ICT One Shots

The wheel of Time -IV

Warning:- Emotional as hell. nd can trigger people. Please read at your own discretion.

____________________

Over the next few days, the weight of everything—of the painful revelations, the unspoken regrets, and the scars left behind—slowly began to take its toll on Virat and Rohit. They seemed to be drifting, both physically and emotionally. The fire that once burned so brightly in their hearts, whether on the field or off, now felt like it had been snuffed out. Every step they took, every conversation they had, felt heavier than the last.

Virat was quieter, no longer the fiery, driven coach he used to be. He would sit in the locker rooms,  his eyes empty, staring at nothing in particular. The usual confidence he exuded was replaced by a deep, unsettling emptiness. His colleagues noticed it. The jokes that once came so easily to him died before they even left his mouth. His phone sat untouched on the table, his calls to the others unanswered. He didn't have the energy to pretend anymore.

Rohit wasn't any better. His anger had been replaced by an unshakable guilt that weighed him down like an anchor. He had spent nights pacing the room, thoughts racing through his head, but no answers ever came. He had now tried calling Mahi so many times, to believe that everything is a dream and maybe he will wake up  but the phone had always gone unanswered, making it more real than ever. And now that the reality of his absence had fully sunk in, it was as if everything had stopped. His cricket, his relationships, his life—all of it felt meaningless without Mahi. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Mahi's face, his eyes filled with pain, and it made his heart ache even more.

The two of them, once so full of life, now moved through their days in a haze, broken by the weight of their own guilt.

Vamika and Samaira, noticing the change in their fathers, decided to talk about it, in the privacy of their room. Ziva, ever the observer, had overheard snippets of their conversation while walking down the hallway, and what she heard pierced her heart.

"Do you think they'll ever forgive themselves?" Samaira asked, her voice small, as though the thought of it was too painful to fully express.

Vamika's response came quickly, tinged with sadness. "They're dying inside, Sammy. They blame themselves. And it's not like they haven't been trying... but it's not enough. Not for them."

Ziva, standing just outside the door, held her breath. Her heart clenched. She knew exactly what they were talking about. She had seen her Virat and Rohit chachu, seen how they had deteriorated over the past few weeks. They were hollow versions of the men they once were.

But what really hit Ziva hard were the words that followed.

"Do you think Bade Papa's death could have been avoided?" Vamika's voice cracked slightly as she spoke, her eyes glistening with the weight of her thoughts.

Samaira was silent for a long moment. "I don't know, Vami. It's hard to say. But... I think he felt so alone. I think they made him feel like... like he didn't matter. And that's something that no one should ever have to go through, especially not Bade Papa. He was the one who held everyone up, no matter what. He always did."

Ziva's breath hitched. She wasn't sure whether to keep listening, but she couldn't pull herself away. The words were too raw, too real. She didn't even realize the tears that had started to pool in her eyes until they began to slip down her cheeks.

Her heart ached for her father, but it also ached for the men who had left him to suffer in silence. The men who could have been there but weren't.

"Do you think... you think they're ever going to be able to move on from this?" Samaira asked softly, her voice trembling.