[Apologies for the long gap between parts II and III. The only justification I have is a writers block. :P ]
Paridhi
woke up with a start, disoriented, and with her heart beating frantically. For
a few minutes, she wasn't sure as to what woke her up. Then, as it suddenly
came back to her, she shook off her covers violently and ran towards the locked
door that separated her room from Kabir's. There had been a loud crash from his
room and the sound had woken her. As she fumbled with the lock in vain, she
could hear Kabir cursing faintly in the other room. A few frantic attempts
later, she gave up and called out his name through the door. "Kabir!
Kabir, can you hear me? What was that noise? Are you alright?" Suddenly,
the room went completely silent. All Paridhi could hear was the sea raging
nearby. There was no answer. "Kabir!", she called again. She
could hear him pacing in the next room, but, there was still no reply. Just
when she had given up all hopes of him answering, a quiet voice called out,
"I am fine. Everything is okay. Go back to sleep." But there was
something in his voice that wasn't quite convincing. Paridhi sighed. Kabir had
always been like that. Even as a child, the truth about this thoughts had to be
cajoled out of him and Paridhi had always proved to be quite inept at the act
of cajoling. It had always been Anushka who could convince him to spill his
secrets. But Anushka was no longer there and years' worth of friendship
prevented Paridhi from abandoning Kabir when something was patently wrong. She
sagged against the door and called out again, "I am not going anywhere
till you tell me what's wrong, Kabir". "Go away, Paridhi. I don't
want to talk to anybody right now. And definitely not to you!" Stunned and
perplexed, Paridhi stared at the locked door. What in the world had she done to
merit that response? "Kabir?", she called out softly. There was no
response. A agonized pacing continued in the adjacent room. And then, it
suddenly stopped. Paridhi could feel Kabir hovering near the door from the
other side. After some time, his shoes scraped the floor as he sat down on the
other side of the door.
A heartbeat
later, Paridhi asked again. "Kabir, what's wrong?". "You",
said the quiet voice from the other room.
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