Together

05

Mallika's fingers wrapped around the balustrade of the balcony. The steel railing was cold enough to make her shiver and instinctively leave the hold of the railing. A gust of bitter cold wind blew against her face, giving more and more freedom to the already loose and unruly strands of her hair to disrupt her view. Mallika instantly brushed the hair behind the shield of her ears and then wrapped her arms around herself, clutching to the pink hoodie that failed to insulate her from the ice-cold winds.

Mallika couldn't take her eyes off of the surreal beauty that the moonless sky held in itself. With just the stars glittering all along the length of the sky that seemed so much more dark and low, the night was a treat to her eyes. Feeling the sudden urge to know what the time was, Mallika reached for her phone.

1:27 am
28th November, 2019

It was another day close to the last month of the year - the year which seemed to have passed away in the blink of an eye. 2019 had kept Mallika busy with long hours of shoot, frequent interviews, promotions, launch parties, cake cuttings and so on and so forth. The year had rarely given her hours of solitude. 2019 was the year which had shown her the true faces of many people who used to deceive her for their own personal gains; even so, the year manifested the truth that there were still a few selfless people in her life who really cared for her and considered her precious. The thought of selfless people reminded her of Sumedh, and all at once her lips curved upwards into a tranquil smile.

Sumedh was one person in her life whom she could rely on, whom she could confide in without any trust issues or insecurities, whose presence made her feel protected. Sumedh was the person who taught her the real meaning of friendship, which no google definition could have ever explained her. Sumedh was the person who made her believe in herself when she thought all the rays of hope were vanishing from her life.

Impeding her line of thoughts, the loud and sharp ringtone of Mallika's phone filled the silent atmosphere. The screen flashed the caller ID and instantly, a broad grin was plastered on her face.

Beatking calling

"Oye? How was your day?" Sumedh's weary voice reached her ears as soon as she picked up the call.

"Same as yours. Fourteen long hours of shoot have left me exhausted as hell," Mallika replied in a low voice. She didn't even have the strength to speak.

"So, battery at what percentage?"

"Two percent. Just enough to have a conversation with you and then I'll black out,” Mallika tried to speak in between a few persistent coughs.

"Mine is somewhere near six or seven percent."

"I see, you've got a better battery life," she said and he chuckled.

"I guess you haven't used the power bank yet," he said, leaving her flabbergasted.

"Power bank?"

"I'm talking about dinner, silly. You didn't eat dinner yet?"

"You may call it my misfortune, but the power bank isn't charged as well," she laughed.

"Wait, what? What do you mean by that?" He sounded quite perplexed.

"Arey, nothing much. I can't find anything to eat in the kitchen. Will have to manage food from somewhere."

"You'll manage food? From where, madam?"

"I don't know from where, but that's not a big deal. As a backup plan, I've already trained my stomach how to sustain for a night without food." And there she was, laughing at her own PJ.