Chapter 6: The Call That Broke the Quiet

Surprisingly, Neel never bothered her again.

He kept his word.

No more shadows at the pickup point. No more silent “Hi”s. No more tension in the air.

It was as if he had vanished — not just from her street, but from her world.

And life, slowly but surely, began to slip back into something resembling normal.

Mritika could finally breathe again — walk to the bus stop without scanning faces, sip her morning coffee without a tremor of dread, and fall asleep without expecting a shadow at her gate.

For the first time in months, she could simply be herself.

Work began to settle too.

After days of awkward silence, she finally gathered the courage to speak to Ananya. It started with a quiet apology over coffee — hesitant, clumsy, but honest.

She admitted she hadn’t been herself. That her outburst had come from a place she barely understood.

Ananya listened. Forgave. And smiled in that quiet, knowing way that made Mritika’s chest unclench.

That evening, she walked home feeling lighter — like she had finally released something she’d been holding far too long.

Then the call came.

Her phone buzzed just as she was unlocking her door.

Swastik.

She hadn’t spoken to him in months. She answered without thinking.

“Hey, Mritika…” His voice was strained, softer than she remembered. “I… I have some bad news.”

Her heart sank instantly.

“What happened?”

There was a pause. A breath. A silence that felt too long.

“It’s your mamu… He passed away this morning.

She sat on the edge of her bed, the phone trembling in her hand, unsure if she was hearing him correctly.