chapter oneTwo weeks later...
"Abeer," Nisaar knocked on the door. "Abeer, open the door. Look, I know you're hurting but you can't keep yourself locked in. You have to come out. Let us help you."
Nisaar knocked again.
"Abeer!"
Shaking his head, Nisaar took a few steps back. Taking a deep breath, he lunged forward and slammed his right shoulder against the door. Upon one more impact, the door let loose and Nisaar fell in.
"Abeer!"
Nisaar called out to his friend, but found the room empty. Nisaar ran out and knocked on the nearby doors.
His friend was nowhere to be found.
"Dammit Abeer!"
Running a hand through his curly hair, Nisaar went back to Abeer's room and sat down on the bed. He took out this phone and after tapping a few buttons, scrolled through his contacts.
A few rings later, a voicemail answered.
Sighing, Nisaar said, "Bro, I have no idea what's going on with you and truthfully, I'm freaking out. The police have been everywhere and been asking so many questions.. and now you're gone.. Look, I know that what happened wasn't okay but.. you can't just hide from it. You need us right now. I'm... I'm scared and I have no idea what to do and I just need my friend okay. Yeah I'm being selfish right now but I don't give a crap. All I know is that I need you right now and if you don't call me back or something then... then... then I don't know what I'll do."
Ending the call, Nisaar threw his phone towards the pillow and fell back onto the bed. He covered his eyes with the back of his hands and took a series of deep breaths.
It was hard for him to imagine that in the span of two weeks his world fell apart. His friends, that he had been partying and having fun with, the friends that he had just begun to imagine will be their for the rest of his life, no longer weren't.
They were gone both physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, you name it. It was as if someone had gone out of their way to systematically erase them out of his life. But of course that was silly. People don't just leave or go missing. They will always be there in their imprints.
What was that song that Abeer was writing?
Nisaar removed his hands and imagined Abeer sitting on his chair, strumming the strings on his guitar. The tune played out and Abeer's humming invaded Nisaar's mind.
Mere nishaan
That's right.
Mere nishaan
Nisaar started remembering all the times Abeer used to play that tune. He remembered how he used to hum the tune out to pick up some girls but later started becoming possessive over it. He stopped singing it and would only do so on special occasions. The last time that Nisaar had faintly heard it was at a Christmas party back at Abeer's parents house. Abeer's mom had inquired about Abeer's whereabouts and wanted to make sure that Abeer hadn't left. There had been some tension between Abeer and his dad but Nisaar didn't know the full details and hadn't even bothered to ask. He wanted to know so that he could help his friend out but he had found it to be a bit too personal and frankly didn't want to impose. If Abeer had needed relationship advice then he would have reached out on his own.
Carrying out the order, Nisaar had traveled around the house looking for Abeer when he had heard it. He was standing at the door frame that led out to the backyard when he had heard a soft piano playing. It had been coming from the small converted greenhouse. Abeer had told him that it used to be a small hut where Abeer's used to teach dance classes and Abeer would to learn music in his spare time. But after finding out that Abeer had no interest in following his dad's footsteps in the family business, his father had forbidden anyone from going inside the shed. To emphasize his point, he had demolished a section of the shed and had converted it to a greenhouse. It was filled with mostly exotic and poisonous plants that only had beauty to their name.
Abeer's dad was barely at home to notice what was going on in the lives of his family members, so in an attempt to bond with her son, Abeer's mom had gifted Abeer a piano. It had worked as the two had become inseparable for years. Abeer had continued to pursue his musical career with the support of his mother and took all the courage to succeed from there. When Abeer moved out for college, his mother had decided to take the opportunity to do some renovations. It was during this transition that the piano had been shifted to the green house. It had simply never gotten the opportunity to move back. But Abeer didn't mind as he would play songs for hours while his mother would tend to the plants.
Nisaar had found the whole situation weird when he had first heard of it but didn't say anything.
Nisaar had just about to walk towards the green house when a female voice had stopped him. She had been singing the same tune as Abeer had always been singing. But it had seemed more painful and more hopeful at the same time. Shortly, a male voice had joined in which Nisaar had recognized to be Abeer's. Curious to know which girl Abeer had finally shared his song with, Nisaar had quickened his pace. He had been about to enter the green house when Abeer's mom had called him back in. It was just that then that the music had stopped; almost as if someone had been caught in surprise doing something they shouldn't have.
Nisaar had made a mental note of asking Abeer later of who the girl was but Abeer had simply brushed him off. That was the first time that Nisaar had felt like something was off. He was used to Abeer keeping secrets from him but somehow this secret had felt different.
Nisaar got up and grabbed his phone. The shift in the pillow revealed the back of a photograph. Thinking it's a picture of Abeer and his mom, Nisaar picked it up. However, the woman in the photograph surprised him.
Never, in his wildest dreams did he think Abeer would have a photograph of her. To see his arms wrapped around her, smiling so furiously and kissing her cheek, Nisaar was shocked.
"Meher?"
Edited by asmaanixx - 8 years ago
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