Hamesha, Yours!

-30 and 31-

 The silent house sat there still waiting to burst its crackers of homeliness as soon as its members arrived. Abhimanyu and Aryaman, two of whom the house awaited, had arrived but things weren't still complete. A visit had been paid but rather than warmth, a dead silence, unvoiced complaints and muffled cries were left behind. A touch of warmth and love hadn't blessed the house. 

The two friends had dozed off for the night and the thick curtains blocked any rays of the hopeful sunshine. The mornings went unannounced just like many previous visits. There were no traces of it, except than internal realizations. 

Aryaman stretched open his hands, knocking off a cold something that earned him a  grumpy Abhimanyu. 

"What did you do in the morning?" he grudged. 

"Whoops, just knocked off something." Aryaman answered and slipped off from the couch to fix the thing.

"Such a trouble maker!" Abhimanyu taunted childishly. 

"Am sorry for not fitting on a sofa like you. I just have just a handsome body, not my fault!"

"Whatever, bitter-batter!"

"Prettier-partner!" Aryaman snapped.

"Fitter-fatter." Abhimanyu called out to him, narrowing his eyes as he sat awoken on the three-sitter sofa to his right. 

"Cheater-ch... chatter." 

"Useless. That's not even thing." Abhimanyu dismissed his kiddish world-creation 

"Ridiculous. You set the rules first. Fitter-fatter isn't a thing." Aryaman declared, "Reality isn't the boundary, it is your brain." he declared his win and went off to freshen up. 

"Whatever!" Abhimanyu chided, "Sort your breakfast yourself! I don't exist in your so-called reality!"

A response never came back but, Abhimanyu was sure Aryaman must have said something that just didn't make its way to his ears. He looked at the small photo-frame he had dropped. It wasn't broken luckily, just out-of-order. A beautiful picture of two smiling faces and two childishly teasing faces laughed at him. They were a happy family, before that night cracked upon them, before that phone ringed into this house's halls.  he fixed up the photo, got himself together in one of the guest rooms he had seen earlier and soon, came back to the hall to see Aryaman with a broom on his shoulders, his sleeves rolled up and a cloth tied to his head. He raised an eyebrow at him in amusement and stared.

"Let's get this cleaning baby started, bruh!" Aryaman stated excitedly. 

"Why?" Abhimanyu blurted.

"Why? Why?" Aryaman dramatized an offended tone, "You ask why? I say why not? Hints are found under dust, remember..."

"Yes but, we do know she was in the hos..." 

"Shush up now. She was there. She gave this" Aryaman threw his around and rolled his eyes, "And you think we'll find her back there! Go fill your stomach with knowledge, Abhi!"

The banter continued. It was inevitable. Aryaman seemed to have gotten a new excited fire in him. He was sure he find something here, something that would lead them to her. She couldn't have just given him that chyme with a letter for no reason at all. Abhimanyu didn't know that and if he did, Aryaman knew he would butcher him, and so, Aryaman had no option but to follow along and make Abhimanyu play along. In darkness may be, but at least he wouldn't hurt by reading her words that were dipped in secrecy of her pain. 

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-Mumbai: Malhotra Mansion-

"Welcome!" Mr. Malhotra said as he swung his chair towards the door that had been blasted open.