DM

Kritvik Bhatt

“Days passed just like that, man. One, two, three… and English exam was gone. I didn’t even see Sana on the exam day, for some reason. The next… was Science, and I was preparing damn hard for three whole days to complete the syllabus and score the best that I can. In the middle of all of it, I thought…”

“What if… she needs me, by any chance?”

***

The bright LED lights of my room were turned on, and the sky outside the window was completely black, for some reason. I was sitting in front of my wooden table as usual, obviously, with a book in front of me as I read from it. The door to the drawing room on my right was closed, the bed behind me was made up nicely, and the dark window scenery was filled with streetlights and stuff.

I was absorbed in my book, when, suddenly, that thought hit my head, “What if… she needs me, by any chance?” I turned my head up. “Yeah, man. We’ve not seen each other for some time. Maybe I should check up on her.”

I then turned my head rightward at my smartphone kept beside my book. I took it up with my right hand, used both my thumbs to unlock it, and then clicked on the black and orange logo of Campfire.

Campfire’s dark front page opened and I swiped rightward to open the DMs. I then clicked on Sana’s name—which was on top of the three-four names which were there—and started to type with both my thumbs again.

‘Hi, Sana! It’s been days, man. How’ve you been?’

I then thought about it for a second, and then, for some reason, clicked on the backspace and retyped the whole thing.

‘It’s been days, man. Just wanted to check upon you. Everything’s alright?’

“Nah,” I thought as I held the backspace key again. I then started to type again.

‘Man, it’s been days since we talked. I just wanted to check upon you and talk to you. Everything alright?’

“Yeah, that’s better, maybe,” I thought as I clicked on the send button.

I then clicked it off and kept it beside me—where it was before, obviously. I turned my head to my book again, continuing where I left off, when suddenly, a message appeared.

Ting!

I turned my head to my phone again, took it up in my right hand, and unlocked it without moving it toward me again.

‘Sales are now live again this winter! Celebrate Lohri with a discount of twenty percent on all products, including AC! Buy now! Click on the link below!’

My eyes narrowed. “Fuck!” I murmured under my breath as I clicked my phone off and kept it on the left of my right hand again. I then turned to my book again.

I thought, “Sana will reply when she’d come online, obviously. I don’t need to be desperate.”

I remembered her face—covered with that black mask of hers—with her watery eyes and her head turned a little downward as she had said, “You’re… so mature when it comes to these things, K. I hope my mom and dad too were…” She then covered her face with her palms and started to sob.

“Sana… I gotta be there for her,” I thought as I glared aimlessly toward my book. “She was there for me too, after all. And, she’s trusted me with this. I gotta stand on this trust of hers. No doubt, I… I’m gonna be there for her, as long as she needs. Always.”

***

Sana Kohli

Well, my pink-walled room was lit up with the sharp LED lights. My single-mattress bed, which had a dark yellow bed-sheet covering it, was just on the right of the door of my room. The door was closed. In front of the bed was my wooden study desk filled with drawers on one side and a chair at the front. Beside my study desk, facing the bed, was the window that showed the dark night sky.

I was lying on my bed with my belly down, you see, with my book in front of my face as I read it. My back was bent a little up by my neck and I was balancing with my elbows and forearms. I was wearing a white t-shirt and black cotton shorts.

The room was really quiet—so much that the tick-tocking of my clock echoed around the room. The clock was hung on top of the wall behind me.

I turned my head leftward, looking toward the outside of my window. There was a white-painted house on the other sky, with a dark sky on top of it.

“Sana!” My mom shouted from the other side of the room.

“Yeah, mom?!” I shouted back without looking up from my book.

“I’ll be coming back from the market in fifteen minutes. Until then, the rice is being cooked on the gas-stove. Take care of it!”

“Okay, mom!”

Then, the silence took over my room again, you see. I continued to study as I heard the creaks of my mom locking the door.

Suddenly, my phone, which until then was kept silently on the table, you see, started to ring. A cringe cheerful guitar tune started to play on it with the name ‘Daksh’ written on top. It was Daksh’s call, you see.

Well, I turned my head leftward and, like, narrowed my eyes toward my phone, you see. I then dragged my body to the ground, stepped up, and walked to my desk. I took up the phone, took the call up, and moved it beside my right ear.

“Yeah, Daksh?”

“Hey, Sana! Were you studying?” He asked from the other side of the call.

“Well, yeah,” I replied with a little smile. “Are you stalking me?!”

“The hell?! No, pal! You’re not that good-looking to be stalked, okay?”

I frowned. “Cringe one.”

“Hahaha.”

“Anyway, why did you call?”

“I completed my chapters for the day and was feeling bored, so I was just about to start Jenshin. Wanna join?”

“Great for you, but I don’t really think I’d be able to join. When I start playing, I don’t really stop anytime soon, you see. So, not today. Not before science exam.”

“See, we won’t play for long, okay? I’d probably start another chapter tonight before sleeping so that I can get some more time for revision on the last day. So, I’d be leaving soon too, technically.”

“Nah, I’m not really in the mood to play, you see. Like, just let me study, Daksh.”

“No. You gotta come online! Or I’m using up all my gems on random things!”

“Your wish,” I turned to my bed and smiled. “It’s your account, you see. Not mine.”

“So? We worked hard on this together.”

“I don’t really care about it anyway.”

“… The hell?!”

“Ahahahahhaa!” I laughed as I pulled my chair back, turned it to the window on my left, and sat on it. “Anyway, understand me.”

“Pal, see, you can study at night too, okay? You can technically use about the next half hour to come play and it won’t harm you.”

“Uhm…” I took a deep breath in and exhaled out. “Phew. I gotta do four chapters today, and I’m just around the end of my third one.”

“So, you can play now, then eat dinner, and then complete the rest. Take up the human eye chapter after this one, which is a lot smaller than others. You’ll complete your target easily.”

I shook my head and turned to the window, glaring aimlessly toward it. “Like, I know your strategy now. You finish your chapters quickly, and then distract others. Well, that’s a really good one, but it’s not gonna work on me.”

“The hell, pal?!”

“Ahahaha. Alright, I’m joining. Call me on Campfire. Until then, I’m opening the game.”

“Yeah, and stay connected to the voice chat until the very end. You left quite early yesterday too.”

“Well, my internet was not really working properly, you see, so my game was lagging. Anyway, go now.”

“Yeah.”

Beep. Beep.

I moved the phone down from my ear, you see, and then I started to use both my thumbs on the screen. “Daksh is so stubborn, really,” I told myself with a smile. “And, he’s so bad at Jenshin, but still gives his best.”

My thumb clicked on the black and orange logo of the Campfire app, you see, and its black interface opened, along with some photos and other colorful things in the front. I swiped right and opened the DMs. And, on top of it was Kritvik’s name in bold. He had sent me a message. I clicked on it and read his message.

‘Man, it’s been days since we talked. I just wanted to check upon you and talk to you. Everything alright?’

I smiled as I read it. I then started to type back a reply.

‘Don’t worry, K! I’m perfectly alright, haha! You see, my parents are not really fighting nowadays and conversing perfectly, like they used to. You don’t need to call me. Focus on your studies! And, I’ll call you to disturb you if I need anything anyway! You know I can ask you things whenever I want to.’

I then clicked on the send button, and the message was gone.

Suddenly, a message appeared on top of the app, ‘Daksh is on voice call! Join now.’

I clicked on top of it, and firstly, his chat opened. Then, I clicked on the simple silhouette logo of a telephone handle, and another screen opened, you see, where there was his profile photo on the right and mine on the left.

“Hey, Sana!” He excitedly said as his profile pic lit up and a green circle appeared on it. Then, the circle vanished and his profile pic turned gray again.

“Like, lemme open the game first,” I replied. Well, this time, too, my photo lit up and a green circle appeared as I said, and as soon as I stopped saying anything, both the things vanished. “And, remember that I’m here only for half an hour. Like, I know you’ll intentionally forget.”

“Ahahaha. See, I don’t play tricks like that.”

“Lies. Blatant lies, you see,” I replied with a smile.

***

Kritvik Bhatt

‘Don’t worry, K! I’m perfectly alright, haha! You see, my parents are not really fighting nowadays and conversing perfectly, like they used to. You don’t need to call me. Focus on your studies! And, I’ll call you to disturb you if I need anything anyway! You know I can ask you things whenever I want to.’

I was looking at the message on my brightly lit smartphone screen. I then turned it off and turned my head skyward toward the twinkling stars embedded meters away in the sky.

I was standing on my balcony, the door behind my back open as it threw out the bright light, obviously. My elbows were on the metal railing painted back, for some reason, and my back was bent a little frontward. My arms were crossed on the railing, with my smartphone in my right hand.

The ends of my lips rose to a little smile.

“Damn, man. I’m just misunderstanding her and overthinking all this stuff maybe, huh?” I thought. “She cares so much that she doesn’t really want to disturb me, maybe. Or… Or maybe…”

My lips returned to normal, for some reason. “Or maybe… she doesn’t wanna talk to me, after all.”

I frowned. “Nah. Why would she not want to talk to me? After all, she can… tell me anything, huh?”

I closed my eyes and turned my head down. I then opened my eyes again. “I’m just overthinking this stuff again, man. I gotta stop.”

“I don’t really know what was up with me at that time, man. After all, that message was so direct that she doesn’t want to disturb me and that everything was alright. Why, then… Why was I misinterpreting things the wrong way? Why did I fuck up like that?”