Chapter 12: Cracks Beneath the Surface
Part 2:
The message stayed on Arif's screen longer than expected.
"Do you ever feel like you're not enough?"
He had already replied-yes.
But even after that, he kept looking at the words.
Because they felt.....familiar.
Too familiar.
For a while, there was no reply from Nira.
Arif thought maybe that was it.
A random question.
A random answer.
The end.
But a few minutes later-
Another message appeared.
"Do you ever get tired of pretending?"
Arif let out a quick breath.
He leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling.
Then he typed-
"Every day."
That was how it started.
Their conversations weren't fast.
They didn't reply instantly.
Sometimes minutes passed.
Sometimes hours.
But every message felt real.
Days turned into a quiet routine.
Nira would text at night.
Arif would reply whenever he could.
At first, it was simple.
"How was your day?"
"Busy."
"Same."
But slowly-
They began to say more.
One night, Nira wrote-
"I feel like I'm living someone else's life."
Arif paused.
He read it twice.
Then replied-
"I feel like surviving one I didn't choose. "
Nira started at the message.
Her chest tightened.
Because it made sense.
Too much sense.
At the clothing store, things remained the same.
Customers came and went.
But now-
Arif sometimes found himself looking at the door.
Expecting.
And sometimes-
Nira did come.
"Back again?" Arif asked once a faint smile on his face.
Nira shrugged.
"Maybe I like this place. "
They both knew that wasn't the real reason.
She stood near the counter.
Quite.
Then said -
"Do you ever wish everything would just stop for a while?"
Arif nodded slightly.
"Yeah. Just...pause."
Nira gave a small smile.
A real one this time.
For a moment-
Life didn't feel so heavy.
But outside that moment-
Reality waited.
One afternoon-
Arif received a call.
Hospital.
His mother's condition had worsened.
The words didn't fully register at first.
But his body reached.
His hands shook.
His breathing became uneven.
"I'm coming, " he said quietly.
At the hospital-
Everything felt cold.
Doctors spoke in serious tones.
Nurses moved quickly.
Machines beeped.
Arif stood there.
Trying to understand.
Trying to stay strong.
"Treatment needs to continue, " the doctor said.
"But it won't be cheap. "
Again.
It always came back to that.
Arif stepped outside.
Sat down.
Covered his face with his hands.
"I can't do this....."he whispered.
For the first time-
He didn't feel strong.
That night-
He didn't reply to Nira.
His phone stayed silent.
Across the city-
Nira noticed.
No message.
No reply.
She started at their last con.
Read it again.
And again.
"Why do I care this much?"
She whispered.
But she knew the answer.
Because he understood.
And that was rare.
The next day.
She went to the store.
"He's not here today," someone said.
Her heart sank.
Something felt wrong.
She took out her phone.
Typed-
"Are you okay?"
This time-
The reply didn't come quickly.
Hours passed.
Then-
Finally-
Her phone vibrated.
"No."
Just one word.
But it carried everything.
"What happened?" She typed immediately.
There was a long pause.
Then-
"My mom is in the hospital. "
Nira froze.
Her fingers hovered over the screen.
She didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry....."she typed.
Then erased it.
Typed again.
"I'm here."
She started at the message.
Simple.
But honest.
Arif read it.
For a moment-
Everything felt heavy.
The fear.
The pressure.
The uncertainty.
But that message-
Cut thought it.
"I don't know what to do."he replied.
Nira took a deep breath.
"Then don't figure everything out today, "she wrote.
"Just.....get through today. "
Arif started aat the screen.
That was something no one had even told him before.
He always had to have answers.
But maybe-
He didn't.
"Okay, "he typed.
And for the first time in days.
He felt a little less alone.
Across the same city-
Under the same sky-
Two people sat in different places-
Carrying different burdens-
But somehow-
Sharing the same silence.
Because sometimes-
You don't need solutions.
Sometimes-
You just need someone.
Who understands the weight you carry.
(To be continued...)