Rahul Dravid was a man known for his concentration. There was not one thing he didn't do with complete focus. Discipline and focus had made him who he was. Yet as he sat at the breakfast table, already done eating before the youngsters even woke up, quietly reading a book in his corner, he couldn't focus on a single page. Considering the fact that he had read entire books while his boys would bring the house down, quite literally sometimes, without losing focus once, this was saying something.
They had all just come back from a break and were playing a tournament in Sri Lanka. All the boys had finally landed to start preparing, Mahi being the last to arrive. And there was something undeniably wrong with Mahi. Before they had split for a break in the beginning of summer, they had made many breakthroughs with the boy. Seniors had an easy soft spot for his sincere nature, juniors liked his friendly company. Yuvi was actually focused on spoiling the kid, trying to rope him in every nonsense and poking at him trying to see when he will burst. Since he never did, Yuvi was quite protective of his friend, Rahul didn't even want to know the thought process behind it. He didn't ever wonder why Yuvraj Singh and his brother in crime Harbhajan did whatever they liked doing, it protected his hair from going even more gray. Mahi? He was ever smiling, curious, quiet but funny and always observing everything. This boy who sat at his little corner, pushing his food around and staring disinterestedly away from all conversations, was not the Mahi that had departed from Delhi.
He could see Dadi was also thinking along the same lines so was Sachin. But unlike Sachin, who knew when to push and when to not, his amazing tactless fool of a friend immediately went to get up and ask Mahi, the boy who barely spoke three sentences together. Rahul kicked his shin and made him sit down, ignoring the furious glare sent his way. Rahul understood people like Mahi, he was quite similar to himself after all, and he knew Mahi would have shut down on them instantly.
"You could have used your mouth" Dadi grumbled rubbing his leg.
"You could have used your head yet here we are," he peered over the book once more but Mahi had gotten up, having eaten only half of his plate and was out of the door before they could blink.
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In the last two months of her absence, Mahi had picked up the habit of going on mile long runs after breakfast. He had actually struggled even touching his kit, everything of his was saturated with her memories, thought of playing without calling her after match, without discussing his cricket with her, it was a physical pain. Something in his chest would wrench and twist around the hollowness he felt inside. He wanted to lie in his bed all day, but his father was so happy, so proud, so.... carefree, now that Mahi had a good start; he couldn't help but start practicing while on break. And to his surprise, it was the only thing that switched off his mind. He had picked up the habit of running in the morning and evening after his father decided he wanted to do it with him. Who was he to deny the one man whose approval meant everything to Mahi. Didi and Maa had gotten very worried though. He ate less, everything tasted like sand, he slept less, thoughts too centered on her to dream of anything not her. His amazing friends, his parents, his sister, their love and pride in him made him get up again. Made him play again. Try to be normal again. But he was so bloody exhausted, normal was hard. He huffed running another lap.
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The first practice session went well, the kids had obviously kept up with a good routine and were quick to adjust. Almost everyone was done, only a couple of them were completing a net session. Rahul had kept a sharp eye on Mahi the entire day. He was playing well enough if a bit easily distracted and unusually quite. He had gotten very used to his intelligent questions while they practiced, the way he would show sharp presence of mind, the absence was being felt. Right now he was running laps around the ground, why he wanted to run even after the practice was unfathomable to Rahul.
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A love lost, A life gained
قصص الهواةI love reading ICT fics here, love the platonic bond shown between juniors with their seniors. But somehow no one has written a fic about Mahi losing his then love to an early death. My take on what the then ICT would have been like while he struggl...
