Rock music was blaring through the speakers of the car, bluetooth connected to the phone, where a never-ending playlist was going on, and the journey on the road seemed too long to finish soon as of now. 

"abe kaan ke parde phaega kya! kuch aur bhi laga le!" yelled a feminine voice from the backseat, her feet rested comfortably on the back of the passenger's seat, as the man behind the wheels shook his head in annoyance.

"aur nahi toh kya, kab tak yeh gaane bajaoge which are nothing but an excuse for you guys to just shout!" exclaimed another feminine voice, softer than the previous one, as she was seated right next to her, at the back seat. 

"oh come on yaar! road trip pe bhala koi shaant gaane lagata hai, sone thodi aaye hain..." responded a man seated on the passenger's seat, who was seated with a lifted knee, while the other leg was folded, and his head rested on his palm, supported by his knee resting on the window. 

"nahi-nahi, sona hoga na inhe, thak gayi hongi, itni der faltu mein bakar-bakar nahi kari na....main ek kaam karta hoon, gaane band hi kardeta hoon...." retorted the driver with utmost of sincere sarcasm. 

"you know, you shouldn't even be on this trip, you are the person with the worst taste in music ever...and we are going to a music festival..." argued the girl seated behind the driver on the backseat, while he just chortled at her comment. 

"acha...jaise tum toh asha bhonsle ki naatin ho...." he argued back, making her too chuckle scornfully at him, while the passive-agressiveness filled the air between them. 

"aur tum kya, micheal jackson ki aulaad ho!" taunted the girl seated behind the passenger's seat on the back, in defense of her friend. 

"tum dono jiss tarah se ration paani leke chadd jaati ho na choti si baat pe, dono ki dono insaanon ki pata nahi par kaali maata ki pakka kuch lagti ho!" barked the man on the passenger's seat, in annoyance, while the driver chuckled, lifting his hand for a high-five. 

"yeh acha tha..." he commented, while the man on the passenger's seat couldn't help but chuckle at his own comment too. 

"toh humare saath jaa hi kyun rahe ho?" questioned one of the ladies at the backseat, just done with both of them. 

Meanwhile, the boys exchanged glances where they were basically saying, 'yikes'. 

"majburiyan hoti hai purvi....doston mein dhang ke option kabhi-kabhi kam hote hain...." remarked the guy on the passenger's seat, as both the boys chuckled at the end of his line, and shared another high-five. 

Purvi rolled her eyes in annoyance, as she looked over to her friend on the side. 

"you know, tolerating you guys to just get free drivers is just not worth it...." she commented, her pitch and volume lowered, and tone completely aloof, making the dry remark come out as more sarcastic. 

"wow ishita, you just received a standing ovation from my middle finger for that..." commented the driver, returning the sarcasm.

"aww, dushyant, seeing those from you soothes my heart, you know.." made ishita even more of a mockery of this ludicrous to begin with argument. 

"i'm confused about why i thought this would be fun..." stated the man on the passenger's seat. 

"when are you never confused, kavin!" exclaimed purvi, just done with him for real at this moment. 

"fuck you, purvi!" exclaimed kavin, done with her too, as a silence of annoyance filled the car. 

                                                                 ***

8 years later....

kavin walked briskly in quick steps, while he wrapped his arms around his trenchcoat  and walked into his car, getting inside, only to get a call. 

"hello?" received kavin the call, as the car door was still left open, while he started the engine. 

The words of the caller were inaudible, and it was very difficult to know what is being said, but kavin's face showed complete astonishment, not to mention the serious frown. 

"what!" exclaimed kavin, baffled in his voice completely. 

"you have got to be kidding me...i...hello! HELLO!" his tone was getting louder, as he banged loudly on the steering wheel to let his anger out, causing a loud horn to come out. 

Only for him to get another call, which he picked up, completely enraged. 

"hello. yeah, yeah, i know, i'll be right there in the office..." his voice was starting to come down, the frustration was still simmering though. he shut the car door, and re-started the car, about to start driving, still on the call. 

"yes, I'M FINE!!" shouted kavin, negating the meaning of his words completely before he hung up, throwing his phone on the passenger's seat in the palpable rise in his temper. 

                                                                           ***

An almirah was opened, filled with clothes hung on hangers and resting on shelves, as it was being emptied slowly, cloth by cloth. A satin nightgown came in dushyant's hands, as he slowly brushed across it, a small smile crept up his lips, remembering the owner of the clothes. He kept it on the bed on the right of the almirah, on a pile of clothes, which he went ahead to pack in many of the polybags kept there. 

He took a long sigh and just sat down, taking a break from his emotions starting to overwhelm him, as he covered his face with his hands. 

His phone buzzed, as he picked it up to see what was it about, unsurprised there were 15 more messages on his whatsapp, as he scrolled through them in a glance, all of them the same, with one line in common:

'sorry about shefali....it must be hard losing your wife this way....' 

He just kept the phone aside, as the condolences made it even worse for him. 

                                                              ***

It was a well-furnished office, completely made of wood work, looked expensive too, as ishita sat there, all nervous and jittery, when a man in his late 40s entered the room, while she stood up to greet him. He too had a formal smile in his face, while he sat down behind the desk, she was seated in front of. A plate placed on that desk that read, 'headmaster'. 

He placed his elbows on the table, his hands clasped together, sighing regretfully, with what he was about to say. 

"Ms. Ishita, i'm really sorry to put you in this position, but i'm left with no other option, but to suspend your son." he stated, while leaving a pause, while ishita was left completely flabbergasted. 

"I'm...uhh...I'm really sorry, for his actions, sir, but i mean, suspension?" attempted ishita to get her son out of trouble. 

"Madam, i'm sorry, par yeh teesri baar hai ki koi bache ko serious physical injury hui hai, because they were in a fight with your son...he's not worth the trouble, and i think you should take this time to fix whatever is the issue with him..." stated the headmaster as firmly as he could, while ishita could only sigh deeply in sorrow. 

                                                                         ***

Purvi woke up as a complete mess, while the clock struck 12 at noon, while she grabbed a bottle of beer from her fridge, opening it only to gulp down a huge sip right out of it, while she grabbed her phone, and seated herself on her couch, spreading her legs straight. 

Unfortunately, what she woke up to, was nothing but one message from a contact that had the name 'mom' flashed across the screen. 

there was an immediate frown on her face, pissed off at seeing the message before she even clicked on it to read further. 

'beta maine kalra mama ke bete se baat ki hai, woh tumhara resume apni company deke approach chala sakta hai....' read the message, with clearly more words written ahead, but she got a call already from her mother, who clearly saw that she must be up since the message was read now. 

"haan, maa, bolo.." received purvi the call disinterestedly. 

"purvi yeh kya rawaiya hai! 12 baje bhi koi time hai uthne ka! arre job chali gayi toh kya hi hua, arre dusri dhoondo na! yeh kya badtameezi hai..." her mother went on, as she already zoned out, drinking even more, even reclining back on the couch to close her eyes, almost drowsing away. 

                                                                       ***

8 years back....

the performer onstage was giving quite an impressive dance performance, with top-notch vocals accompanied with her singing, making the atmosphere quite enjoyable, as everyone was swaying to the song, the cherry on top being the view created by the sunset. 

ishita was mouthing the words along to the song, clearly she loved it, and how naturally she couldn't help dancing with the rhythm getting to her, all concluded to her having quite a good time. unfortunately, a drumroll brought the song to an end, which was inevitable, no matter how much she enjoyed it. 

the sorrow on her face was clear, she wished for just a little more, when she felt a sudden pat on her shoulder, making her turn back. 

Her sight fell on a dushyant, bringing her a drink, he clearly offered with apologetic eyes that made it a very apparent peace offering, which as suspicious of, but accepted it anyways. 

They both took a sip of their respective drinks quietly, as an awkward silence filled them, while they exchanged perplexing glances. 

"i'm sorry...." apologized dushyant rather abruptly, making ishita chortle. 

"sorry is not necessary here you know...ek dusre ke saath betukki behes karna is basically our entire friendship..." remarked ishita, scoffing, while she took a sip from her drink, while he scoffed too, but he had his glance fixed on her, his slight smirk turned into a fond smile.

"toh bas, yahi karte hai hum, tumhare hisaab se?" questioned dushyant, reluctantly, making her look at him with a perplexing gaze, letting out a wry laughter before her reply. 

"kyun, kuch aur hai hamare beech tumhare hisaab se?" questioned ishita back, her tone amused, while he just let out a dry chuckle, as he put one of his hand in his pocket, looking down, making little circles with his foot on the ground. 

"i mean....i just think that....we have these insane arguments, because, there's some comfort here...we can be honest, with each other, you know...and...we can just tell things to each other...and be ourselves..it's...it's..it's something right?" he looked up when he paused to end his words, there was this odd fear in his eyes, wondering if he said too much, while an adorable smile crept up on her lips as she looked at him sweetly. 

she looked over to the stage, as a slow song started to play, with the crowd getting quieter, just peacefully listening to the song, then she looked at him, forwarding her hand with a lovely smile. 

"i think we dance well together,too, right?" offered ishita, as he had a huge smile on his face, accepting. 

He pulled her in his arms for a dance, wrapping his arms around her waist, while hers found her way around his neck, with their eyes fixed on each other, they swayed to the slow music. 

                                                                 ***

Purvi was sitting  by the rocks on the beach, letting the cool breeze on her face, while she enjoyed a distant view of everyone in the music festival, with nothing but the sound of the wind ringing her ears, like a perfect melody. 

Kavin, who had just came to use the washroom way at the back, walked over to her upon finding her there. 

He came in and sat by her, which she noticed, as she slid aside,giving him some space. 

"pata bhi nahi chala na, kab shaam ho gayi?" questioned kavin, as he chortled while purvi did too. 

"you know, i just love to come to beaches when it's just empty...and quiet..it's a very, peaceful, feeling..." stated purvi, while kavin looked over to her. 

"really? you know, main hamesha shaanti mein bore ho jaata hoon...it's just...so empty...you know..." expressed kavin his opinion. 

"it's not empty...khamoshi ki bhi awaaz hoti hai....kabhi dhyaan se suno toh...." interjected purvi her point, making kavin scoff. 

"khamoshi ki awaaz kaise ho sakti yaar purvi!" exclaimed kavin, not helping himself from letting out a chuckle at the absurdity, while she chortled in amazement. 

"come on...look, let's just close our eyes and...not say anything for a while, you know...just...listen..." stated purvi, as kavin agreed unbelievably, while they both closed their eyes. 

A moment of silence, as they felt their breaths and only the motion of the wind. He opened his eyes in a moment, when his glance fell on her, there was an odd peace, he felt looking at her. she opened her eyes though, a few seconds later, feeling his gaze. 

"why...are you looking at me...like that?" asked purvi awkwardly as he just smiled, shaking his head in no. 

"no, i get it though, it's peaceful...the sound of silence..." responded kavin, as purvi chuckled. 

"sounds like a horror movie..sound of silence.." joked purvi, as kavin scoffed in amusement, while their gazes lingered on each other. 

                                                                 ****

the music blared in the car, not as loudly as the singing along that followed by all the four, as the car went down the street at night. there seemed to be too much joy in the air for anything to go wrong, which is when things do unfortunately. 

the car stopped, as a sign read, 'road blocked, under construction' in bold red, all caps. 

"kya yaar, yeh rasta toh band hai!" exclaimed kavin. 

"don't worry, u-turn lekar dusre bypass se highway pe pahaunch jayenge...zyada der nahi lagegi..." assured dushyant, as he looked back to make the car go back. 

unfortunately, there was an obstruction, a car behind them, that would not move, but instead flashed their headlights at them. 

"what the fuck!" exclaimed ishita. 

"oh bhai! gaadi hatao, rasta band hai!" shouted kavin from outside the window. 

But they wouldn't move, and this ended up being the first sign of trouble, as what followed was a man who stepped out of the car, with a gun in his hand....

                                                                           ***