After all this time

Virat's attempt

Present day...

Five hours later, Virat was still lying on his back and staring at the ceiling fixedly.

Maybe he could have changed things if he had spoken to Rohit directly that day. The more he delayed it, however, the more impossible it became to apologise.

The last 4 years of their joint career had passed just like that. Teammates but not friends. Certainly not best friends.

They hadn't met since Rohit's retirement last year. Rohit and Jinks had retired around the same time, and they stayed nearby and Sam and Aarya even went to the same school.

His wife, however, was admitted in a top hospital in London due to some complicacies that had arisen during pregnancy. He had no idea about whether their child would live or not. And though he tried not to think about it, he wasn't sure if Anushka would, either.

Virat wished he could be with Anushka and their unborn child, but he had some problems with VISA and had had to fly back to Mumbai for a week.

The long week was just starting... thought Virat despondently.

And a few thousand happy memories with Rohit before their fall-out was attacking his brain. Not that the memories were happy any longer. They were bitter and fearfully upsetting.

Virat closed his eyes hard and tried to push them away; they were of no use at all.

So what if they had practically grown up together since their debuts and had shared the most precious parts of their lives with each other?

Nothing mattered now.

Rohit was gone, and he had lived with that for so long, then why would it suddenly affect him like this?

God, if only Rohit was with him now, Virat found himself thinking over and over again as he drifted off to sleep.

_____________

When he woke up, he felt the same desperate need.

I wish Rohit was here.

He took up his phone; it couldn't hurt to at least try to talk to Rohit, even if they had hardly spoken in the last year.

Rohit's number was unreachable.

Apprehensive and upset, Virat called Jinks and asked, "Did Rohit change his number?"

"Didn't you know?" asked Jinks.

After a moment's silence, Virat managed to say, "No."

"But he changed it almost 6 months back," said Jinks.

"Please forward it to me," said Virat pleadingly, and Jinks did not press the issue.

When Virat dialled Rohit's number, he found himself praying with all his heart that Rohit answered it.

"Hello?"

"Rohit," whispered Virat, hearing his voice after so long.

"Virat?"

"H-Hi, Rohit," said Virat, trying to keep his voice from shaking, he was so glad that Rohit had at least answered.

"Hi," said Rohit. "Do you want something?"

Rohit's tone wasn't harsh, but his words cut through Virat like a knife.