Fragile Hearts

C h a p t e r - 61

The evening air had cooled, but Riya barely noticed.

She stood outside her coaching center, her arms wrapped around herself, the glow of streetlights casting long shadows on the pavement. Her phone screen flickered as she checked it—again. 9:00 PM.

No message. No missed calls. Nothing.

Her fingers drummed against her bag strap. Where is he?

Riya: "Enga dhan ponan ivan…?"

At first, she told herself he was just caught up somewhere. Maybe with friends, maybe his phone was dead. But Siddharth never ignored her calls like this. Not for this long.

She tried calling—again.

"The number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable—"

The automated voice grated against her nerves. She lowered her phone, heart pounding. Something wasn’t right.

Her gaze drifted down the empty road. The usual buzz of students leaving coaching classes had long faded, leaving only the distant hum of vehicles.

9:15 PM.

Her fingers clenched around her phone. Something didn't feel right.

Sighing, she turned away and walked toward home, her mind racing.

Once she reached home, she immediately tried calling him again. No response. Her heart pounded.

She tried texting. Still nothing.

9:30 PM.

She bit her lip and finally dialed Siddharth’s sister.

She tried calling his sister.

Riya: "Akka... Sid vitla irukana?"

Keerthi: "Illaye ma… Na avankuda irukan nu nenachitu iruken. Avan illaya anga?"

Riya: "Illa ka... Irunga na kupduren.." she said and cut the call.

A shiver ran through her. He wasn’t home either?

She called Vikram.

Riya: "Vikram… Sid unkuda irukana?"

Vikram: "Illa Riya… Evening la irundhu pakkave illa…En enna achu..."

Riya: "Onnum illa... Avan call edukala adhaan kettan.."

Her pulse quickened. One by one, she called everyone—Rahul, their other friends—each answer the same. No one had seen Siddharth.

And then, almost instinctively, she dialed Arun.

---

The note lay on the desk, edges curling slightly from Arun’s tight grip.

His eyes traced Siddharth’s hurried handwriting for what felt like the hundredth time. The words burned in his mind, heavy with a weight he couldn’t shake.

Silence pressed in around him. A strange, suffocating silence.

Why now, Sid?

The ringing of his phone shattered the stillness.

Riya.

He stared at the screen for a second before answering.

Riya: "Arun—Sid engaiyume illa... Romba nerama kanom. Unaku edhachu theriyuma?"

Her voice was different. Unsteady.

His grip on the phone tightened.

Arun: "Enna solra?"