"He called me last night. I mean Anya. He wanted to talk to me." Samar sat down and flipped a pen in his hand. "He sounded decent. As if he was normal. It is frightening. What is he thinking?"

"Maybe something good. He might have realised his mistake."

"I do not know that. You think he is capable of realising his mistakes?"

"I think he is capable of a lot of things. Positive and negative, both."

"What if it's negative this time?"

"What if it's positive this time?"

She raised her eyebrows before leaning back in her chair. "I am ready for whatever he does. At least I think that I am. We will know when the time comes."

"We will. What brought you here today? When will you start taking appointment here?"

"Family needs no appointment. You were talking to her yesterday. Did you tell her? She didn't say me what you two talked about. She is surprisingly very private."

"That makes me feel good. I talked to her. Let's see how that works out."

Dia smiled widely. "You really know how to make me happy! I will convince her to say no. I mean yes! What was that?"

Samar smiled. "Do no such thing. I want her to say yes on her own not because someone convinced her."

"We can always guide! But she will say yes. I am sure. She is wise. I am really going to miss her."

"Where are you going?"

"I am meeting a lawyer soon. Before doing that I want to meet my parents. It's all going to change. We were inseparable once and then we drifted apart. What if that happens again?"

"Don't let it happen this time. You hold her hand tight so it becomes difficult for her to leave."

"I can do that. But still. Who knows what will happen? I will miss her so much. What will I do without her?"

"You are not going anywhere now. So don't start worrying today. Worry when the time comes. Why ruin a day which can be beautiful?"

"Hm."

Samar smiled when he remembered something. "You remember you asked me what the moon that is seen before sunset or after sunrise represents? That's an old friend of darkness. When the sun rises and it's bright and shiny, it comes to meet darkness. To show her he is still there, that she is not alone and that he is always there. That's Anya. She will always be there, visible and proud of you." She smiled before raising her eyebrows for a moment. "So do not worry."

She smiled again. "OK. But I will miss you. Why don't you want me to keep coming here?"

"Because you don't need me."

"That is not true. Not at all. But let's not talk about it. Talk about something good."

"OK. Which lawyer are you going to hire? Do you know someone?"

"Anya di's cousin from the other side, she is a lawyer."

"Tina."

She raised her left eyebrow, "You know everyone."

"She was a regular in her house until she got married."

Dia smiled as she got ready to tease. That day they talked about a lot of things future, fear, family, danger and escape. As expected it gave Dia some courage. The next day she met her parents. They were filled with happiness, relief and guilt. The meeting made them forget all the sad memories. Their mind had only one thought, how they would handle the war which was about to begin. They had nothing no money, no connections but they had strength and will.

When good days separated them, bad days brought them together and closer. The day next to that she went to meet the lawyer with Anya. The process started. Her parents wanted her to come back home, and with the love and care that she received, she wanted to be there with them, too. A couple of days later she went home to her parents and Anya was alone. She was happy to see her uncle and aunt support her but soon the absence of Dia, or perhaps lack of humans in her life brought loneliness to her. She had been living alone for some years to which she was habitual. She had her grandmother with her who often visited her son leaving Anya alone. It was never a problem as Anya enjoyed being by herself. This time a sudden change pulled Anya down with a great force and she fell down causing many injuries. Her mental health had been affected due to many past events which worsen after another change. She appeared normal from outside but from inside she was empty and lost. Her state had caused her to become a reserve and quiet person, preventing anyone from helping her. She became more and more lonely with each passing day.

After many days of isolation and continuous work, one evening Anya got an opportunity to leave her house without purpose. Kabir requested her to meet him to which she did not refuse. The ice between them was melting but did not disappear. There were some formalities that grew between them without any one of them intending it. With the hope of removing the ice, Kabir wished to meet her. It was Anya who decided to meet near his building. She walked there despite it not being at a reasonable distance from her house. She sat at a bench not too far from the building where he soon followed.

"Why are you wearing a sweater?" Kabir asked before sitting on a bench next to hers.

"It's cold! Rain and winter are coming together this year. What did you want to talk about?"

"My brother said he told you about his feelings. That was a proposal I think."

"He told me? He said no such thing. You should have heard him. It wasn't even a confession let alone a proposal."

"Whatever. He told you his secret I think I should tell my secret too." Anya's eyes widened immediately and she looked at him with wide eyes.  "Nothing like that. Calm down."

"What is it then? Stop scaring me."

"I was rude to you, very rude.  You deserve an explanation for why I was like that."

"I would like that."

"A couple of months ago, my parents came home from a trip to my grandmother's house with a girl in their mind and not for me." Anya looked up but not at him. "They were serious about her. They had been serious about my brother for a while now. Actually, we both are at their target but him being the older one is first, then comes my turn. Anyway, I was forced to meet that girl because according to them I know him well and I can understand which type of girl he would like. Every time I was rude to you or him I had either had lunch or dinner with her and her family or my parents were doing something to make their wish come true."

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"My parents made me promise not to. They said if everyone else approves her then he will be informed. Because he says a clear no whoever the girl is without thinking once. So, if everyone thinks she is perfect then he will have many mouths to convince."

"Why were you rude then?"

"Because I was frustrated. I have always thought it was silly and stupid of you two to waste time but I knew you both had many things going on in your lives and he more than you needed some time." He shook his head. "This pressure and my parent's seriousness over the topic made me panic. All my fear and frustration was released on you two and my parents. I was indeed very stressed. I have never been more stressed in my entire life. But nevertheless, I crossed my line. I believe all those things were needed to be said but not that way. There was a better way, I am sure. I am sorry. This will never happen again."

"It's OK. But tell me, your parents really liked her so much to put you in such a state?"

"They thought she was perfect for him. Their temper and minds were alike. But they didn't know what they were talking about."

"Yeah, your parents were wrong about their child." She said with an eye roll.

"Parents are not always right. They may know what we need but not what we want. And it's not their fault it's our fault because we keep things to ourselves, which is why I was angry at, you two. And they were pressurising me a lot so I was angry with them too."

"Why were you stressing so much?"

"Even since I remember I have wished for you two to be together. I think even as an infant I wanted that because I was always with you two. You two are a few of the closest people I have in my life, how am I to see something affect you? And how can I see anyone else with him, in our lives, in our house?"

"Your parents may not like me, Kabir. Don't be too sensitive about it. Unfortunately, they know me too well to see me flawless."

"No one is flawless. And they know you. They know you are stupid, silly, dramatic but they also know you are kind, honest and caring. And they are crazy but they won't force him to do something he does not want to do."

"Thank you for think of me. It really means a lot."

"Thank you," He said sarcastically. "I don't want your thank you. Why are you upset these days? Dia is fine. I know something huge or perhaps bad will happen in future but everything is fine now. Why are you letting this affect you?"

"I wish I knew why." She took a deep breath. "I am so exhausted."

"Then go home and rest." Samar interrupted them. "What are you two doing here at this time? It might start raining again."

"We are here on a date. Why are you interrupting us? Keep walking. You know the way home," said his brother narrowing his eyes.

"I will talk to you at home." He looked at Anya. "How are you?" As a reply, she blinked once. He then looked at his brother and raised his eyebrow. Kabir rolling his eyes and stood up. "I am leaving. I will see you at work tomorrow. And you don't come home." Not wasting time he left leaving them alone. Samar waited for some time before saying, "I will walk you home."

"You don't have to. I can go alone."

"I want to."

"Do we have to go now? I want to sit for some time."

"Yes, it might start raining again. Better we get to our respective homes before that."

Unwillingly she stood up and they started walking beside each other. It was quiet for some time before a word was spoken. "What are you thinking?" He asked.

"That I am evil."

"Why are you thinking that?"

"I am upset that Dia left. And I want things to go back to how they were a couple of months back when she was weak and did not have the courage to stand up against anyone when things were worse. I want her to live with me. Forever. How mean is it to think that."

"It is not mean. We all care for ourselves and in that process, we wish for things that may not be extremely good for others. But we don't mean bad for them. We just mean good for us. You don't want her to be weak, you want her to be with you. You feel lonely nothing else. And it is just a thought. Anything can come in our mind. How we react to our thoughts is what determines if we are evil or not."

"But thinking of her to move backwards just for me to feel better is not nice."

"Every drowning man tries to hold a hand and in the process drowns the person, too. It may be evil like you say but at that moment how do you expect the man to think wisely? He just wants to live."

"Why are you talking?"

"Why are you determined to prove yourself evil?" She pressed her lips together and stayed quiet. "Don't be harsh on yourself Anya. Don't make things worse for you."

"I am trying."

"Try a little harder. Did you have your dinner?"

"No. I will go and cook now."

"Cook now? When will you eat then?"

"I felt tired when I got home from work. I will order something maybe."

"How many times have you ordered something or had ready-made food this week?" She refrained from answering the question. "Why don't you have dinner with us tonight?"

"Us means?"

"Me, Kabir, our parents."

"No! How can I have dinner with your parents!?"

"You have had dinner with them before. We have had all three meals together."

"Nothing is the same now. Is it?"

"Everything is the same. We are just a little more open now."

"I can have dinner with my parents!" She suddenly said, "That is a good idea. I am anyway here, why not take advantage of it?"

"That is a wise idea. But let's walk for some more time before we take a U-turn." Silence filled them following that. They walked quietly, needing nothing more. The silence was peaceful and likeable. They enjoyed the walk without words as much as they did talking. But when a thought made its way to her, Anya broke the silence. "I heard you and that policeman."

"Which policeman?"

"The one in charge of Dia's case. Your friend apparently."

"Oh. When? And what did you hear?"

"A month ago. I don't remember. I heard him tell you to keep information away from Dia or something like that. I don't even remember that."

"We did not want her to know more and stress. He is my friend, we went to junior college together. A few days after Dia went missing we were talking and he told me about this new case which was stressing him. In no time I knew it was Dia's case. We agreed that the family was the main culprit and that she was innocent. On my request, he agreed to help me. I had helped him once so he could not refuse. We did nothing. He just told me what Aman was up to or what he thought. He promised to keep him distracted, making his doubt every place and everyone but that one person and place where Dia actually was. Aman believed him and everything worked fine but he suddenly started keeping an eye on you which even my friend didn't know. That's what caused the whole chaos."

"Oh. Thank you for helping."

He rubbed his face softly and closed his eyes. He was quiet for some time before gathering the courage to ask, "Why didn't you tell me you heard me?"

"I have been thinking about that. I did not understand why I was quiet. To be honest, I was worried about that. But I concluded that I didn't want to know the truth, because I was afraid that the truth will make me lose the only friend I had who survived my childhood." He smiled. "That thought was difficult. I did not want to hate you. That was the only reason."

They took a U-turn and walked back to his building. Fewer words were exchanged as they enjoyed the silence.  They parted on a good note. Anya was washing her face when her phone rang for the first time. She missed the call but heard it, while her parents could not hear it. When the phone started ringing again the name on the screen made her smile.

"Dia! How are you?"

"I am good. How are you? Did you forget me? Why didn't you call?"

"I thought you were busy. How can I forget you?"

"I am busy but not for you. Call me daily."

"I will. Will you come back home?" She regretting asking that as soon as it came out of her mouth.

"I will if you take me."

Anya smiled. "Then when are you coming back? I miss you."

"I don't know. I will be here for some time. I am having a great time here. Things are better than before. My parents have changed or maybe I changed. But something good happened. I should have run away years ago." Anya smiled and shook her head. "I just had a great conversation with daddy. It felt so good. He is the best!"

"You sound happy."

"I am happy. I am scared too but I am happy more. I think I will be able to handle this. I am positive this time."

"That is great. And you are not alone. We all are always with you. So don't worry. We will win this war."

"This reminds me. Aman called. He said he would cooperate. He will sign the papers maybe. That is tricky but we are hoping for the best."

"He is as exhausted as we are. Hopefully, he will not create more problems."

"Hopefully. Where are you? What is the disturbance?"

"I am standing next to the TV. I am at my mom's house."

"Oh. Why?"

"I was lazy to cook."

Dia laughed making Anya smile. "I cooked pasta today. It was very tasty."

"You never cooked pasta for me! That's cheating."

"I will when I come home. Don't worry. Did you talk to Samar bhai?"

"He is suddenly bhai? And he told me you have been the culprit in all this. What did you tell him?"

Dia laughed. "I forced him to talk to you! I am so proud of myself!"

Anya rolled her eyes but could not refrain from a smile. "Stop feeling proud. That is nothing to be proud of!"

"It is! Did you say yes? Please say yes!"

"Did you tell him to say that, too? Dia!"

"I said nothing. But you say yes! You will find no other guy as great as him. Don't miss this opportunity. I am so excited for you two."

After smiling and pausing for a moment Anya said, "You are too happy today."

"I am!"

Anya smiled wider but a lump formed in her throat. "And that was the whole point. If you are happy, then I am happy."

"Then say yes!"

"OK, my father came, I will talk to you later. Don't you dare talk to them? I will kill you if you that."

"You just gave me a great idea! Love you!" Dia disconnected the call before Anya could react. Forgetting her, Anya received her father with a smile and took the carry bag from his hand. Seeing her parent smile and hearing Dia smile, she felt better and forgot her feelings and thoughts. Her spirit changed in the blink of an eye.

She was in the kitchen when her father received a call and he said, "Hello? Dia. How are you?" Anya's eyes widened immediately and she ran out of the kitchen. The thought of her parents knowing about her feelings disturbed her, despite she wanting to accept them. Anya was able to take the phone away from her father after a few seconds of struggle but Dia had said enough to make her father aware that there was something or maybe a someone his daughter was hiding. The girl who once said just a word a day could not keep her mouth seal now and the girl who encouraged her to do so was the one regretting it the most.

***

Just one portion is left which I could not include in this chapter. Other than that this is the official last chapter of the book. The last portion and epilogue will be published soon. I hope you enjoyed the story❤