He held her palm in his, firmly yet She couldn't feel him. The warmth she used to feel in his touch was not there.

She looked up at him with tearful eyes.

He said nothing but smiled calmly, sliding his fingers between the gaps of her fingers, a bit more firmly.

A tear rolled down her cheek without even letting her know when her eyelid batted.

Next She could only feel was Him. Close, very close, collecting that drop with his lips from her cheek.

"Am always here with you."

She heard his voice so clear, that his whisper gave her goosebumps.

She felt a strong urge to hug him but before she could, His palm felt like sliding away.

She tried to held his hand but all she could feel was his ring finger stuck in his last two fingers.

She tried... she tried her best to grab his hand back but all she could feel was that one little hope. He looked back at her with the same smile and his finger just slipped out of her fingers.

She woke up with a jolt just to realize few drops of tears at her left temple.

"God Damn!!" She exhaled.

She got up from bed to reach the mirror,

"Crap!! Why my eyes are red again!

God damn! I can't avoid meeting him today! What if he got that I..." her eyes got flooded with the thought of the upcoming day.

"No... no, he should not get that I was crying. It's his special day. I can't spoil it." She rubbed her eyes roughly and looked up at the clock it was only 5 a.m.

Her nights usually goes like that only. Shaking and waking up whole night.

Since She had lost her Mom, Dad and elder sister.

She took up her diary to spend some time with herself to be prepared for the day.

Of course, it's going to be a tough day for her.

"I mean you don't loose your best friend every day!"

She said to herself and started to scribble with her pen in the diary.

"Again I dreamt about Him. I know it's not new or even for the first time but what's new this time was that feeling. I never thought about him this way. Or should say I never wanted to feel like that for anyone. As each one, I felt close, bonded... just left me."

A drop of tear started to form at the corner of her eyelid.

She wiped her eye, took a deep breath and again tried to write further but instead of writing, she felt her hands trembling badly. She left the pen and held her right hand with her left hand to control the anxiety, shooting up in herself.

"Damn ! not this time again. I have to control this."

She bent to the lowest drawer of the table and dragged it out to find something as fast as she could with those shaking hands and body.

"There you are." she got a small bottle of pills and quickly swallowed a pill from it with some water and sat on the floor by bedside.

"I was right when I stole you from that trash bin. I knew people are like that only. They change and only you could save my life." she kissed the bottle with a dreadful smile while still having tears in her eyes and what He told 'Oh buddy don't worry you will never need this pill ever. I will be there whenever you will need.. and blah blah blah.' " she started to mimic him while getting up. At the same moment her cell rang up and His name and picture flashed on the screen, bright and vibrant, playing with Zebu.

For a moment she forgot everything as They were two best men of her life, apart from them and her own brother, she never let any male enter in her life. Even she couldn't allow Him and her own brother to enter her personal space. None of them knew, what was going in her mind and heart.

She gulped her anxiety and took up the call, "Can't you let me even sleep?" she groaned as if she was in deep sleep.

"Ok, sleep. I was sleeping too, just felt uneasy and woke up. thought to call you." He replied with a bit of concern in his voice.

"Let me sleep and you sleep as well or you will be late in the morning for your own first date, and don't worry everything will go well and from tomorrow you will get a girlfriend to talk to you even late nights." she wiped her eye as she mentioned 'the first date'.

"Umm.. Late nights... like we use to talk?" his voice sounded a bit dull.

"No...No, don't worry there would be more spice then our talks now don't disturb my beauty sleep." she faked a laugh and at the same time held the cell firmly as if she were holding his hand. "Good night " she mumbled.

"Ok Good Night." he cut the call.

She looked at the screen for a second and hugged the cell.

" I am sorry, I was accusing you for not being here and you... you felt me. You were right when you told my brother and sister in law about my disturbed mental state."

She sobbed again and wiped her tears off to have a look of her wallpaper at mobile screen. It was Him again with Zebu, actually it was a selfie of the trio.

"You convinced me to accept help of that psychiatrist. How you sensed that I was depressed? I tried my best to hide my state after loosing Mom and Dad. After loosing them it was really hard to cope up in that same city. And settling up here in a new town, unless you came up with your that idiotic smile."

She looked up at the farmed picture of her whole family, hanging at the wall. Her eyes shone with bright memories of her childhood. Her childhood where she had her Mom, Dad, her elder sister who use to pamper her a lot, so much that their eldest brother use to say that

"Max is spoilt just because of Michael."

Though He himself haven't left any of her demand pending ever. He is still the same even his wife loves Max as if she is her own younger sister not just sister in law.

But nothing can change the fact that half of her family has gone.

"Michael, why are you not here with me at this moment? You always used to say that you will approve only then I should date any guy." She laughed sarcastically at her own comment and wiped her tears.

She raised her cell toward the frame and said in shaking voice, "How's Mike? I know you must have been watching him in all these years since we have shifted here. So you must know everything about him. You also knew that he proposed me just on third day we met. Idiot! How could he talk so seriously at the age of 13. He asked me to marry him as he gets a nice job. Ha ha ha." She laughed meekly.

"And I just spared his cute pointed nose. Still wonders attimes why I spared him? Just refused in straight words. I thought He would never bother me again. But I was wrong. He stayed. Ten years... Ten long years Michael, he is here but You are not. He had stayed unlike your treacherous husband whom you choose over Dad's decision and I Idiotically supported you." Once again she felt the pang, this time deeper as it was her first and deepest wound.

A wound, She failed to heal even after so many years, even after having such lovely people around herself.

Her sister choose a guy against wish of her family and in return she got cheated. Consequences turned worse, he threw her out of Their so called home. When Michael returned home after three months of her marriage with that guy. She was badly depressed and before they could do anything she committed suicide.

Michael died but not alone, She was expecting her first child from that marriage.

Apart from the loss of those two innocent souls there was more damage done by it.

Her father got broken as he failed twice; first in saving his daughter from such wrong decision of marrying a wrong man then again when she threw herself from balcony.

Her mother sank into depression thinking that She failed to give her daughter the strength a woman needed to face the world. To make decisions, to face the consequences of one's own choices.

None of them did the same crime as Michael. But they failed to bear the pain. In a few months Her mother died of heart failure and after two months of depression her father took his last breath while in sleep.

Apart from these deaths something else too had died.

Max had lost her faith in humanity. She started to hate the gender "Male". And the word 'Love' was the last thing on earth she wanted to hear.

In such state of mind she met Mike, a boy from her new neighbourhood. Where her brother decided to shift in new city with Max and his newly wedded wife .

Max looked up towards her brother in the same frame standing next to Michael.

"I know Eric You have given your best to built a new world for me. Where there is everything a girl needs to grow. Your wife has given her best to give every kind of support. And that's the reason I cannot think to hurt any of you with my sadistic personality." A fickle smile appeared on her lips and she turned away towards the window of her room.

She sat on the window sill and peeped out at the dusky sky. Sky was turning it's shades as the Sun was making it's path upwards. This sight was familiar to her eyes as this was among few of those things which calms her anxiety.

She looked toward His home and smiled, "As expected, lights are on. Mike when will you quit this habit of sleeping with on lights." She was about to turn and leave the window when she noticed a familiar sight again, a wagging tail.

Her smile brighten up and she waved her hand in air, "Zebbu...Good Morning beautiful." In return Zebbu barked in excitement.

"Go ... wake him up. Am getting ready. And don't sleep with him again OK!" She instructed Zebbu in bit loud voice so her voice can reach to him. Zebbu quickly turned around and jumped on Mike, in his bed.

"Oh dear, you are going to be only mine in a few days or weeks or may be in months. As I know his would be Girlfriend don't like fur babies much. Then how will he be able to keep you in his room? In his bed? Yes! This alternative days arrangement will be over. And Zebbu will belongs to me only! Hope Jenny's medicine course will work for rest of life and she will not roam sneezing around whole home."

She exclaimed in excitement and made a face thinking about her sister in law who was taking medicines all these years just because She too wants to keep Zebbu at home, as with Zebbu Max turns alive.

Till now from the day they have adopted Zebbu, they share him on alternative days. As initially Mike used to be scared of Dogs and Max could not keep him with her as her sister in law was allergic to dogs. But at present Mike loves Zebbu just as much Max loves him. Even they fights at times over him.

Initially Max stayed away from Mike and her own sister in law as well. But they both succeeded to get added in her good books soon.

Max got proposed by Mike just on third day of their meeting. Obvious She turned down his innocent proposal of getting married as soon as he gets a job in future.

Even Their families laughed many times at their weird start of friendship but in present they all know well that Max and Mike are not a couple but proud parents of Zebbu.

"Let's see what the day have in store for us." She took a deep breath with closed eyes and opened her wardrobe to pull out a pair of blue denim jeans, white t-shirt and a denim jacket.

As she closed it her eyes met her own reflection in the mirror, "shit! My eyes are puffy! And so is skin looking dull. I have to cover it all." She told herself while slapping her forehead.

She quickly reopened the wardrobe and looked for her make-up kit.

"Great, it will take a good time but am sure Jenny's make up tutorial will work for me this time and His dumb ass would not guess it." She wore her dark shades too to check herself in mirror, if her puffy eyes were hidden or not and she found herself successful in her efforts.

"Now time to Act Normal Max. Just calm yourself. And Never Ever forget!!" She looked into her own eyes in the mirror as if threatening herself,

"Mike deserves that girl. She is the best for him. At least far better then you. So keep smiling and learn to live without Him."

As she said the last sentence a drop of salty water formed in her eye which she ignored and headed toward bathroom to take shower and Take Mike for his first Date with another girl, whom he was going to propose today.