Back In Time

~nine~

The first time her phone rang with Rishi's name on the screen, she could only stare at it blankly for the whole of the forty two seconds that it rang for.

What does he want NOW? Hasn't he wreaked enough havoc in my life already?

She had never felt any emotion this intense before. It was vile and venomous and very, very taxing mentally and brought her thinking about the way Vedant had questioned her on the same the previous night.

"Meera I've been hanging out with the guy for a while now and I think it's safe to say he really means no harm. He misses you, you know." He'd started, when their open discussions had started to flow.

She had stared at him agape, surprised at how much he noticed as he'd continued, "Okay, I get that he kicked you out of his room MOST unceremoniously in front of his friends that day. But that hardly justifies your anger for him Meera. There's something more to it, isn't it?"

When Meera had still not responded he'd sighed, "My intention is not to irk you. If you're not comfortable opening up with me, so be it. I will not force you and you know that. But if there's something bothering you, it is my duty to help you deal with it. And I'll be honest Meera, I like him."

She took his word for it. There was no denying that Vedant was fond of Rishi. For it was more than obvious to her that somehow, Vedant saw himself in Rishi. And every time he sensed the tension that loomed in the air between Meera and her brother, he unconsciously compared it with his beautiful relationship with his doting younger sister and felt an acute need to intervene.

So typically caring of him.

There was something stopping her from opening up. And it annoyed her to think it was this obscenely tiny part of her that felt that whatever Rishi and her shared; love or hate; was something quite personal and not something she would even want to tell Vedant.

It was irksome too, at how she felt responsible for protecting Rishi's budding friendship with Vedant.

Was it weird that she somehow liked the idea of them hanging out together?

It was after all, a subtle way of having one of her family members approve of her relationship with Vedant. And that was a start, wasn't it?

Meera sighed, as the phone got disconnected on account of her not picking up.

But then his call, was succeeded by a call from home and she instantly sensed some trouble. Her response through the answer button was immediate,

"Rishi?"

If there was one thing she had always appreciated about Rishi, it was his habit of cutting to the chase without unnecessarily beating around the bush. That's what he did this time too.

"It's Dadi. She had a severe heart attack...." His voice trailed off, as Meera felt a weird sort of a trance grip her. It was that peculiar kind of zoning out where some of the surroundings grew hideously clear, while the others seemed like a distant blur. Like the ticking seconds' hand of the clock, like the specks of dust lining the sides of the very same clock, like the little dark stain on the freshly painted taupe walls.

No, she wasn't shocked. And she was certainly not sad for the lady.

In fact, that was the problem. No matter how hard she tried to feel something, anything, for the woman's plight, she felt absolutely nothing. Not even hate.

What was she to make of that?

"...are you even listening to me Meera?" Rishi snapped unceremoniously, and Meera found herself breaking out of her trail of thoughts.