Angad jerked awake from his nightmare, he sat up in bed and rubbed his hand over his face, he brushed his hair back and breathed deeply, he put his hand out and switched on the lamp on the table, he seriously needed to do something about these nightmares, Angad made it a point to go see the doctor in the morning and get some pills to help him sleep better., at least that way he wouldn't attract any unwanted attention from Kripa.

 

Thinking of Kripa, Angad looked to the other side of the bed hoping to see Kripa as she slept but is stunned when he finds that she isn't there, Angad pushed the covers off him and got out of bed.

"Kripa?" Angad called out waiting for Kripa to reply.

 

Kripa's hand froze on the door handle as she heard Angad calling out her name, she stepped away from the door and looked at the key in her hand, she glanced at the slightly open door of hers and Angad's bedroom then back at the closed door in front of her wondering what to do.

"Kripa?" Angad called out again causing Kripa to hastility shove the key into the key hole and lock the door, she turned away from the door and headed to the bedroom hiding the key behind her back.

 

Angad looked at Kripa standing by the door.

"where were you?" Angad asked while making his way towards her, Kripa's heart raced as he stood in front of her, she smiled nervously

"in the bathroom, getting some water, what are you doing awake?"

Angad shook his head and opened the door wider

"it doesn't matter, I'm going to get a glass of water, go to sleep ok"

Kripa nodded her head and moved aside to let Angad pass, she breathed a sigh of relief and made her way to the bed, she got in and rested her head on the pillow then remembered the key, she prayed silently that Angad wouldn't notice it was gone, she closed her eyes as she heard Angad opening the door, he closed the door behind him and got into bed, she felt him kiss her hair lightly and listened as he turned the lamp off and lay in bed.  She waited for a few moments before she slipped the chain near Angad, and breathed a sigh of relief and closed her eyes slowly falling asleep.

 

***************

 

Angad yawned as he got out of bed, as usual Kripa was already downstairs, he went into the bathroom and removed his t-shirt, he stood in front of the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror on the shelf, he yawned again before reaching out for his toothbrush and the toothpaste. It wasn't until he splashed water onto his face that he noticed the chain missing, he felt his neck and wondered where the chain had gone, he tried to recall the last time he had taken it off but then recalled clearly that he had put it back on.

 

He grabbed his t-shirt from the floor and shook it to see if the chain was in there but ntohing fell out, he rushed to the bedroom and pulled the covers off the bed and threw the pillows on the floor, that's when he relaxed. He picked up the chain which was lying near his pillow and held it in his hand, he looked at it clearly and saw the chain was undone, it had probably just slipped off in the night, he slipped it around his neck and dismissed the matter and began picking up the duvet cover and pillows.

 

***************

 

Angad bit into the peice of toast while reaching out for the phone, he dialed the doctor's number as he swallowed, he spoke to the receptionist and made an appointment for later on in the day.

 

Kripa watched as Angad hung up, she sat opposite him and sipped her tea

"why are you ging to the doctors?" Kripa asked as she put her cup on the table.

Angad finished his toast and gulped down a glass of water then pushed himself away from the table, he made his way to Kripa and leaned closer kissing her cheek

"to get some sleeping tablets"

"why? you sleep perfectly"

"no, I barely get any sleep because I keep having nightmares"

"how come I never notice?" Kripa asked as she stood up from the table and put her cup into the sink

"because" Angad slipped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder "you're always asleep, and I never wake you, anyways I have to go somewhere before going to the doctor's"

 

Angad kissed her again and rushed out of the kitchen before she could ask anymore questions, he grabbed his jacket and car keys before heading out of the house. He unlocked his car and sat inside and breathed deeply, he started the car and drove off.

 

************

 

The waves crashed against the rocks, birds flocked away as Angad threw a pebble into the water, the wind blew softly against his face but Angad didn't let it bother him and continued to walk across the empty beach.

He finally stopped walking and sat on a rock and stared at the open sea and the sky, he used to come here often when he would feel lonely and would be drinking heaviliy but eventually he would feel a hand on his shoulder and he didn't need to look back to know it was Adi, who would always comfort Angad and take him home, but who was going to do that now?

 

A lone tear dropped down Angad's face but Angad brushed it away, he wasn't going to cry, especially not on Adi's birthday, today was a day to celebrate like Angad did every year, so what if Adi wasn't there in person today, he was there in spirit and Angad knew he wouldn't be happy if Angad spent the whole day being depressed. He stood up and smiled to himself, yes he would celebrate Adi's birthday, with the one person that meant the world to Adi, Kripa, but the problem was, how?