"Farhad, any updates?" His eager voice was laced with a hint of fear, the phone merely balanced between his left ear and his shoulder as he cradled his one-year-old to sleep in his arms. The negative answer from the other side reminded him how little power he held against nature, against destiny, against the universe.
Tonight was supposed to be perfect.
31st of December, Pallavi was supposed to walk home in the afternoon, the house decorated with Christmas decorations as she liked greeting her, the lady of the house. He had planned a photo shoot for the New Year with her and his little Arjun, all dressed in black outfits, colour-coordinating as they harmonized their lives together. It was supposed to be followed by a family dinner with Amma, Aai, Keerti, Amruta and Farhad, ending with desserts and a karaoke session filled with old Bollywood songs. After this Raghav had decided to give her a massage, the one she loves, which would then end as they pleased, with the rational part of their brain taking a backseat, allowing desires to make decisions.
Nothing went as planned.
Absolutely nothing.
The clock showed 10:12 pm, his phone had no new messages or calls or emails, Arjun was still not asleep, food was left untouched in the utensils they were cooked in, Amma sat in front of God for the longest time ever, Amruta and Farhad tried their best to find any information about anything, Keerti constantly watched the news on different devices for any updates.
Updates about the flight that was supposed to land in the afternoon.
The Indian Government had organized a two-day event to honour all the women in the country who had contributed to maintaining the classical heritage of the nation via dance, music or art. Pallavi has received an invitation too for her exceptional contribution to teaching and spreading Kathak not only in Hyderabad but throughout Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. She had initially refused, worried about leaving Arjun alone, who had celebrated his first birthday a month ago. It required a lot of persuasion on the part of Amma, Aai, and Raghav, as well as a detailed timetable with a PowerPoint presentation outlining who would be with Arjun when and for what tasks. The presentation had her in chuckles as she finally agreed, leaving for the event at the last moment, and returning as soon as she could.
Everything went fine, except the returning part.
The unannounced snowstorm which engulfed Uttarakhand as soon as her flight took off from Dehradun left the entire nation in shock, claiming the lives of over a hundred individuals. The Air Traffic Control had lost connection with the flight she was on, making it hard for anyone to know where and how were the 127 passengers onboard. The flight which was supposed to have a layover in New Delhi never reached there and it was over four hours past its scheduled landing time at Hyderabad.
Raghav had used all his connections to reach every officer and authority working at the Hyderabad Airport, but no one had any information.
The cries from Arjun broke his trance and he held his little son close to him, trying to make him quiet. Arjun had been very cooperative the last three days, eating and sleeping in his own time, never making a fuss about anything. Pallavi spoke to him on video calls to which he smiled and laughed too, making sounds that she understood, being the best version of himself. But he was fussy since the afternoon, irritation evident in his sound, the uncomfortableness visible through his actions.
It was as if he sensed something was wrong.
"No my baby, don't cry baccha, see Aai will be back soon, then we'll all be okay," he tried to calm him down, walking around the room and cradling him to carry him on his shoulders. Nothing seemed to work as the cries increased and the walls of strength around Raghav cracked, his patience hanging by a thin thread. His eyes fell on their framed family picture, meeting with her smiley face and tears filled his dark orbs, the unsettling fear that he had tried pushing away for hours making its path through his veins back into his soul, creeping up with full force, breaking all the walls he built around him. He sat down, gripping Arjun close as their cries resonated in the room, Raghav's voice calling for Pallavi with the same intensity as Arjun's.
