"Pick up the call, Mary" Ira chanted, pressing the mobile against her left ear. She has been calling Mary since last night but there was no response, which was making her concerned. Every evening she calls Mary to hear her angry voice but from a few days Mary was sounding sick. Her voice didn't held the same anger. It feels like she was getting weak day by day. And now that she wasn't picking up her calls, Ira was getting bothered.

Clicking her tongue, she typed a quick message, asking Mary to call her back as soon as possible and sent it. When she looked up from the mobile screen, she came face to face with the person whose name she had no idea about. He was quietly staring at her like he usually do.

Averting her gaze from his face, Ira tried to walk past him but he stopped her by opening his mouth and letting her hear his voice for the first time.

"Hi" he said, in a mere whisper.

"Ir... Ira, right?" He asked, trying hard not to stutter. She nodded, hoping he wouldn't ask why she usually visits his classroom early in the morning.

"I'm Hamlet" he forwarded his hand, which slightly shivered when she looked at it.

"Omelette?" She didn't mean to ask it aloud but it already slipped her mouth before she could stop herself.

"No. It's Hamlet. H. H for Hamlet" he explained, keeping his hands extended.

Gulping, Ira sucked a sharp breathe and thought why he was introducing himself. She was about to open her mouth, mentally preparing to tell him that she will not share any details about why she visits his classroom early in the morning and he shouldn't be poking his nose into others business. But she stopped, sensing someone's presence beside her. She turned a little to find Ehan, blankly staring ahead. She looked at Hamlet, who rather looked shocked.

Her expressions turned scared, thinking what will happen if Hamlet blurted about her early morning visit to their classroom infront of Ehan.

"Ehan, I'm hungry. Let's go" she held Ehan's arm and dragged him away, ignoring Hamlet.

Ehan turned a little to look at him, only to find him staring at them, stunned.

"So Gabby wasn't kidding when he said she's Ehan's girlfriend" Hamlet thought, gritting his teeth.

---

"What was he telling you?" Ehan asked in urgency, as soon as they both came out of the campus.

"Who? That oml... No. H. H for... H for Helmet" Ira said, trying to clear her confusion about the name.

"Hamlet. His name's Hamlet" Ehan cleared. There was seriousness in his voice, with a tint of uneasiness.

"You know him?" Ira asked, walking by his side.

"Hmm.. He's my classmate" Ehan answered, a bitter memory running in his mind.

"Since?" Ira jumped, casually asking.

"Since I joined this school" he answered in a low voice, pocketing his hands. He didn't looked happy or even normal talking about his early days in the school so Ira diverted the topic by telling him that she's starving. They went to the place they usually visit for lunch.

"You didn't reply, what was he telling you?" Ehan asked, keeping the glass of water aside.

"I bumped into him a couple of times. So he was just introducing himself" Ira lied, not meeting his eyes. She was scared of his reaction when he'll come to know about her deeds. Nor she had the answer of his expected question; 'why?'. She thought it's better to be quiet until she herself finds the answer.

Ehan hummed, nodding his head. He didn't looked okay with her reply so she asked, "Why? Is he a bad guy? Should I stay away from him as well?"

"No. He's a nice guy" he said, looking into space with a frown on his face. "He's a well mannered average student, who never pokes his nose in others' matters nor let's anyone control him. He... He actually is a nice person"

Hearing him, Ira giggled, making his eyes go narrow.

"What?"

"You're talking as if he's your ex girlfriend, whom you're not over yet" she laughed.

"He used to be my friend. My only friend" Ehan answer in a whisper, thinking of the time he used to tell Hamlet how much his parents loves him and how soon he was going to go back home.

"Then? Then what happened?" Ira questioned curiously, wanting to know why he's not Ehan's friend anymore.

"Then life happened and I distanced myself from the world"

"After your parents' death?" His eyes snapped at her and for a moment, he wanted to tell her that he's not an orphan. But no words came out of his mouth and he just averted his gaze, not meeting her eyes. She smiled sadly and gently squeezed his hand, silently telling him sorry. His fingers curled over hers and he forced a smile, nodding at her unspoken words.

---

Ira was deep asleep when she heard music somewhere. She groaned and changed her side, only to hear it louder. It took her some time to realise that it was her mobile ringing. She lazily searched for it, swiped the screen and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?" She spoke in her sleepy voice.

"Ira..." Came a weak feminine voice. She pulled the mobile away from her ear. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she looked at the caller ID.

"Mary?" She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"I called you so many times. Why were you not attending my calls? I was so worried, do you have any idea?" She complained, scratching her hand in annoyance. "First you bothered me by not attending my calls and now you disturbed my precious sleep"

"Mary, you there?" She asked when she didn't got any reply. All she could hear was faint breathes.

"Yeah! I'm perfectly fine you stupid girl" Mary sounded like she was suppressing herself from coughing but end up coughing at the end.

"What happened, Mary? You don't sound fine to me" Ira asked concerned.

"Doesn't matter. Just listen carefully what I'm going to tell you now" Mary said, panting as she spoke.

"But you..."

"Just listen to me, you stubborn useless girl" Mary shut her up.

"Ira, Study properly and get a nice job as soon as you complete your college. Pay the debt before time. Don't think that you can take all your time because.... Because Mrs Diwan have our orphanage papers. All of these kids will become homeless if you delay a little. Are you getting me?" Ira could hear a strange vibrating sound coming from Mary's throat as she spoke. She's speaking with difficulty and panting after every word.

"How did the papers reached Mrs Diwan?" Ira stepped down from the bed, panicked.

"You think she'll give the huge amount as debt in return of nothing? You're unbelievably stupid, Ira" Mary coughed in between her words.

"But Mary... This is not right. How did you do it?

"That doesn't matter. But make sure that no one knows about this and promise me, promise that you won't let these kids go homeless. Promise me, Ira..." She panted, breathing unevenly.

"I promise, Mary. I'll pay the debt as soon as possible and I won't let anyone go homeless"

"God bless you my child" for the first time in all those years, Ira heard Mary speak so softly. But her painful voice made Ira flinch.

"What happened to you, Mary? Why do you sound like you're in pain? Are you okay?" Ira asked but all she heard from other side was the sound of coughing and wailing. She rubbed her fingers together and waited for Mary to recover and speak but the line went dead. Ira panicked and called her again and again but there was no response.

"Mary" she looked at the mobile screen and whispered, feeling helpless. She had no one to call and know about Mary's health and it made her remain awake the whole night, dialling Mary's number again and again.

---

Breaking a couple of eggs in a bowl, Ehan started beating them to make a fluffy omelette. He heard his mobile ringing, which he kept aside on the kitchen island. Smiling at the caller ID, he placed the bowl aside and picked up Ira's call.

"Somebody's up early today" he said, smiling widely.

"Where are you?" Came her low voice. She usually asks that question when she's standing outside his locked cottage, so he carefully answered, "I came out for morning walk. Why?"

"I'm waiting outside your house" she spoke in a small voice, which gave him some negative vibes. He looked from the window, it was drizzling outside.

"You have the keys, don't you? Open the door and wait inside. You'll catch cold otherwise. I'll be there in a minute" he said, making his way to his room to get a jacket.

---

Closing the door behind him, Ehan looked Ira, who was sitting on the sofa with her head hung low. She was looking at the floor, lost in some thoughts.

"Ira" he called, walking near her.

She looked up at him and his eyes narrowed, looking at her sleep deprived eyes. Her lips quivered as soon as saw him and she stood up.

"What happened, Ira? Are you okay?" He asked, gently holding her by her shoulders.

She tried to speak and but looked like she couldn't find a single word. He cupped her cheeks and nodded, encouraging her to speak.

She held both his hands over her cheeks and said in a broken voice, "Pinky... Pinky called me a few minutes ago and said... Mary passed away"

Ehan gasped, hearing her. Tears formed in her eyes as she kept looking at him, gulping the lump formed in her throat with difficulty. He unknowingly caressed her soft cheeks, feeling her pain. She blinked back her tears, holding her breathe.

He wanted to console her, tell her everything is gonna be okay, let her know that he's there for her but no words came out. He gently pulled to himself and let her bury her face in his chest.

He rubbed her arm, trying his level best to sooth her and she held his jacket in her fist, refraining herself from crying.

"Don't hold back your tears, Ira. More you'll try to hold them, more they'll hurt you. Let it out, you'll feel better" he whispered, tangling his fingers into her soft locks.

She choked a sob, as if she was waiting for Ehan to say that, pulling him more closer. He tightened his hold around her, blinking his teary eyes. Her silent cries were hurting him but he didn't stop her. He let her cry until her heart accepted that Mary; the only person who brought her up, taught her the difference between wrong and right, scolded her for her stupidity, punished her over her mischiefs and at the end, thought of her future more than herself, was no more.

---

Ehan sat looking at Ira's sleepy form, whose hiccups didn't stop even after she fell asleep. He lightly caressed her soft cheeks, where tears stains could be seen. Her sleepless and tired eyes give up when her silent cries turned into hiccups and he carefully guided her to one of the rooms. Covering her with the duvet, he left the room, letting her rest for a while.

This was the second time she broke down infront of him and it was rather more painful. He always thought she was the strongest, who isn't bothered about anything but within her careless self, lived a little girl, who's scared of darkness, who has a burden of huge debt over her not so strong shoulders, who was eager to grow up and complete her responsibilities.

---

"Where are you taking me, Ehan? This place doesn't come under your territory" Ira weakly said, as Ehan guided her towards his artificial pond. He asked his watchman to turn off all the lights of the garden, since there were some stars twinkling at the sky.

Ira needed some fresh air, since she stayed at his place all day, not speaking much. So Ehan thought of taking her out.

"Don't worry, I know the owner of this place. He won't say anything" he said.

She looked around and the place was indeed very beautiful. She would have complimented if the situation was different but she was in no mood that day. Her mind was still not ready to accept the fact that Mary passed away and probably buried under 6 feet by now.

"Sit" Ehan said, sitting on the tiny bridge between the two ends of the pond. She sat down as he sat, hanging their legs.

They both kept looking at the water until Ira broke the silence, "I actually feel like an orphan now. I never felt so hollow before" she confessed in a whisper, keeping her eyes lowered.

He gently kept his hand over hers and said, "I can understand what you must be going through right now. I know it's difficult, too difficult to accept that you're left alone. Trust me, I have went through it" she looked in his eyes, which were already fixed at her, twinkling with unshed tears in dark.

"There's no other way than to go through it. I can't do anything for your loss but I surely can make you believe that you're not alone. You have me, whom you can rely on. I'll be there for you whenever you need me. I promise" he whispered, wiping the tear escaped from her eye with his thumb. She closed her eyes, bringing her face closer to rest her forehead against his. His eyes closed on its own as she held his collar in her tight fist and he held their back of her head, keeping her closer.

They stayed close to eachother, breathing in the moment, promising eachother many things just through the tight hold they held onto eachother whilst someone from the far end, was burning them with his blazing eyes, mentally planning their destruction.

---

Assalamualaikum everyone,

How was the chapter?

What do you think about Ehan and Hamlet's broken friendship?

Will Ira be able to keep the promise she made to Mary?

Who do you think was planning IrHan's destruction?