Salahuddin did not who was there at the hospital. He left his house with Amar's car as soon as Shahma called. Shahma's voice almost broke  as she requested him to take her and her mother to Devagiri hospital.

Two women wearing abayas were already at their gate by the time Salahuddin reached their house. Shahma got inside the car without a word as Salahuddin and her mother exchanged a salam. Salahuddin wanted to ask who was at the hospital but seeing Shahma as a devastated girl, he decided not to.

Shahma's mother kept chanting soothing words to her every now and then. Salahuddin also tried to console her with a few 'don't worry's and 'everything will be alright'. Salahuddin could still find the fear and sadness in her eyes even after those encouraging words.

Shahma did not wait for Salahuddin or her mother when they reached the hospital. She sped to the receptionist and ran without even turning and looking at the people who came with her.

"Sushmitha is dearer to her even more than her own sister," Zahra, Fathima's mother said as she tagged behind Salahuddin.

"Sushmitha?" The more he tried to stay away from her , the more she seemed to be around.

"Oh, sorry didn't Shahma tell you?" The eyes visible through the gap in the black cloth looked at him when he turned to looked at her.

"What happened to Sushmitha?" Salahuddin controlled his urge to walk faster. He wanted to run to Sushmitha, just to know that she was okay. His heart was picking up its pace at a fast rate.

"No...it was her father," She said. Salahuddin sighed as she walked past him to the receptionist, not missing the relief on his face. Sushmitha was Shahma's best friend and Professor Salahuddin was their lecturer, there was nothing wrong in a professor worrying for his students.

Salahuddin's eyes followed his sister's Facebook friend's mother. She asked about someone named Sushanthan. His heart started to feel a little more relaxed.

"He fainted," She said as both of them walked towards the elevator. The button near the elevator glowed when she clicked on it.

"Sushmitha and her family went through a tough time when her sister eloped with a man, a few years ago, she used to come to-"  The elevator's door opened and the screaming of a boy became audible. The little boy was crying and kicking his mom while he was in in her arms, hugging her. The mother kept chanting soothing words as she kissed on the boy's tear stained cheeks.

"So Sushmitha used to come to your house?" Salahuddin clicked on the number thirteen and the door closed.

"Yes, she was lost back then.  She used to come to my house and open up in front of me and Shahma.  Her thoughts always ended up with her being unable to talk anymore due to her  tears.  Neither of us ever asked  her to stop crying because we knew that she was not someone who would cry easily  and thus, her silenced cries could be fatal.  Her worries seemed to lessen within a few months or so.The poor girl had to take care of the house chores as well as attend the school without complaining as her parents recovered . She wanted to become a doctor back then and she was excellent in her studies too before the turn of events."

"Doctor?"

"Yes, my Shahma did not choose science stream due to a big dream. She secured full A plus in tenth grade but she found it difficult to choose between science stream and humanities. She had opted science to be with Sushmitha.  I would not blame her for following Sushmitha. Shahma does not have many friends and the ones she have are only with the help of Sushmitha. Sushmitha seems to know it too, never letting my Shahma down. Shahma choose science just for her best friend. Sushmitha on the other hand had a solid reason to choose  science  stream, she wanted to become a Cardiologist. Her grandfather had died right in front of her due to cardiac arrest. She was only ten back then but the event influenced her. The tragedy sowed the seed for her dream. She used to work hard day and night but everything she did was in vain,"  She wiped the corners of her eyes.

"In vain?"

"Her sister had eloped about one month before their plus two examinations, she could not score well in the exams and this killed her confidence,  she gave away her dream when she did even worse in the NEET exam, she did not even qualify it,"

Many people had got in and out of the elevator but none distracted Salahuddin as much as the crying boy and his mother who got in then. The boy was throwing a tantrum and his mother threw a double tantrum. The boy tried to control his cry through some weeps and he was not successful. He hugged his mother's leg and continued screaming.

Everyone in the elevator exhaled deeply when they left the elevator.

"Sushmitha wanted to go to some coaching center to try writing NEET exam once again but her parents had lost trust on their children by then and Sushi's father  was not ready to let her stay in some hostel. At the same time, Sushi felt that she would not feel comfortable while studying at home. Sushi's dream was dropped and so was Shahma's,"

Salahuddin frowned as he and Shahma's mother moved forward in the small crowd unit. Neither of them spoke a word as they eagerly waited for the door to open.

"Why did Shahma have to drop her's?" Salahuddin asked.

"She wanted to do integrated MA English from IIT Madras, she even got the chance, " Shahma's mother smiled at Salahuddin "She knew that Sushi needed her so she stayed"

They were outside room no. 305 when both of them halted as they saw Sushi and Shahma. Sushi was leaning her head on Shahma, whispering a few word once in a while as she stared at the wall in front of  her. Shahma was not consoling her too much, she seemed to only speak right after Sushi spoke a few words.

"That's how Shahma is," the mother chuckled lightly as she glued her eyes proudly on her daughter and her best friend, " She is a little introverted but once she is close to a person she would give everything to them...space, time or anything they want. I never thought she would go to the extent that she would give up her dream but yes she did. You know what , there were times I wondered if they were lesbians but Shahma shocked me when she asked us to choose  a husband for her." She laughed a little as her teary eyes lingered on the girls.

"Look at her Salahuddin. She is hurt just because Sushmitha is hurt"

Shahma's mother turned towards Salahuddin. She kept her hand on her left chest. "Wallah Salahuddin, I am giving you my treasure, cherish her"

Salahuddin nodded.

He went inside the room with Shahma's mother. Sushi's father was asleep on the bed. His forehead wrinkled.

Sushi's mother was just an older version of her. She was sitting on a chair beside the bed. She did not even notice their entry as she kept staring at the sleeping form. Her face and eyes were red.

Shahma's mother walked slowly towards Sushi's mother and held her shoulder lightly, only as to announce their presence. She did not want to startle her child hood friend.  Saraswathi turned immediately and started weeping as soon as her eyes met Zahra's. Saraswathi half hugged Zahra as her tears wetted her best friend's abaya.

"He fainted due to high pressure, Zahra aunty" Sayanth said as he peeled an orange and kept it on a plate. He went towards Zahra aunty first and then walked towards Shahma's fiancé.

It was only then he noticed that neither he or the people he accompanied had even even bought some fruits when they came to visit the patient. He felt a little guilty even if the patient and his family seemed to have no objection.

"Salahuddin?" He looked at Shahma's mother dumb founded.

"I just introduced you to  Saraswathi, Suhshmitha's mother,"

"Oh...I am sorry, I zoned out"

Sushmitha's mother nodded and tried to smile.

Salahuddin felt it awkward to stand there as Shahma's mother tried to soothe Sushmitha's mother. He then looked at Sayanth who was reading something, he decided to leave the room silently.

Salahuddin sat beside Shahma, focusing on leaving a 'decent gap' between them. As far as Salahuddin knew, she was pretty conservative.

He did not want to interfere the best friends inaudible conversation so he decided to get lost in his own world as he took out his phone.

He felt a light tap on his shoulder after what felt like a few seconds.  Shahma beckoned to him with a stiff neck and shoulder. He leaned towards her.

" Can you please call my mother?"

Salahuddin nodded and stood up immediately, receiving a shush from Shahma. She pointed at Sushi who was asleep on her shoulder.

He tip toed to the room and was about to call Shahma's mother when a woman rushed to the room with an infant in her arms. Her hair was a mess and her red eyes looked teary.  Her breaths were loud, like she was struggling with it.The old cotton churidar was not ironed at all. The child looked neatly dressed though.

"Acha..." She gulped and walked towards Sushmitha's father.

Sushmitha's father opened his eyes in an instant.

"Shamna..." The father whispered.