Indhu's POV
It was a regular Thursday morning and worst of all… our three days holiday had ended. 😭
But something felt… incomplete.
Aditya hadn't come to school. No messages. No calls. He wasn't even online.
We had seen each other yesterday and he was perfectly alright…
At first, the group brushed it off.
Rohan laughed, "Maybe he forgot his phone."
I guessed, "He might be sick."
Swetha teased, "He better be sick after making us rehearse for that piano duet!"
But then, during lunch break, Aditya's mother called me.
"He's okay now… but he fainted this morning. Fever. Exhaustion. Maybe even stress. Or tired from yesterday. He's resting. Please don't tell him I called — he didn't want anyone to worry."
The group just sat in silence.
We all knew Aditya — always calm, smiling, helping others.
But no one had realized how much he'd been doing.
Piano practices. Tutoring others. Extra work for events. Being everyone's support.
Swetha quietly said, "We didn't even ask if he was okay…"
I looked down and whispered, "He always asks us."
Rohan clenched his jaw. "Let's do something."
That evening, we went to Aditya's house.
His mother was surprised but let us in quietly.
Aditya was lying on the bed, half-asleep, tired.
We didn't speak loudly. We didn't surprise him.
We just left soft things around his room:
A folded paper with my doodle of the group.
Swetha's energy drink with a sticky note: "Not sweet. You better like it."
Rohan's stupid toy car with a note: "Your brain drives us all. Rest now."
A printed card that said: "V5's melody can't play without its pianist."
Before leaving, we recorded a voice message — not loud, not silly — just one simple line from each person.
At the end, my voice, soft and clear, said:
"Take your time, Adi. You've held us up all this while. Let us hold you now."