Snippets

Closing the door

A/N-- This snippet is the result of a personal incident and me reading old news again. I firmly believe that Mahi is too polite for something like this to happen.

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Sakshi had been scrolling aimlessly on her phone when the call came. She watched the name light up on the screen and did a double take. This was a person she had not talked to in a long time.

She picked it up.

"Hello?" A familiar voice asked. So it was true.

It was Sourav Ganguly on the other end.

"Hi, Da- Sir." Sakshi greeted, barely catching herself before she could address him by a name she was unsure he would like to hear from her. "How are you?"

"I am fine. And don't do this 'sir' business. I will always be Dada to you. Is Mahi there?"

Sakshi wanted to ask what kind of Dada did not speak to his younger siblings for 5-6 years and then randomly called like this. But she held her tongue out of respect.

"Yes. Just a moment I will get him."

She put the call on hold which may be rude but hey, she was allowed to be a bit rude when the person on the other end hadn't been the politiest recently either.

She entered Mahi's gaming room and found him engrossed in a game. What she wouldn't give for the government to ban this PUBG.

She took off his headphones and switched off the computer and he turned to give her an annoyed look. She held up her phone and gestured to the call. Her husband's eyes widened. He took the phone from her with a rare hesitancy and removed the call from hold.

"Hello? Sir?" were the words she heard before exiting the room.

She wasn't coming between Mahi and his Dada. Though she would be there if he did need something.

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"Hello? Sir?" was how Mahi greeted the man who was his mentor, elder brother, captain and now a big criticizer.

"Don't– leave it. Was I the reason?" The man who he once called Dada asked from the other end.

"Reason for what?" Mahi asked, confused.

"I am sitting with your application for a sabbatical in front of me, MS. You know damn well that if you do this now, then you wouldn't be able to return to the team." Sourav said.

"Isn't that what you wanted though?" Mahi asked and immediately bit his tongue. Damn his stupid mind for lowering guard down when he was talking to the person on the other end.

"So, you have decided to retire because of me and my words? " Sourav asked again, a bit of.... hurt(?) seeping into his voice.

"No. You despite who you are and who you were once is of no consequence to my decision to retire from International Cricket." Mahi replied, hardening his voice. This was not his Dada anymore and he was no longer his Mahiya. "I had decided long back in 2015 that I would not play beyond the 2019 World Cup."

He had hoped that similar to how Paaji had got his ODI WC in his last world cup, he might get it too. How foolish that seemed now.

"Then why this sabbatical business? The West Indies tour is coming up. Play your last match and retire."

"Because if I directly announce my retirement, the team will insist on my playing a last match, a farewell match. Which I don't want to."

"Why not?" It was Sourav's turn to be confused.

"How can I get a farewell match when the rest of my team didn't?" Mahi replied before ending the call with a curt, "Please excuse me. Have a good day, sir." and cut the call before Sourav could even think of a response.

Mahi kept the phone on the table and got back to his game.

No use dwelling on relationships burned long ago.

He had heard somewhere that "If you really want closure... at some point, you have to shut the door."