Hello!  How is everyone???

If you see any mistake then please feel free to correct! 

Have a nice day/night.

Enjoy:)

Anya narrowed her eyes while trying to make a decision.  The lift was on the sixth floor and she was on the fourth. She usually takes the stairs, but for some reason she wanted to take the lift this time. She also asked herself why she never takes the easy option and always go for the hard option. When she pressed the call button it showed a downward arrow immediately. Anya was sure it was empty,  therefore safe.

"This is why I don't take lifts. "

She told herself when she was standing in the lift with a lady who lived on the sixth floor.  It was quiet and awkward,  exact type Anya disliked.  As soon as she was out of the lift she ordered herself to never use the lift again.  Of course except for when she was at work.  She was health-conscious but she was not going to climb twenty floors.

"You came back soon. " Nani said as soon as Anya entered the house. She closed the door before saying,"I did not go there to stay.  How long can it take to give them a bowl and come back? What did you give them?  It was hot. "Dia did not hear anything else.  She was sitting on the sofa,  quietly and distantly.  She hardly heard what Anya and her grandmother ever talked about.  There was a voice that she could hear all the time.  That voice was louder than anything else.  She could not hear anything or anyone else.  She did not know how to stop that voice, but that voice was slowly and gradually damaging her.

"Dia! " Anya's voice brought Dia back.

"Yeah." She whispered.

"You are going to take a shower or should I go? "

"I will go. " Dia said before leaving the leaving room .Anya sat on the sofa where Did was sitting earlier and took her phone in her hand. Her eyes were locked on the phone.  She bit her lower lip before taking a sip from her coffee.  She heard some noise that came from the kitchen and she wanted to check what was happening ,but her eyes were fixed on her phone. For some time she forgot her surrounding.  All she knew was her phone, which suddenly rang, running electricity down her spine.  She quickly answered,  but paused for few seconds before keeping the phone on her ears. 

“Hello? “ She did not intent to but she whispered. 

“Am I talking to Ms.Anya? “ A deep voice said. 

“Yes.”

“Mumbai police.” Anya gasped slowly. Her body suddenly became numb and she was scared.  “Just walked pass me.” The voice suddenly changed,  making Anya frown.

“Huh? “

The person on the other side started  laughing.“ You got scared,  didn't you?“

“Ali!?  What the hell! “

He laughed harder. “ I knew you would get scared.”

“I’m going to kill you Ali.”

“That is for sure, but now tell me did you check your WhatsApp messages? “

“No. Why? “

“I knew it.”

“You know everything,  right? “ She rolled her eyes. 

“Yes, I do. Himani messaged by the way."

“What did she say!? “ Anya could not hold herself from yelling.

“She said everything went well. They were just random questions and as they do not know Dia it did not take long”

“Really?  That’s a good news.”

“That is.  So now breathe and relax.”

“Yeah.”

"Why were you nervous though?"
Anya opened her mouth to answer, but stopped half way. She did not have an answer. "Why was I scared?" She whispered to herself, but Ali heard her.

"For no reason! You often do things for no reason."

"I am disconnecting."

"I called you for a reason."

"Better be a nice one."

"You are not coming to work today?"

"I am not."

"You are sick I heard."

"Very sick."

"Liar. Work on the presentation."

" I took a leave to relax."

"Are you going to leave the house?"

" No."

"Are you planning to watch a movie or a show?"

"No."

"Are you going to sleep?"

"No."

"Cook?"

"Already done."

"Good. Then do the presentation. "

"Ali. "

"I would have done that my self, but I am stuck up in some other work. I am not coming to work tomorrow and I have a lot to do today."

"You are sick tomorrow?" Anya asked with an eye roll.

"Down with 102°F fever."

"You are going to read a book ,right!?"

"No. It's my father's death Anniversary tomorrow.  I want to stay with my girls." Anya's heart suddenly dropped. She felt guilty to roll her eyes. You are insensitive, Her conscience said.  "I will do it. You take care of your girls."

"Thank you Anya. I know it's not a big deal. It's been fourteen years,but I just feel this year it would be difficult for all of us."

Anya did not know how to console so she said. "I can understand. I will do that. You Take care of everyone."

"Thank you. I need to get back to work now.  Bye-bye. "

"Bye."

Anya closed her eyes when Ali disconnected the call. Ali had been acting emotional for a couple of days, and Anya had just came to realisation. Ali had always been the cheerful one and it was disturbing to see him emotional. Everyone have their days, she thought. "You can go now." Dia whispered as she came in the room.

"Why are you always whispering?"

She stopped in her tracks.She was quiet for almost a minute before saying,"I do not know."

"Go dry your hair. You will catch cold." Anya made her leave the room. She did not want Dia to look at her disappointed face. Anya never thought Dia would transform in a person like that. She knew people change ,but to such an extent was a shock for her. Anya's grandmother was equally shocked. She looked at Anya and said,"What happened to her?"

Anya shook her head. "And you all want me to get married."

Nani frowned instantly. "How did we jump to that? "

"Look what marriage did to her. And my parents and YOU keep nagging me to get married."

"Not all men are like that. "

"But all men are disappointment. "

"Women are no less. "

"Exactly. I am no less. I will ruin someone's life and that person will ruin mine. And I don't know about him, but I have full confidence in myself.  I will ruin his life for sure. "

"I wish I could argue on that. "

"And men. " Nani closed her eyes.  "I have a very bad opinion about them. "

"Not all men are bad.  Neha,  your cousin,  her husband?  What about him? "

"She hit a jackpot. I am not lucky like her and even he said something once,  remember? "

"As if your cousin was sitting quiet. She says far worse things than he would ever say. And she said something, and what he said was just a reply. "

"Whatever. Marriages are nothing but a world full of heart breaks."

"You were going to take a shower ,right ? "

Anya narrowed her eyes. She knew her nani would not let her say a word,  so she stood up to take a shower.  She murmured about how she could never win with her family.  But she soon forgot about it and started thinking about Ali. It was rare when people thought about Ali and sadness together.  Ali never liked it anyway.  He wanted everyone to remember his smile whenever they thought about him.  He did not want anyone to think of him as a sad person.  He was not a sad person and he was sensitive about what people thought of him in that regard. He was also a talkative person and he talked about anything and everything. He did not think twice before telling Anya why he wasn't coming the next day, but after a while he started thinking about what Anya was thinking about him.  He did not want her to sympathise her.  He did not want anyone to ever sympathise him. He was feeling uneasy.  He wished he had not said that.  I will call her and sound relaxed,cheerful, happy,  he said to himself.

"What's your plan for dinner? " Kabir came out of nowhere and asked Ali.

"I am having a meeting with Queen Elizabeth and then we plan to have dinner together. "

Kabir narrowed his eyes."You are silly."

"I cannot disagree. "

"Have dinner with us. "

Ali looked up."Who us? "

"Me and my brother.  Our parents are again out of town so we are ordering food.  I know you are alone tonight, too. "

"How do you know that? "

Kabir shrugged. "How else?  You told me about it. "

"I don't remember, but I talk a lot, so it's highly possible I told you. "

Kabir chuckled. "So you are in? "

"Food. You are ordering food.  You really think I will say no to that? "

Kabir smiled. "Then let's leave together after work.  I have work now, so I will get going. "

"Wait,  wait, wait. "

"What? "

"You never voluntarily invite me for dinner.  Or lunch.  I invite myself. Always. Why happened today?"

"That." Kabir exhaled which made Ali raise his left eyebrow. "I feel bad about how I reacted when I found out the truth. I was really angry, but that is not how I usually react. "

"I know. I was so surprised. "

"So was I." He smiled. "It's just a 'I am sorry' dinner. "

"Aren't you a little late for that?  That happened years ago. "

Kabir narrowed his eyes. "That did not happen years ago.  And I didn't know how to say sorry. My brother suggested this idea. He said food will work on you. "

"Your brother knows me better. Shame on you. "

Kabir smiled again."Really shame on me. "

"Come on. I didn't mind it.  You are my best friend. You can misuse me."

Kabir chuckled. "That's very nice of you. "

"You are in a good mood. "

He nodded his head couple of times. "I am. "

"Glad to see that. "

"Now I will get going. See you after work. "

"Yes boss! "

Ali forgot about what he was thinking earlier and was only thinking about the evening.  He was happy to spend the evening with his friend when he expected to be alone with his thoughts. He wasn't trying, but he wanted to escape the night.  He smiled and started working. He worked until it was time to leave. Soon after that he was in Kabir's house, helping him and his brother to set the table.

“He was so nervous.” Ali said as he come out of the kitchen with plates in his hands.

“It was obvious he was lying.” Kabir said before putting the spoons on the table.

“He just does not know how to lie.” Ali said with a nod .

Samar smiled before saying ,”So the poor guy got caught because of that?”

“What else was he expecting?” Ali said. “You need talent to lie.”

“And you should be confident.” Kabir said.

“Also prepared.” Samar joined in.

"And always breathe through your nose.  I heard its unhealthy to breathe through your mouth." Baskar said smiling. Kabir raised an eyebrow and Ali raised both his eyebrows which made Baskar's smile vanish.  "What? "

"Why did we bring him? " Ali whispered to Kabir.

"Because he won't stop asking questions." Kabir replied.

"So you decided to bring him!?"

"What else could I have done? He asked me if he can come with us.  He looked innocent and in need."

"He always looks like that." Ali reminded him.

"I could not stop him from coming. "

“Time to eat.”Samar announced. They talked about different things while eating. First they talked about work, then about families, about weddings and also divorces . But when they were done eating and were sitting in the living room ,they were talking about Anya.

“She probably is the scariest person I know.”Ali said shaking his head.

“She was always like that. As kids she was our leading and going against her meant asking for third degree torture.”

“I cannot imagine childhood with her. Knowing me I would have been tortured daily.” Everyone laughed.

“But it was fun around her .” Kabir said.

“Anya and fun?” Ali could not believe.

“Believe it or not ,but she was full of life back then.” Samar said.

“What happened then?” Ali could not hold his curiosity.

Kabir shrugged,”Who knows. She was always smiling but then she became a teenager and changed completely. “

“She changed ever before that. She was about ten or eleven when she started changing.” Samar said .

“Something happened when she was ten?” Baskar asked.

“She moved to a different city for some years and then moved back here. She cannot take changes well so moving twice turned out to be a bad idea.” Kabir explained.

“She was fine when she moved for the first time. Yeah she was sick for a whole year ,but she was still fine. But it was moving back here that caused more damage.” Samar explained further.

“She came back home, why was that difficult?”Ali asked Kabir.

“She lived in a small town. Coming back to Mumbai was difficult. She was excited to come back ,but things here had changed. People there were totally different than people here. Coping became difficult.”

“We have changed a lot of houses but never left the city. I don't know how it must have felt. But I don’t think moving is a good feeling.”Ali said.

“You should ask Anya about it. She can write a whole book on that. Spoiler, a sad story.” Kabir said before chuckling.

“I never expect Humour from Anya.” Ali said.

Samar smiled before looking at Baskar. “Whenever you want to go let me know. I would drop you.”

"I don't want to go home. My wife is still angry. I don't want to go." Baskar began to whine like a baby.

“You want to talk about it sir?”

“No.” Kabir said immediately without realising he was loud. Samar looked at him with wide eyes which made him look down at his fingers. Ali laughed softly without letting anyone know. “I don’t know what is the problem. But she is always yelling at me these days. I do not understand her.”

“She must be stressed due to all the preparations and stuff.”

“Sure that is the reason.”Ali whispered.

“But I am stressed too.”

“I know, but you love your wife, right?”

“of course.”

“Then ignore her for a while. She will be fine soon.”

“You think so?”

“I am sure about it.”

“But I still don’t want to go home.”

Ali looked at Kabir who was looking at Samar with his eyes wide open. Samar shook his head and motioned his brother to be quiet."Sir, how long would you stay here? " Ali asked the question for Kabir. “You have to go home some day.”

“Day?” Kabir whispered to Ali.

"I don't know." He looked up at the ceiling."I am so upset these days because my daughter is getting married. I raised her.  She is my daughter. I was there when she was born,  I was there when she started walking,  talking and dancing. I was there when she cried because she did not get a star in school and also when she graduated. I saw her dancing when she got her first salary." Ali frowned sympathetically. "I was always there in her life.  Now she is moving to a different country. She won't be with me to share her joy,  her sorrow. How can I not be upset? "

"Aw" Ali whispered.

"You have the right to be upset.  It is natural. " Samar said.

"Try telling that to my wife."

"I can understand how you are feeling sir." Kabir tried to console. “it is difficult to let go someone you love."

"How do you understand it?  Your daughter got married recently ,too? " Ali asked.

" Ali shut up."

"I want to know, too.How do you know?” Baskar said  looking at Kabir.

Kabir stared them in disbelief for few seconds before looking away.  Samar shook his head softly indicating them to leave him alone.  At first Ali did not understand the seriousness of the situation, but after a while he understood what Kabir meant. There was a moment of awkward silence,  where no one moved or say anything. But Ali did not like that kind of situations,  so to change the air he looked at Baskar and said, “probably your wife is upset just like you . Your crying might be making her more upset.”

“He is right. She is her daughter too.” Kabir did not waste a second to say.

“Maybe you are right. I did not see it that way.”

“So, now go home and talk to her. She must be worried that you are still not home.” Ali was trying to change his mind.

“I will drop you home. No need to call your driver.” Kabir said with a smile.

“ I should go home now, right?” He stood up from the chair.

“Yes. “ Ali and Kabir said together.

“I will go home then.”

“I will drop you.”Samar said immediately.

“I am not that old. I can go alone.”

“Are you sure?” Samar asked.

“Yes.” Baskar said nodding his head.

“message me when you reach home.”

“OK.”

Once Baskar was gone they sat in the living room quietly for some time before Ali looked at Samar and said,”You know him quite well.”

“He goes to him every day.” Kabir replied

Ali raised his eyebrows. Samar smiled.”He is exaggerating. He comes frequently though.”

“He owns a two BHk flat, got a brand new car and planning an international trip. All thanks to sir.” Kabir said shaking his head.

“If he comes that often then brother you are not doing a great job.”

“I said the exact same thing.” Kabir said .

“How am I doing a bad job if I am planning an international trip? “

Ali smiled before nodding his head. “You got a point.”

“Evil.”Kabir said narrowing his eyes.

“What is the time?  I need to go home?” Ali said abruptly.

“Almost ten.” Samar replied.

“Oh I should go.”

“Stay for some  more time.” Kabir said.

Ali stood up, “I need to pick up my mom and sister on my way.”

Kabir followed the action before saying,“OK.”

“And Kabir." Kabir looked at him. "if you are going to treat me tasty food every time then brother get mad at me more often.”

“Don’t give him too much liberty. He often misuses it.” Samar said with a smile.

“He is talking about me not you.”

Samar smiled again before standing up. “Take care Ali. You should come again.”

“Keep bring tasty food to your house and you will never have to invite me. But now I will get going”

“Bye.” Kabir said just as his phone started ringing. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sighed  “Who is it?” Samar asked.

“Bye. Goodnight. “Ali said.

“Anya. I don't think I will have a good night.”