7 days

September 10 ( Part Two)

POV: Shubman Gill.

‘ I should have known…I kept seeing all the signs, but I ignored them….I….’ Ibrahim said in frustration.

His hands tightly holding the steering wheel, he felt rage and sadness, both at the same time.

‘ I ..I kept dismissing the signs, thinking that his behavior stemmed from sadness because of Ishaan's absence…I .’ Ibrahim groaned in frustration and sped up.

‘ It's alright, no one would have thought of this ..’ mahi said gently.

‘ well I should have. I should have known…Mahi, if anything happens to that boy….I ….I won't be able to forgive myself’

Ibrahim tried to fight back the tears threatening to fall. It wasn't like him to show emotions, but he was scared. He was extremely scared of what might happen to Shubman.

‘ Maybe….maybe it's not what you think…’ Simran was barely audible.

Mahi looked over his shoulder. Simran's eyeliner was smudged, her beautiful eyes swollen from crying.

‘ Simran….didn't you notice anything different about Shubman?’ Mahi asked.

Simran thought back to everything she saw, how Shubman spoke to her, how he touched her face. The way he smelled of burning flesh when he stood inches from her face. She tightly shut her eyes and thought of Shubman's eyes turning scarlet.

‘ I'm….I'm scared. I don't want it to be this…how can I protect him from something, something which I don't know about….’ Simran's voice trembled.

‘ we will figure it out together’ Mahi’s voice brought her some comfort.

Shubman's apartment felt ominous as they entered it. The extreme cold latched onto them, the minute they made it past the hallway.

‘ What…what is that smell?’ Simran covered her nose.

The apartment reeked of a rotting smell. Ibrahim turned on the lights and looked around in horror. Ants covered the kitchen counter and sink area. Whatever fruits he had bought a few days back were rotting and covered in maggots.

‘ I.  I uh got them a few days back I think…why??’ it was all Ibrahim could say.

‘ Ibrahim, we need to find the gift…’ Mahi said pulling his arm.

Ibrahim nodded and moved towards the room while the rest of them checked the living room. It was things they had all seen, things which were always there. His trophies, awards. The anime collections, comics, this and that.

Ibrahim went through Shubman's closet, careful not to mess up his things, he knew how annoyed Shubman would get if his things were out of place. He was checking the drawers at the back and stopped when he saw a black box.

‘ Could…could this be it?’ he thought to himself while opening the box.

Ibrahim's heart sank as he saw the contents inside it.  Polaroid pictures of Shubman and Ishaan along with the little gifts which they had exchanged. Ibrahim ran his fingers over the letters which Ishaan had sent to Shubman whenever he was touring. Ishaan loved shamelessly, without knowing any bounds, while Shubman was still struggling inside the barbed wires of the society.

The sound of something crashing, followed by Simran's scream, rang through the house. Ibrahim ran to the sight of commotion. Mahi had his arms around Simran, who was trembling and hiding her face.

‘ What's …’ Ibrahim stopped as he saw what Simran was pointing at.

The Russian doll lay shattered in pieces. A pungent smell engulfed them. Ibrahim's heart trembled as he lowered himself to the ground and tried to touch the pieces to see what was hidden beneath it.