Brother mine
***
Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's
Always tomorrow
Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
-Bill Withers
***
"Miss Nisha, your home."
Out of the corner of his eyes, Viraj saw Nisha flinch violently as if he had snapped her out of some deep thoughts. He probably had done exactly that. Ever since he had found her on the roadside, sunk to the floor, pressing her phone again and again to her ear, she had been like this: lost in her own thoughts. She hadn't cried then and neither had she in his car, though it was obvious that she was forcefully pulling herself together. Was it because of him?
Maybe it would have been smarter had he ignored her and continued on his way. After all, they seemed to do nothing but hurt each other whenever they met - and Viraj was so tired of hurting. But... he hadn't been able to.
Whether it was his love for her or his conscious telling him that he couldn't leave a girl alone in such a place in the middle of the night, he didn't know. All he had been aware of was the pang in his chest at seeing Nisha in this state, his limbs had refused to listen and keep moving, driving away - he had been pulled to her side like a moth to the light. A flickering light. Broken.
And the reason for her situation was that boy.
"I-I can't go home," Nisha said quietly, shaking her head. "Not yet! I have to find-"
"He is not a child," Viraj said drily. "If he's gone then he obviously wanted to go."
"You don't understand!" Nisha's voice was louder than before, almost hysterical. And when she turned in her seat to glare at him, he felt his insides churn sickeningly. "It's not- he wasn't- He didn't leave!"
Viraj opened his mouth, ready to retort something sarcastic, but decided against it and turned his face away to look out of the window. There was no use in starting an actual fight, especially not if Nisha was already on the brink of a nervous breakdown. He might be keeping some ill-feelings for Nisha, but he was not inhumane.
"Wait, look!" All of a sudden, there was a phone in front of him. "They- they even sent me messages."
Lifting his left eyebrow, Viraj eyed the message that was displayed. Ten minutes to reach the largest park on the south side of the city. You late - your guy gets his fingers broken, one by one.'
"It's from Kabir's number," Nisha continued softly. "But I... I haven't received any new instructions for hours!"
Curious, Viraj took her phone and looked at the other messages she had received. All were orders for her to reach a certain location within a limited amount of time, otherwise something would happen to her guy'. The threats turned from simple ones such as hitting to more serious ones like breaking bones and shooting. Well, at least now he could understand why Nisha seemed that worried. Though, she could have been clear in what she meant with Kabir has left' in the first place, couldn't she?
"Did you find any leads in these locations?"
A puzzled expression crossed Nisha's features. "No, I... there was nothing."
"Then why let you run through the city like this?" he further inquired. "Do you even know who this might be?"
"I have an idea but I'm not sure," Nisha replied. She wasn't quivering anymore, he noted absent-trembling.
Giving back her phone, Viraj watched her carefully. "Either, someone's having fun torturing you or..." He hesitated only for a second before adding, "Or your little friend's pulling a prank on you. He does seem like that kind of a guy."
It was the wrong thing to say, he knew it the very moment anger clouded Nisha's face. "I know Kabir's an idiot but definitely not such a big one. He would never pull such a horrible prank on me, okay? He cares."
Instinctively, Viraj closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It didn't lessen the sudden ache in his chest nor did it keep away the underlying accusation tainting Nisha's words from reaching his mind, but it made it bearable. "I'm sure you have already informed the police."
Pressing her lips into a tight line, Nisha turned away from him. "It hasn't been 24 hours. They won't take any actions till then."
"Not even if you showed them those messages?" he pressed on. "If they haven't sent you anything new in hours, it's highly possible that something has happened. You should have called in the police immediately, no matter what these people told you to do."
"I wasn't thinking..." she trailed off and when she looked back at him, there was a strange glimmer in her eyes. Something he couldn't place but it made him uncomfortable. "You say all this as if we're talking about the weather. Doesn't it matter to you what happens to Kabir? He could be seriously hurt!"
"Or worse," he agreed and shrugged when she glared at him. "Why should it matter? He's your problem to take care of."
"Maybe as a fellow human being you could show some concern," she said sharply.
Irritated, Viraj frowned. "I don't have anything to do with him!"
"So, you wouldn't be bothered if he died?"
"I don't know." He really didn't. "How would it impact on my life? Who is he to me?"
"It should bother you, after all he's-" Nisha cut herself off and flinched back in shock, averting her gaze. All the aggressiveness vanished so suddenly that it took Viraj a moment to realize it.
A spike of curiosity shot through him. "He is what?"
"No, I-I mean... what I..." She shook her head, still not looking at him. "I mean, he calls you Bade Bhaiyya."
"Yes, and I'm sure no one's ever dared mock me like that," he huffed. "But why do I get the feeling that this is not what you wanted to say?"
Instead of replying, Nisha opened the car door and got out hastily. "Thanks for... yeah," she mumbled.
For a moment, Viraj contemplated pressing for an answer but... he let it slip. "Maybe next time, you should take your family with you when you decide to go on a manhunt all by yourself. It would be safer."
She shut the door, leaving Viraj in a heavy silence.
***
Kabir was sure that he had been born under an unlucky star. There was just no other explanation for his horrible luck- well, maybe apart from Lady Karma simply hating him. Though, he couldn't remember ever having wronged someone, so why would she hate him? Maybe, unintentionally he had committed something? People did seem to get offended easily by him, seldom understanding his sense of humor.
"Shit, Kabir!" he groaned lowly and leaned his head back against the brick wall. "What... what are you thinking... about in your last moments?"
Seemed like he hadn't only lost his ability to think clearly but also his optimism. Or maybe it was his realistic side that finally awoke.
Removing his right hand from his side, Kabir grimaced upon seeing the blood tainting his palm and having drenched his grey shirt. Damn. This really looked bad. No, it was bad. His side was burning, even the slightest of movements caused a new wave of fire to shoot through him. It was unbearable and he had bite down on his tongue in order not to make a single sound- it was dark, the streets empty and he was sure that his most quiet sigh would echo through this alley.
Really, either he was cursed or this country was. Or Nisha and her family. Otherwise, why would it be so hard to leave? Whenever he tried to leave, he was pulled back viciously as if Lady Karma personally had tied a rope around his throat, ready to pull when he went even a step too far. And somehow, the other end of that rope clung to Nisha...
Think, Kabir, think! He scolded himself mentally. Focus and think.
He had no idea how he had reached this alley- he could hardly feel his left leg, the initial scorching pain had been replaced by numbness. Standing on it was almost impossible, let alone walking. Maybe the adrenaline had pushed him forward? Whatever it had been, it was gone and had left each and every muscle in his body aching in its wake.
But he remembered these streets well enough even though it was dark. Though, what to do with this knowledge? Leaving by himself was out of question, especially because his persecutors could be lurking at the next corner, waiting for him.
"Phone," he muttered and blinked as realization hit him. Carefully, he felt the dirty floor for the device, it had slipped from his grip when he had sunken down the wall, and grabbed it tightly. They had taken away his phone to send God knows what messages to Nisha, but he had been able to pick it up on his run. Considering that all of those thugs had been in the room, it was a miracle alongside him still being alive. But he could wonder about his near-death experiences later, if he survived.
Though, whom to call? Nisha? She would be sick with worry, by now. But...
Shaking his buzzing head, Kabir squinted at the screen of his phone. Shit, his vision was turning blurry and darkness was creeping up at the edges! Hurry up, Kabir!
If Nisha had been in his place, whom would she have called for help? Her father? Her cousins? The ambulance? No, that wasn't the right question. If this were Nisha's last moments, whom would she want to have at her side? Kabir always looked for the bright side of things but with each breath he took, he could feel more and more energy leaving him as if it was being exchanged for the air that entered his lungs.
While dying, whom would she want to be with her?
Her family.
***
Who would be that, this late?
Frowning slightly, Viraj put the drumsticks on top of the tom-toms and reached for his phone which he had placed on the empty chair next to him.
It was very late, past midnight and since he wasn't able to fall asleep- he hadn't even bothered to change-, he had started to play a little. It relaxed his tensed muscles and eased his mind from his encounter with Nisha, somewhat, but he still couldn't shake off the remnants of their meeting- be it the ache in his chest, the lump in his throat or the burning curiosity about her last outburst.
His mind was in turmoil, thoughts flying around in a jumble, making it unable for him to grasp a single one fully. Thoughts about Nisha and how desperate she had been, scared even. Thoughts about Kabir and what might have happened to him. Apparently, he wasn't as ignorant to that boy as he would have liked to be which he couldn't understand himself. He couldn't remember a single moment they had gotten along with each other, their last encounter had even been disastrous!
But the longer he pondered over these issues, the more his head hurt.
Eying the unknown number, Viraj furrowed his brows. Who could be calling at this hour? He picked up. "Hello?"
All he heard in reply was heavy breathing.
"Hello?" he tried again, slight irritation tinging his voice. "Who's there? If this is some joke..."
Still, no answer.
Really? He had no patience for such silliness. "Whatever. I'm-"
"Bha-bhaiyya."
Surprised, Viraj slowly stood up from his stool, heart pounding loudly against his ribcage. Bhaiyya. The usual bade was missing alongside the sarcastic undertone, completely changing the sound of that one word in his ears. Making it... more real.
It took him a while to realize that now, he was the one keeping quiet. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Kabir? Is that you?" Of course, it's him. Does that mean they have found him?
"I... it hurts."
Viraj blinked as a mix of confusion and concern filled his insides. The messages he had read on Nisha's phone appeared in front of him, not helping in quenching his arising concern, at all. "What hurts? Are you injured?"
"I-I think I-" His words were drowned by a pained groan that had Viraj tensing. "Think-think am bleeding to... to death."
Viraj's pulse quickened, though he couldn't name the emotion that wrapped itself coldly around his heart, squeezing painfully. Concern? Fear? "Where are you?"
"Dunno. Some all-alley near... near shop. Jew-jewelry shop."
"Which jewelry shop?" Viraj was already moving across the room, picking up his jacket from the couch on his way. "The Gangwal's?"
"Yeah, I... I think." There was a small pause before Kabir added, "Yes."
"Alright, don't move from there."
Kabir huffed. "Rather hard when-when you're dying."
"Oh, shut up! You're not dying!" The sharpness of his own words surprised Viraj so much that he paused at the door, hand already around the knob. "Save your breaths." With that, he cut off the call and slipped out of his door.
Only in his car did he remember that he hadn't asked the one question that was still burning in his chest.
Why did you call me?
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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