XANDERS AND SAVIOURS

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I lay unaware of the dates rolling on the calendar. The sun goes down and up alternately, and yet my routine remains the same. I don't have a clue about the world outside. I don't know if Aliza Bhabhi’s divorce is over. I am unsure if people even care about me anymore. 

 

I stay lost in thoughts and stare at the yonder beyond my window. I can still taste the soup I had in the morning. It was a special dish made with care by my brother’s new wife. It tasted okay, nothing like Aliza Bhabhi’s warm bowl of shorba wrapped in spices and love. But I don't want to judge her too soon. As I reminisce of my morning meal, the window screen flutters, which I had asked Ma to put up recently to avoid getting jump scares from Salim. But I don't think it would be of any use anymore. 



 

A tap on the window quickly makes me stumble out of bed. I cover myself with my blanket in a reflex. The tapping intensifies, and my shudders, too. Through the flapping screen, I see a familiar face, one that isn't terrifying. I consider for a while before walking towards the window. I sit on the windowsill, slightly moving through the curtain. It takes me by surprise when I find Christy holding on to her dear life as she tries desperately to gain my attention. I am quick to open the window and hold onto her hand. 

“What are you doing here at this time?” I whisper, making sure not to be too loud to attract attention.

“What do you mean what am I doing? I called you, but you did not pick up. I spoke to someone twice, but they wouldn't let me talk to you,” she murmurs with the same vigilance. Now, what are you waiting for? Give me your hand. Let me in,” she says. I hold on to her hand and drag her inside. I run back to the door and lock it from the inside. 

“Why were you absent? We all were worried until the person on the phone said you were alright.”

“Can't you see? I am restrained from going out.”

“What? But why?”

I then narrate the story that happened after we last met, and she gasps dramatically. 

“Does that mean you won't be at school ever again?”

“It seems like that.”

“Why don't you fight? Your parents?”

“How? Nobody even wants to listen to me. And I am in a tight spot. If I have to tell them everything, I must also reveal myself. It's better that my family thinks I am a ruckus. If they find the truth, it would be worse.”

“So, what do we do now??”

“Talk to Bhabhi. She will have ideas. And to Ms. Srija. They can help. I need to be back to school again. I have dreams, and I cannot lose them for a pathetic guy who is also a stalker.”

She nods her head in agreement. “We got you,” she says before disappearing through the window again. She waves at me as she makes a turn out the street, and I keep my eyes glued there in hopes of seeing her again. 




This is a part of BlogchatterA2Z2025

#penbooksandscalpel


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