Silent Whispers

Chapter 17: The Shrink

"S-Shyam?! Are you there?!"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah," he answered, turning on the flashlight in his phone. However, his solace vanished as soon as he caught sight of Anjali. Trembling in fright, she looked ready to faint.

Alarmed, Shyam hurried to her side. "Are you okay?!"

"I-I don't like the dark."

"It's okay," he said, concerned. "The lights will be back soon... it's just a regular maintenance."

Anjali nodded, though she continued to shake in panic.  Doubting if she would be able to hold herself up much longer, he gently took her hand and directed her to sit on the floor.

"So, how come you are here so late?" he asked, hoping to distract her.

"Just f-finishing up this one wall," she said slowly, wiping off beads of sweat on her forehead. "I'm trying something new, so it's taking me longer than usual."

Shyam absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck. "Ohh..."

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

She pointed to his hand, still clamped on his shoulder. "You do that when you are stressed."

He looked at her perplexed. "You noticed that?"

"Of course... and the lines on your forehead, as if you have wrinkles."

"Are you calling me an old man?!"

She giggled. "Maybe."

"Rude... I haven't even hit thirty yet," he said, pleased to see her gradually relax. 

"So, what's worrying you so much that you are aging so quickly?"

Shyam bit his lip, realizing that she wasn't going to be distracted from his worries, like he had otherwise hoped. In fact, she appeared quite determined in the dimmed room. 

Having no other choice, he surrendered. "It's Meeti... she is angry with me."

"Why?"

He hesitated. Where was he even supposed to begin with his complicated sister? And not to mention his equally complicated mother? Like always, he was torn between the two.

Despite his warnings, his mother chose not to disclose her condition to Khushi, claiming it was for the better. While he knew she had the best interests at heart, he didn't understand her reasoning. How could his mother not realize that hiding the truth would only drive Khushi away?

And to make matters worse, when his sister finally found out, she blamed him without a second thought. Of course, he expected it, given their conversation with Dr. Awasti, but he had still hoped she would listen to him before jumping to conclusions. It appeared it was too much to expect.

"The story is that long, huh?" Anjali asked, interrupting his thoughts.

He shook his head slowly, trying to find the simplest way to explain his predicament. "It all just boils down to one thing really... I kept Meeti in the dark about something she deserved to know."

"Okay... why did you hide it?"

"I didn't want to hide it," he said, feeling a sudden urge to explain himself. He couldn't afford another person misunderstanding him. "It wasn't my secret to tell... I was just trying to make someone else happy."

"So why don't you tell Khushi that?"

"Because she won't listen."

"But-"