocked? Me?" Shranav directed his eyes toward his friend; the mystery flooding them only added to Aanvik's malaise. "Pack your bag. You are going."

"You are not serious!"

The batsman smirked as he stood up. "Prepare yourself for the trip and some serious discussion. We'll leave for your place once Sanchit gets his fat back here to watch over Mayank. That should be any minute."