The Elevator To Realms

Chapter 10: Silent Hopes

Kriti

The soft hum of the car engine filled the quiet Uber ride as I leaned back, my thoughts swirling around like a whirlwind.

"Damn it! I... I don't know what I was doing!", I thought to myself. It had been days since I last saw Vaibhav. We hadn't spoken much either, and the growing silence between us gnawed at me. Yes, I know, and I am pretty sure that he was busy with his cousin's ring ceremony as I had come to know about it from my friends. Also, marriage at home comes with all the family events, but still, I couldn't stop thinking about him.

For a few minutes, I looked around. The traffic passed by through the other side while the cab stood still on the intersection, waiting for the signal to turn green.

"Should I call him?", I wondered, my fingers hovering all over my phone. I had his number open on my contact list. Well, I had trouble finding his number on the call logs because, you all know why. I hadn't called him recently. My thumb hesitated just over the call button. Something held me back. A mix of anxiety and doubt that I couldn't quite shake it off.

"Chhodo...", I whispered to myself, as if trying to convince myself to let it go. I let out a sigh, and shoved the phone back into my jeans pocket.

But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't. My thoughts keep drifting back to him. Before I could even know about it, I found myself typing out a message - A simple one though, it was just about exams, nothing too personal. Almost instantly, my phone buzzed with his reply. Everything stood still for a second and my heart jumped a little. I couldn't help but smile. He said he'd just returned from his Nani-ghar.

It Read:

Vaibhav: Hey Kriti! how have you been? Kaisa chal raha sab?
Kriti: Hello Vaibhav, Everything is going fine and well. Tum batao? How was your cousin's marriage at your Nani-ghar?
Vaibhav: It was good. I just returned back and thought I could  look up and revise on some Numericals for my Maths. What about you?

"We should catch up...", I typed, my heart suddenly racing, though I wasn't sure why. Was I just being a good friend? Or... was there something else. Something more. I quickly pushed that thought aside. And I refrained from hitting that send button. "Let it be. I am just friendly.", I told myself, trying to reassure my mind and heart once again.

Then, out of nowhere, he asked, "By the way, tumhara exam center kahan hai? Actually, I never got to know about that. Even when we gathered at the Cafe with Pooja and Kajol."

I paused for a moment before replying to him, "DAV Public School Sector 4, Bokaro."

His response came almost instantly. "What?! Same as mine!"

A flutter of strange but also somewhat familiar excitement stirred in my chest. I tried to play it cool. "Oh wow, coincidence ha?", I replied, keeping my tone casual over text and as normal emojis as possible, though I was secretly thrilled.

As the conversation shifted, we somehow ended up talking about Pooja's exam center. I mentioned she was in Jamshedpur, away during the exams. Vaibhav sounded confused.

"Vaibhav? Pooja didn't tell you about her exam center?", I asked while I was shocked. It was evident from his expression that she hadn't told him about her exam center.

Vaibhav: No... I guess... she might be busy or she might be worried about her exams.
Kriti: Pagal ho kya? You should've asked her about it. Also, Itna mat socho. Koi bhi itna busy nahi rehta hai theek hai? Try to sort things out. Okay?

"Yeah... Maybe. Let's see.", he replied. I felt a familiar pain in Vaibhav's reply, as I had a faint idea of what he might be going through. I told him not to worry about things like this, and everything will be fine.