Between The Pages

Chapter 26

It was evident in the next message that he sent.

'I am not talking with you because I'm chatting with you since the last ten minutes.'

Normally, the play of words would have made Riya smile. Tonight it was different. Her brain seemed to have went off to sleep a long time ago. And so, without thinking about the consequences, she let the words flow.

'You aren't talking to me, you've been chatting with Miss Magician.'

It was too late before Natasha realised what her friend had done. That last message had drove them to a pivotal point in the night from where only one road lay ahead. The road of truth. Deep in her heart, Natasha was thankful of the fates for making it quick.

'And you wish to say you're not Miss Magician?'

'No, I'm not.'

It was only after she hit the send when Riya understood the meaning of her own words. Her eyes instantly darted towards Natasha, guilt evident in them. Thankfully, Natasha's calm posture assured her that everything was alright. Truth had to come out some day or the other.

"Lies, nothing else but lies," Tanmay snorted angrily. It wasn't as if hated lies. He understood their importance as much as the truths. Lies were an integral part of every conversation nowadays. They were the ones which made the conversation sound real. And yet, when used more than needed, they had the power to ruin it all.

"I'm done with this," he said typing the next message. Yes, he was tired of playing around the inevitable. This time, he went on for the truth.

'Then how do you know I was chatting with her?'

Natasha and Riya already knew what was coming their way. They had started to think about how to answer that question even before it pinged on Riya's phone. Thinking over it, they both agreed to tell the truth. The entire truth.

It was Natasha's turn to take the reigns in her hand.

'She knows you're chatting with me because she's sitting beside me.'

Getting that message from Miss Magician did throw a bit of doubt in Tanmay's observation, but he had to be sure.

'Why shall I believe you?'

It was the one question that they didn't have any answer to. Over the next fifteen minutes, they tried to convince Tanmay that they were different, but nothing seemed to penetrate his thick skull. And they didn't blame him either.

There was just no proof that the person typing all those messages was the same one every time. Someone else can take your phone and message on your behalf. Nine times out of ten the one on the other side of the screen won't be able to tell the difference. That was a limitation of the online world and everyone has to live by it.

Time flew away in between the allegations and counter questions. It was already half past one and their messages were showing the signs of sleep. For a moment, Natasha thought of continuing the discussion in the morning, but she knew time won't heal anything in this case. If at all, it'd only make it worse. Even Tanmay was on the verge of throwing the phone away and embracing the peaceful sleep. Somehow, all of them were holding on.

Finally, with no other option in sight, Riya decided to go for one final blow. At half past one in the night, she called Tanmay.

It was nothing but silence in Tanmay's room when suddenly out of the blues his phone rang at full volume. It was one of those days when he had forgot to turn it on silent mode. For a moment, the vibrating phone slipped from his hands to fall on his bed, still ringing at full volume. Quickly getting his bearings back, he picked up the call in anger.

"Are you mad or what?" he thundered through the night.

"One has to be mad while talking to a mad person."

The calm and strong voice on the other side surprised him. He had heard Riya's voice once when they had called a month ago. He wasn't someone to boast that he remembered each and every tone of her voice, but he was sure that it wasn't like the one he was hearing right now.

"Who's this?" he asked in disbelief.

"It's Natasha," the girl replied, "Or more specifically, it's your Miss Magician."

If it is possible to snatch someone away from the jaws of sleep, Natasha had managed to do that. For a moment, Tanmay believed that he was already in dreams, but the voice on the other side of the phone was real and what she was saying was finally starting to make sense.

Slowly and steadily Natasha went on to explain everything to Tanmay. Riya's role in her discovery of wattpad, her falling in love with his words, of her actually falling from the stairs, coma, the things Riya did to keep her favourite writer going, and finally the events of the last couple of days. She didn't leave any details out. It was a lot to take in for Tanmay, but she was glad he listened to it all with an understanding silence.

It was a totally different feeling for Natasha, revealing so much of her to a stranger. Though after all this time, she had started to believe that Tanmay wasn't just any stranger, he was a friendly stranger. But more than anything else, she knew that he deserved to know it all. Anonymity and secrecy were her most loved abilities, but she wasn't ready to hurt someone to keep them intact. Situation called for her to drag her mask down and she did it without a second thought.

And it was refreshing to hear that her efforts didn't go in vain. Tanmay was finally convinced that Riya and Miss Magician were two different girls. At that moment, there was no one happier than Tanmay. Not only did he get his most valuable friend back, he got his favourite reader back as well.

As the three of them finally decided to sleep, dawn was already making an appearance on the dark sky. After what felt like an eternity, the three of them were actually going to have some sweet dreams.

***

8th September 2017

This is the longest story I've written so far. And now, it's finally coming to an end.

Just one more update to go.

Thank you so much for making this journey so special.

And for one last time in this book,

Stay tuned for the end...