Say You Won't Let Go

Chapter 1

"How much longer?" Viren kept pestering his driver. He had asked this question at least a half a dozen times within the past half-hour. The clock was close to hitting midnight and there was no way he was going to miss breaking their birthday tradition when he was this close.

Jeevika and Viren had grown up together; they were best friends and moreover they were family, always there to rely on each other. They both came from broken families, however; Jeevika grew up living with her grandmother when her parents pasted away in a car accident and Viren's only family included his younger brother Virat.

The two had an ever-lasting birthday tradition that went back as long as they could remember. Each year, they would ring in their birthday together at midnight with red-velvet cupcakes and strawberry champagne. They would read each other's cards which would include various hints to their upcoming adventurous activity to celebrate the birthday. Viren had to scramble through his plan this year though, due to the last of his law school exams and Jeevika suddenly planning a trip back home to meet her grandmother.

"Can you please drive faster? There's barely five minutes left till midnight" Viren said again to the driver.

The driver pulled up to the exact address Viren had given in no more than two minutes. He quickly took out his belongings and took our the box of cupcakes that were sitting in the empty seat right next to him.

"Quickly, do you have a lighter?" Viren asked his driver who eventually found one in the dashboard of his card.

"Viren smiled relieved that the taxi-driver had a lighter. He quickly put on a candle on the cupcake and lit it before proceeding to pay the driver and make his way towards the front door. He rang the doorbell and checked his watch.

"11:57, barely made it" Viren said to himself in his head.

He could hear footsteps coming towards the door and when he did, he grew more and more excited. Jeevika opened the door to see her best friend standing there. Everything about Jeevika looked off to Viren. She was dressed down in leggings and a sweatshirt, very unlike her on the eve of her birthday. Her hair was scattered over her shoulder and her eyes were signaling that something terrible was going on. Her grey eyes were red and puffy scaring Viren at the catastrophe that may have happened.

"Jeevika?" Viren said in a rather sympathetic and questioning tone.

"She's dying Viren"

Jeevika spoke those three words and immediately clasped onto her best friend. He engulfed her as tightly as he could trying to process what she just said to him.