A LOVE STORY OR NOT PART 2

#7

Sidharth immediately made a run inside the washroom. Nobody else was there and when he looked at her stuff spread out on the floor, he felt his breath stuck in his throat.

He bent down on his knees and traced his hands over her backpack. His eyes travelled to her mobile which had been broken.

It seemed as if somebody had threw her phone on the wall. She might have been trying to call him.

The thought that she might have tried to call out to him, made him clench his fists. He felt so angry at himself for not acting on his instincts.

He should have come here looking for her as soon as he felt the churning feeling as if something wrong was going to happen.

He felt her moving away from him and the moment he felt it, he thought, he should have gone with her.

All this wouldn't have happened. She would still be here with him and she would be okay.

But who said that she wasn't okay? He doesn't know that she is not! All he knows is that she isn't here.

Her ice cream was spoilt, she might have gone to take another one. She might be just okay. Sidharth just crossed his fingers hoping she is safe and sound.

He comes outside and Kushal and Ahana seemed a bit out of it. They seemed worried and scared.

Sidharth really wanted to have a breakdown, but he gripped himself hard, asking himself to be strong because this wasn't the right time.

Once he finds Shehnaaz, he would cry like a baby. But before that, he needs to be strong, he needs to find her.

He made his way towards the hotel's security and staff's room. He told them about everything that has happened.

"Sir we can check the CCTV footage, if you want to!", the manager told him, really scared and intimidated by him.

Sidharth nodded. Ahana and Kushal had followed him. They also stood there while the CCTV was shown.

The CCTV showed Shehnaaz entering the washroom while cleaning away the ice cream from her hoodie.

Sidharth's eyes welled up seeing her. He just wanted to hold her close to his heart and rock her back and forth.

He is never letting her out of his sight, once he finds her. He knitted his eyebrows together in concentration, to avoid crying.

Sidharth felt his throat chocking as he saw that the footage of her entering is right there, but the footage of her coming out wasn't there at all.

He saw himself and Kushal and Ahana standing outside the washroom.

But the portion where she comes out or where somebody pulls her out, was not there at all.

It seemed as if she has vanished into thin air. Where did she go, if she didn't come out? She wasn't in the ladies room as well!

The security asked the staff to replay the video and this time they focussed on the timings.

"Sir isme atleast 8 minute ki footage gaayab hai. Its just not there!", the security personnel said.

"If the footage is not here, toh hai kahan?", Sidharth asked while he roughly held the collars of the man standing beside him.

Where was Shehnaaz? His shehnaaz? Where was she? Was she okay? Was she safe?

Sidharth couldn't help but feel his heart stopped beating thinking whether she would be safe or not.

Sidharth felt Shehnaaz's hand in his huge one's and it seemed like he got back his soul, his life.

He turned around to look at her and when he brought his hands up, to caress her face, she vanished.