"Beyond The Boundary "

The Silence After the Storm

Gupta Residence - That Evening

The sky outside Kolkata had turned grey, the rain still soft but relentless.

Rihi walked back home drenched in silence, her steps slow, her hands trembling. The streets, the buildings, the honks of the rickshaws — they all blurred around her like distant noise underwater. Her fingers clutched Shubman’s hoodie tightly, the fabric still warm, heavy with the memories of a boy who once made her heart beat louder.

She walked in quietly. Her mother looked up from the kitchen.

"Aa gayi? Bhig gayi poori. Chai bana doon?"
(Finally you came ..you are wet ...should I make tea?)

Rihi nodded faintly and went straight to her room.

She didn’t cry out loud. Not this time. She just locked the door, turned off the lights, slipped into dry clothes, and collapsed on her bed.

Tears rolled down silently, wetting the pillow as her breath stayed quiet. Her phone buzzed twice. Aashna. She didn’t answer.

Then again. And again.

But Rihi remained still.

---

Aashna's Room - Late Night

Aashna paced the floor, her anxiety growing.

"Why isn’t she picking up? Date par gayi thi na? 1 ghanta mein kaise khatam ho gaya?"

(She went on a date right ..how did it end ind am hour)

She stared at her phone and without thinking further, called Abhishek.

Aashna: "Abhishek... kuch toh hua hai. Didi came back early. And she hasn’t said a word."

Abhishek, sitting on the bed of his Kolkata hotel room, blinked.

Abhishek: "Wait, what? Woh dono toh café gaye the. Sab thik toh hona chahiye tha."

Aashna: "Woh hi toh... nahi hai. Didi usually tells me everything. She hasn’t even looked at me since she came back. And Shubman? Did he say anything to you?"

There was a pause.

Abhishek: "No. He hasn’t mentioned anything."

His voice tightened.

Aashna: "Woh hotel mein hi hai na?"

Abhishek: "Yeah. Dusri room mein."

Aashna sat on the edge of her bed, her hands shaking slightly.

Aashna: "Abhishek... mujhe darr lag raha hai. She looked like she’d seen a ghost."

(I am scared )

Abhishek (softly): "I’ll try to talk to Shubman. You stay close to Rihi. Just... be with her. Even if she doesn't talk."

Aashna nodded, tears forming in her eyes.

Aashna: "Promise me you'll check on him."

Abhishek: "Promise."

---

Shubman's Hotel Room - Midnight

Shubman sat in the dark, only the street lights slipping through the hotel curtains lighting his face.

His phone lay face-down. Her number. No messages.

He kept replaying the scene in his head.

Her face when he said those words.

The look in her eyes. Like something inside her had died.

He rubbed his hands over his face, angry at himself. Angry at her.

Shubman (to himself): "I didn’t say anything wrong. She doesn’t talk. She keeps shutting down. What am I supposed to do?"

But somewhere deep, he knew.

He hadn’t needed to say those things. He hadn’t needed to mention her insecurities. He hadn’t needed to break her the way he did.

Yet, he did.

Abhishek knocked lightly but didn’t enter.

"Soya hua hoga," he muttered and went back to his room.

Next Morning - Gupta Residence

Aashna woke up early, something pulling her toward her sister’s room. She knocked.

No answer.

She slowly pushed the door open.

The bed was made.

The curtains were drawn. The fan spun slowly.

A note lay folded on the desk beside Shubman’s hoodie.

Aashna picked it up, her breath catching in her throat.

"Return this to the owner."

Her heart began racing.

The wardrobe door was slightly open. Some clothes were missing. So was her college bag.

She ran to Rihi's mother.

Aashna: "Badi Mummy, didi ne bola tha na college jaa rahi hai documents lene?"
(Sister told you she's going to get documents right?)

Mother: "Haan beta, subah 7 baje nikli thi. Exam ke liye kuch papers chahiye the."

(Yes daughter she went on 7 am in the morning to get some papers for exam)
But now it was past 1 PM.

6 hours.

Aashna checked Rihi's phone location. Turned off.

Her call went straight to voicemail.

4 more hours passed.

---
Aashna Calls Abhishek - 7 PM

Aashna (crying): "Abhishek... Rihi didi wemt somewhere. She’s not home. Her phone is off. Wallet and documents missing. She didn’t even say goodbye."

Abhishek (shocked): "WHAT?"

Aashna: "I found a note... she left his hoodie and wrote ‘return this to the owner’."

Abhishek felt the blood drain from his face.

His voice turned urgent. "I'll come right now. Aashna... inform her parents. Police mein bhi..."

Aashna (sobbing): "no don't they don't know about us ..badi Mummy and bade  papa already crying. Even my mumma . They think it’s about her exam. They don't even know about Goa.we had lied remember we told them we're going to Mandarmani About Shubman. About any of it."

Abhishek clenched his jaw.

He looked over at the closed door of Shubman’s room.

Abhishek (mutters): "Tu kitna selfish ho gaya hai, bhai... she’s missing, and you don’t even know."
(You have turned so selfish bro ...she is missing and you don't even know)

He didn’t tell Shubman. Not yet.

He didn’t think he deserved to know.

---

To Be Continued...

___________________________________________
Here is the next chapter
Hope you'll like it
Just drop a comment if it's going boring or you all are liking it ...
SRH Match it is today support for Abhi and ishi bhai ...

Until then take care 💙