Akhil slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.
His eyes darted from one corner to another as he tried to identify where he was.
He took in the scene around him.
A square-shaped room, bright white lights bulbs from the ceiling , his parents standing nearby.
He tried to sit up, but before he could sit, his mother rushed toward him, her weary face streaked with tears.
He felt guilt about how he had treated them earlier.
He was about to apologize, but his mother embraced him tightly and patted his head.
“Akhil, I’m sorry.
I shouldn’t have pressured you.”
“I’m really sorry.”
Akhil gently patted her back, and he could barely able to hold back his tears.
Look at what he had done.
He had hurt his mother.
He had hurt his father.
He bit the inside of his cheek and replied to her.
“Mom, I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“You haven’t done anything wrong.
I’m the one who did something wrong.”
“I’m the one who rudely cut you off.”
“Please forgive me.”
After that, the family of three talked among themselves.
They left the hospital with a relieved smiles on their faces.
Akhil’s family only had one bike, but it wasn’t enough for all three of them.
So, Akhil reassured them that he was fine.
So, his parents could ride the bike home.
His mother and father drove the bike together with a reluctant expression.
Akhil headed toward the bus station, but he didn’t get on the bus because it was packed with people.
He waited until another bus arrived at the station with nearly only a few passengers inside .
He stepped onto the bus and found a seat near the rear door.
As the bus started to move, a gust of wind hit his face and his hair fluttered in the breeze.
He took out his phone, opened the ‘WhatsApp’ and saw a series of messages from Divya.
He was amused.
He opened the chat and saw the list of messages.
Divya: Akhil, why are you not replying to my messages?
Divya: Did something happen?
Divya: Are you there?
Divya: Have I done something wrong?
Divya: Akhil.
Divya: Please reply to me.
Divya: if you won’t reply to my messages, then I’ll come to your college to check on you.
Divya: [Crying emoji]
Divya: Please…
He clicked his tongue in amazement.
“Seriously, from these messages alone, it’s enough for someone to assume the other person is in love with you.”
“But If she really confessed her feelings to me, I would give her an answer based on whether I liked her or not.”
“She even called me multiple times.”
He shook his head with a smile and replied to her messages.
Akhil: Divya, sorry for not responding earlier.
Akhil: Actually, I fell unconscious on the road while I was on my way to college.
Reply from Divya came almost instantly, as if she had been waiting the whole time for his message.
Divya: Akhil, where are you?
Divya: I’ll come pick you up.
Seeing the reply, Akhil felt his hands twitched a little and could not help grumble.
“Seriously, she really has a lot of free time to come pick me up.”
Before he could reply to her message, a warm sunlight reflected off his phone screen.
He increased the brightness because he could barely see the text clearly.
He replied with a smile.
Akhil: No, I’m already on my way home by bus.
Divya: No, I want to see you.
Right now.
Divya: Wait at the bus station near your home.
I’ll pick you up.
Akhil felt refusing her again would be rude.
So, he simply replied.
“Okay.
I’ll wait for you.”
On the other side,
Divya released a sigh of relief.
Earlier, she had sent a message to Akhil just as she usually did.
She had sent him a good morning message.
Akhil saw her message almost instantly.
But he never sent her a reply.
He would always greet her back with simple “you too”.
Her heart tightened with anxiety and panic.
Why?
Why wasn’t he replying to her?
Had she done something wrong?
No… she had even helped him yesterday.
Or…was he afraid of her because how of aggressive she had been?
No… Akhil.
She sent a series of messages, asking him to reply to her.
But… no reply.
He hasn’t even seen her message.
She called him multiple times, but he didn’t answer her call. This story is hosted at g.com.
Is he ignoring me?
A thought surfaced in her mind before she dismissed it.
No… There must be some other reason.
Maybe he’s busy.
Maybe he dropped his phone, and the screen was damaged.
She desperately tried to convince herself that Akhil would never hate her or be afraid of her.
But she knew it was a futile attempt.
Unless she received a message from Akhil.
She couldn’t calm her heart.
Why?
Why?
.
.
.
.
Why?
Her thoughts began turning dangerous and dark.
Her fist clenched so tightly that her nails dug deeper into her palm, and a thin line of blood trickled down her hand.
Pain flared through her hand, but she didn’t care.
Her mind was fixated on one thing.
Why hadn’t Akhil messaged her?
Just as she was about to lose her mind, a notification chimed.
A message from Akhil immediately pulled her mind away from the dark thoughts.
When she saw the messages, her heart skipped the beat.
“What…Akhil collapsed on the road?”
A wave of dread and fear washed over her.
I almost lost my Akhil.
No.
I won’t lose him
He is my world.
He is my everything.
But first, I have to see him.
I need to make sure he isn’t injured.
She immediately messaged him, asking where he was and offering to pick him up.
Akhil refused, saying that he was already on the bus.
This won’t do.
She messaged him again, telling him to wait at the bus station near his house.
He replied that he would.
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she stepped out of the police station to pick up her Akhil.
The smile on her face looked crazy and dangerous.
Those who saw her immediately lowered their heads and avoided her gaze.