Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 136~ Calm Down

Shehnaaz bit her lower lip as she stared at the number on her phone screen—she had waited for this call for so long.

She accepted the call with trembling fingers.

Her eyes were red, but she fought back the tears. She put the phone to her ear and waited.

She had been in America for more than a month, but Sidharth had not called her on the phone, not even once.

She had last stolen a peek at him through the video call with Deepak.

That was when she had seen him smile at another woman.

It had made her angry and miserable, and driven her to vent her pent-up frustrations in a free-for-all with Shruti and the Pakistani softball women’s team.

That was how she had ended up in her current mess…

Shehnaaz suddenly felt that the world had been terribly unfair to her.

Sidharth, who had raised her and backed her up whenever she needed him, was moving farther and farther
away from her.

Was this the price of growing up?

Sidharth heard someone pick up the phone. He waited for a long moment, but did not hear Shehnaaz speak. A
thought suddenly occurred to him, and he reflexively checked the number on his phone. His occupational habits
kicked in: he begin to wonder whether someone else had gotten their hands on Shehnaaz’s mobile phone…

Now that Shehnaaz was in the United States, he had to be extra vigilant; he had to be careful not to let anyone to
know he was Shehnaaz’s true guardian.

He was just about to hang up when he heard Shehnaaz speak, her voice full of panic. “…Uncle Sid? Is that you, Uncle Sid?”

Sidharth was relieved. He responded with a low “Yeah,” and walked over to the window with his phone to his ear, his free hand in his trouser pocket.

Outside the window, the sun had just emerged from beneath the horizon. The sky was still a faint shade of purple, and the forest was full of morning fog. It was the start of another day at the military base.

He had not slept a wink. Even so, he was not tired.

Shehnaaz slowly let out a long breath. It was a frustrated sigh, one she had kept bottled within her ever since the
summons had been delivered to her yesterday. Once it was all out, she relaxed, and sat on the floor before the window sill. She retreated into a corner and hugged her knees.

She had subconsciously taken on a fetal position; it was a manifestation of her feelings of self-doubt and insecurity.

Sidharth could hear Shehnaaz breathing softly over the phone.

He did not say anything. He waited until her breathing had evened out, before gently saying, “Sana, what happened? Tell me everything that happened.”

Shehnaaz hesitated, but only briefly.

She did not dare lie to Sidharth; she bowed her head and traced the lines on the floor as she mentally organized everything that had happened to her in the past few days. Once she was ready, she gave Sidharth a proper report, leaving nothing out. When she was done, she whispered in a low, nasally voice: “Uncle Sid, did I mess up? Am I making things difficult for you?”

Shehnaaz was now a lot calmer after giving her account of the events.

She released her knees, and steadied herself on the wall as she stood up. She walked over to her bed and sat on it.

Sidharth had deliberately made her go over the events again, out loud, so that she would be able to unload her misery and calm her nerves. It was an important step towards having someone open up, commonly employed in psychotherapy.