Beginning of The End

III

Rohit sat in his room as he recalled everything that had happened in the past few days. He could not believe his best friend, his brother had practically disappeared with no trace of him.

Was it even possible for a man of his stature, a brand in himself to just vanish from the face of the earth?

He could not understand what was happening. Their Virat, his Virat was gone. He was their family, his brother, his friend. Could he make such a big decision without as much as telling any of them?

He wasn't thinking about Virat Kohli, the brand. He was thinking about his best friend, the young boy who had promised to wake him up every morning for practice. The two youngsters dreaming to make it big in a country filled with over-achieving superstars one day. The boys who had thousands of dreams that they had planned to accomplish together. The boys that had been together through every thick and thin.

Where did that boy go?

Where did that boy who held them together as a family disappear?

Did Virat suddenly decide that he no longer wanted to be in their lives?

Did he get to decide that alone?

Mahi bhai and Yuvi bhai had tried every way possible to get to him, his mother, his brother, his sister-in-law, but no one could be contacted. Everyone was gone. Almost like they were never there, to begin with. His flat in Mumbai was locked. His house in Gurugram as well. Their house in Delhi had no one either.

It was only then when all of them realized how distant Virat had become in the past year from all of them.

Rohit had been at odds with Virat in the past month, but he had not realized that it was not just him. No one knew what he had been up to. Their conversations had been too short. He had been too distracted. They rarely saw much of him out of the team events. Even when with the team Virat had not been his goofy self. This was also the first time they realized how little they knew of his wife.

Anushka had been in their lives for years now but had they been in her life as well?

"Did you find anything?" He asked his wife as she entered the room but one look at her face and he knew the answer.

"I tried calling her manager but she wouldn't pick up. I don't know who to call now." Ritika admitted in a low voice, her face displaying the helplessness she felt at that moment.

The wives and girlfriends of the team members were a close-knit group, everyone knew that. Vacationing together, going on overseas tours, shopping, the girls did everything together. And against the popular opinion which stated that they had a rift with the captain's wife, they had always been on quite good terms.

But no rumor started without some truth attached to it. Although not at odds with each other like the media said, there had always been a distance between them.

Anushka could not be there as much as the other girls did, she rarely came on the tours with Virat due to her hectic work schedule and whenever she did, it had always been filled with a few casual hangouts before she had to return.

"Did Mahi bhai say anything else?" She asked him in a soft voice as she sat beside him but he just shrugged in response.

It had been two weeks since he returned to Mumbai. Two weeks since they found out about Virat's decision. Almost four weeks since they had seen Virat. Or even heard his voice.