Hide & Seek

Miss Me?

"We missed you the other day." Miha muffled through the pillow breaking my revire.

The rain still dribbled its way down in a slow rythm circulating a faint music. I let the curtain fall and sat back on my chair. "What did you do?" I asked her. She was faced down on my bed doing what I had no idea.

"Nothing much. We just gloom."

"Hey." I threw a magazine at her. "I'm still alive."

"Ow!" She sat up rubbing her head. "Your absence girl. There was no one to role eyes with shivangi at Purav and fight over snacks with him; facepalm with me at Eshani and sing with her; share witty comments with Rishi ; drool over insta page with Priya; and bicker with Nicholas! It was difficult."

My mouth hung opened as I stared at her, then gave her a uncertain smile. "Now that you put it that way, its quite a lot!"

"Ofcourse it is. You are important."

I smiled. It was strange. The word. I mean, there are so many things important there and among them being important yourself to someone is not so much as ordinary but anomalus a little. Not to mention the responsibility and the expectations that ensues with it or is it just an empty shell? I refuse to belive that. Somethings and some people are to be worth expected of.

"So..... is this the last time?" Miha asked, skeptical. She was not moaning for one thing about our school being second in the debate competition while the Glamour School  took away the first prize was a relief. Her complains were a issue in our group. Like  a lot.

From, perched on the window shill, Reya groaned. "Oh, goodness girl! You gotta be more specific! What 'the last time'?" Then she glanced at me. "I'm telling you shouldn't hang out with these people. She is so....shady. Anyway, I think-"

"Last time what?" I interupted. I was in no humour to get engaged with her at this moment, specially in Miha's presence. And what was she even doing here? She would basically disperse into thin air to wherever ghosts does whenever my friends were around. I snuck a quick glance at her. She was scowling at me.

"House arrest?" Miha said, matter of factly.

I scrunched my nose. I, as well, was getting indisposed of this situation, even after three weeks of hospital relieve. "Uhh. I'm not sure. You know the doctor and all. They said something about bed rest...."

"Yeah. Yeah. I was there, okay? Is it done now ?"

I nodded, uncertain. "My mother--"

This time both Miha and Reya groaned. "I hate mommy-issues."

"Hey!" I protested. "Its not a issue. She's just concern."

"Well, then, we have to talk her out of it." She had this determined look on her face that reminded me of Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries I watched with Eshani few days ago.

"What are you-" But she was already out of my bedroom, padding down the stairs and I decided not to indulge myself in 'mommy-best-friend' engagement if I wanted to see the moon tonight whose fortnightly rendezvous had thrived within all these months and dangle my feet down the terrace with Reya blabbering self-acclaimed theories into my ears.

Twenty minutes later, by the time Miha came back I was almost done with my Geography homework, followed by Reya who looked shocked as shell.

Miha sat on my bed with a flourish. "Well, I talked to your mommy, and we are meeting saturday, I'll pick you up."

I blinked. "What did you do?" No way in hell my mother would have conferred to whatever theories she had offered.

From her resumed seat at the window Reya was staring at Miha with fasscination. "God, I like her."

I scowled. What the hell?
I shook my head stressing out the confusion. "What did you do Miha?"

"Solved the mommy issuse. Now, I gotta go, I've to buy shoes." She said slinging her bag and then beamed. "And yes, I'll get you a dress."

"What? No."

"Yes." She frowned at me. "Homecoming gift. Suck it up. Bye." And just like that she was out of my bedroom.

I turned to Reya who was still staring from where Miha left.

"What the hell happened?" I muttered.

******

That evening I sat on my terrace with Reya, like old times. She had magnolia in her hair with twirls of ivy. How she got that, I had no idea.

"So," I began. "You missed me? When I was in the hospital?"

She scoffed. "Oh, don't be delusional."

"Come on. You were worried."

"Oh, spare me the mutual concerns of the world, I've better things to do?"

"Like....what?"

"Well, there's a new man-in-waiting at this restaurant down the street. He's a cheesecake."

I closed my eyes. She didn't just say that! "So....you were drooling over boys while I was dying in the hospital?"

"Well, matter of factly you were not dying! And yes, I deserve to live a life."

I scowled at her. "You are....you are just making excuses. You were worried."

"I was not."

Suddenly, I clutched my chest. "Ow!" I gripped the railing and took deep breaths. "What the hell!"

Reya was suddenly over me. "Hey, what is it?"

I shook my head, whimpering. "I don't know. Its my ches....oh my god."

Her eyes widened and she started muttering. "We gotta call a doctor. We gotta call a doctor. Get up. Get up now! What are you doing?!"

I was grinning . I shook my head. "See, you do care."

A moment realisation flared her up. She glared at me. "You...played me!"

"Well, technically...." But she was already drifting away. "Hey, come back! Where you going, living me all alone?"

But she was gone and I just stared in the empty sir. All this time, I'd Skype talked my friends, with few visits. Miha was frequent and then there was Reya, I don't think she ever let me get out of her sight since I came home was exceptionally admirable aversed to her continuous repulses of her concern towards me because the truth was, she cared.

I sat there staring at half sliced moon shimmering over the dark night. A few minutes later, Reya drifted over. "Play me again and I'll push you off."

I smiled. "So, is there something you wanna do, for, you know, the afterlife thing?" It was getting easier to talk this way knowing full well what conclusion lie in store, in face of which trying again yet again.

I needed to tell her my own versions of apprehensions concerning her exclusion from my life that was going to be spawned if succeeded one day but I knew she was not much of a sensitve talker, though, when she would I ought to tell her.

She gave me her evil smile. "Oh, you have no idea."