Mumbai

The apartment had settled into a comfortable silence.

Outside, the city was still awake. Cars moved along the roads below, their headlights briefly illuminating the streets before disappearing into the distance. Every now and then, a horn echoed through the night, mixing with the faint hum of Mumbai that never truly seemed to sleep. The lights from nearby buildings shimmered against the dark sky, giving the city a strangely peaceful appearance.

Inside-

everything was calm.

Too calm.

Kridha sat at the dining table surrounded by files, notes, and academy documents. Her laptop remained open beside a calculator while several neatly arranged piles of paperwork occupied most of the table. Every few minutes she would finish organizing one stack, align the corners perfectly, and move on to the next.

Across the room-

Haseena sat quietly on the sofa.

A book rested open in her hands.

But she wasn't reading.

The same page had been open for almost twenty minutes.

Her eyes remained fixed on the words, yet it felt as though she wasn't seeing any of them. Every now and then she would blink, shift slightly, or adjust her grip on the book, but her attention never truly returned to the page.

After a while she reached for the water bottle beside her.

Opened it.

Then simply stared at it.

Almost as if she had forgotten why she picked it up in the first place.

Several seconds passed before she quietly closed it again and placed it back untouched.

Kridha noticed.

But said nothing.

A little later-

Haseena stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

She opened one cabinet.

Looked inside.

Closed it.

Then opened the refrigerator and stared at its contents for several seconds before closing it again.

A moment later she returned to the sofa empty-handed.

Like she had gone there for a reason and forgotten it halfway through.

Once again-

Kridha noticed.

And once again-

she stayed quiet.

Because sometimes silence said more than questions.

The evening slowly turned into night.

Around nine-

Haseena's phone vibrated.

The sound briefly broke the silence.

She picked it up and looked at the screen.

For the first time all evening, the distant look in her eyes softened slightly.

A message.

Karishma.

A familiar name.

A familiar person.

A small reminder of home.

KARU

"Khana kha liya humne. Roommate bohot pareshan karne wali mili hai. Hectic day tha. Sone ja rahe. Good night."

For a few seconds-

Haseena simply stared at the message.

Then typed back.

HASU

"Good night."

Nothing more.

No complaints.

No explanations.

No mention of how she was feeling.

Just two words.

Then she locked the phone.

A few moments later, perhaps just to distract herself, she opened Instagram.

One reel.

Then another.

Then another.

Mindlessly scrolling.

Not really watching anything.

Just trying not to think.

And then-

her thumb stopped moving.

A news post had appeared.

One of those random viral pages.

Half-truths.

Fake headlines.

Sensational stories.

The post contained an old photograph.

A familiar one.

Too familiar.

Her parents.

Below it-

hundreds of comments.

Speculations.

Rumours.

People discussing things they knew nothing about.

People creating stories.

Making assumptions.

Turning someone's life into entertainment.

For a second-

everything went completely still.

The color drained from her face.

Her jaw tightened.

Her fingers clenched around the phone.

And before she even realized what she was doing-

she tossed the phone onto the sofa.

Not hard.

But hard enough.

The sound immediately made Kridha look up.

Haseena had already stood.

Without saying a single word.

Without looking back.

She simply walked toward the bedroom.

Opened the door.

Entered.

And quietly closed it behind her.

Silence returned.

Kridha stared toward the closed door.

Then toward the phone.

For a moment she hesitated.

Then slowly picked it up.

The screen was still on.

The post remained open.

She read it once.

Then again.

Her expression slowly changed.

Shock.

Understanding.

And finally-

something heavier.

The pieces suddenly started fitting together.

The silence.

The absent-mindedness.

The empty stare.

The way Haseena always looked like she was carrying something she couldn't put down.

Kridha looked toward the closed bedroom door again.

This time for much longer.

She didn't knock.

Didn't go inside.

Didn't force a conversation.

Instead she quietly locked the phone and placed it carefully on the table.

Then returned to her chair.

But she wasn't reading anymore.

Because now-

for the first time-

she understood.

Haseena wasn't being distant.

She was hurting.

And somewhere deep down, without saying a single word, Kridha made a decision.

She didn't know how.

She didn't know when.

But she would try.

Slowly.

Patiently.

One step at a time.

To help her find her way back.

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Bangalore

11:47 PM

The academy hostel had finally gone quiet.

Corridors that had been filled with noise all evening now stood silent. Most room lights had been switched off and the excitement of arrival day had slowly faded away.

Inside Room 2218-

Karishma was still awake.

Unfortunately.

Not by choice.

She had already changed sides approximately thirty-seven times.

The blanket felt uncomfortable.

The pillow felt uncomfortable.

The room felt uncomfortable.

Life felt uncomfortable.

And tomorrow-

academy officially started.

Which somehow made everything worse.

With a frustrated sigh she turned toward the opposite bed.

Only to find Santosh sleeping peacefully.

Spread diagonally across half the mattress.

One hand hanging off the side.

One sock mysteriously missing.

The blanket twisted around her legs like it had lost a wrestling match.

Karishma stared for several seconds.

Karishma (in mind):
"Kaha fas gaye hum..."

Meanwhile-

Santosh continued sleeping peacefully.

Karishma rolled her eyes and looked back toward the ceiling.

Eventually exhaustion began winning.

Her eyes slowly closed.

And then-

Santosh: "Nahi..."

Karishma's eyes snapped open immediately.

Complete silence.

She slowly turned her head.

Santosh was still asleep.

Very asleep.

Karishma frowned.

Karishma: "Bhoot."

She closed her eyes again.

Three seconds later-

Santosh: "Do plate aur dena..."

Karishma opened one eye.

Slowly.

Karishma: "Khane ka sapna dekh rahi hai."

Then-

Santosh smiled in her sleep.

Santosh: "Free hai kya?"

Karishma sat up.

Karishma: "Amma..."

No response.

Because obviously-

madam unconscious thi.

A few moments later Santosh suddenly pointed somewhere in the air.

Santosh: "Nahi papa..."

A pause.

Santosh: "Maine chips nahi khaye."

Karishma slowly turned toward the empty chips packets still lying near Santosh's desk.

Then looked back at her.

Karishma: "Jhoot sapne mein bhi bol rahi hai."

A minute passed.

Peace returned.

Karishma finally closed her eyes again.

Then-

Santosh: "BHAAGO!"

Karishma jumped.

Karishma: "KYA HUA?!"

Nothing.

Santosh remained asleep.

Then dramatically-

Santosh: "Duck aa gaya."

Karishma froze.

Karishma: "...Kya?"

Santosh: "Giant duck."

A pause.

Santosh: "Yellow wala."

Karishma slowly sat there.

Processing.

Trying to understand.

Failing completely.

Then Santosh pointed somewhere again.

Santosh: "Uske paas knife hai."

Karishma immediately covered her face.

Karishma: "Hum pagal ho jayenge."

The room fell quiet again.

For nearly ten minutes.

Karishma finally started relaxing.

Maybe now she could sleep.

Maybe now-

Santosh suddenly sat halfway upright.

Eyes still closed.

Hair completely messed up.

And loudly declared-

Santosh: "Presentation successful."

A pause.

Then proudly-

Santosh: "Ab samosa lao."

Before immediately falling backward again.

Karishma stared.

Long.

Very long.

Silence.

Then she slowly got up.

Walked toward her study table.

Opened a notebook.

And wrote:

Reasons Why Santosh Sharma Should Not Be Trusted

1. Carries chopping board instead of books.
2. Loses room key.
3. Eats in dreams.
4. For sure psycho.

She underlined "For sure psycho" twice.

Then closed the notebook.

Switched off the table lamp.

And finally-

around two in the morning-

Karishma somehow managed to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, on the other bed-

Santosh smiled peacefully in her sleep.

Santosh: "Extra chutney bhi dena..."

Karishma's eye twitched.

That was it.

Enough was enough.

Without saying a single word, she slowly sat up, grabbed the nearest pillow, carefully aimed at Santosh's face like a trained sniper, and-

THUMP.

Direct hit.

The pillow landed perfectly on Santosh's head.

For a second Karishma waited.
Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Santosh didn't even move.

Not a reaction.

Not a complaint.

Not even a change in breathing.

Karishma stared.

Then stared some more.

Karishma (in mind): "Ye ladki nahi... hibernation pe gaya hua bhalu hai."

Satisfied with her revenge, she lay back down, turned to the opposite side, closed her eyes, and immediately pretended she had been sleeping the whole time.

Meanwhile-

Santosh remained exactly where she was.

Pillow on face.

Completely unconscious.

At this point even if an earthquake arrived, the hostel collapsed, and the academy declared an emergency evacuation-

she probably would've just asked:

Santosh: "Samosa ke saath chutney free hai na...?"

And continued sleeping.
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✍️ - 1482 Words

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