Sunlight broke through the glass window to adorn Fayzan's face, which was already sparkling with beams of ecstasy and delight. The boy was dressed up and all set to step out. Although he was surprisingly sitting in a precise spot, his legs vibrated with impatience. The day was neither chili nor sweltering; the weather was quite favorable for a pleasant, day-long trip.

"Have you got your teddies and stuff in the bag?" Waseef inquired in a busy tone, ignoring the restless drivel of the kid that was being directed toward him from behind.

"Yes," replied Fayzan, "I've got Toby in."

"Umm, Bhaiya?" he added. "How old do you think he would be?"

The grin evanesced from the captain's face. He nevertheless did not take long to offer a response. "Twenty-two maybe? Or twenty-three. Shouldn't be more than that."

"Do you think he looks like me?"

"I don't know. Maybe. What do you think?"

"Kaaaaa!"

A few marks invaded the captain's forehead. He looked back at the child at last, and as he did, the marks only grew deeper.

"Why don't you let it go?" Waseef asked in an annoyed tone as he shipped his eyes toward the crow resting on Fayzan's wrist.

The kid overlooked the flavor in the captain's voice. "No way, he'll stay with me."

"We've got plenty of pretty birds back there, chipmunk. I'll get you as many as you wish. Let this crow go. It's not even clean."

"But he likes me!" The child groaned. "Can't you see that?"

"He doesn't get five-star hotel food from everyone, does he?"

"But why can't we be together? Does he need a passport to get past? I don't even understand why humans need it."

"If the earth was inhabited only by beautiful creatures like you two, many other things would not have been necessary either."

The kid could barely figure a meaning out, which was confirmed by his red cheeks that swelled in response.

"Let him go. He has got his family, his roots here. He can't be with you," the captain added as he approached his cousin. "Unless you are planning to stay here with him."

The creature could apparently sense that his presence there was undesirable. He took off from the boy's wrist and flew toward the open window. Fayzan jumped down and ran after the crow, but the attempt did not pay off. His friend was gone. Gone forever. 

Fayzan stood still by the window for the next couple of moments, after which he slowly turned around to face Waseef. His eyes were mildly scarlet from the struggle to fight back the tears that threatened to spill out.

"You scared him away!" His lips trembled as he set free his infuriated voice. "You don't want me to be with anyone I like. You don't love me!"

"There you go again, chipmunk." Waseef shook his head. "I agreed to look for your brother for a reason."

"Liar! You don't want me to find him! You don't know what a brother can mean to someone. You don't know anything!"

"I do know what a brother means!" yelled the captain, too stunned by Fayzan's words to check the heat of his voice, despite the fact that he was barely ever harsh to the child.

Fayzan did not respond anymore. He ran off toward the door and disappeared in no time. Although Waseef failed to see his face, he knew that the kid did not resist his tears anymore. Something sharp escaped through the captain, and an intense feeling of regret tickled him all over.

Fifteen minutes went by. Waseef walked out of the room with the bags. He knew Fayzan was either already on the ground floor or on his way with some other teammate; he only had to cajole the kid back into his arms. He thought of the chocolates resting in his pocket, hoping that those would be adequate to appease his cousin for the time being. He stepped out of the lift and took several steps forward. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes stopped on his friend. Fayzan stood right before him. 

"Hi, buddy," greeted a delighted Aanvik. "Doing well?"

"Hello," Waseef replied, managing a smile. "I'm good. Just a mild headache."

"Ah, no worries; even the best of teams get a headache or two while they are up against us. Don't let it frighten you."

Waseef swiftly directed his folded finger toward the other captain's stomach. The assailment, however, was dodged by the target. With a grin, he caught hold of Waseef's hand, whose lips too were contaminated by the infectious smile.

Fayzan frowned at his cousin as he looked at him. "I don't talk to bad boys."

Waseef pursed his lips. "I've got chocolates."

A moment of silence prevailed before it was dismissed by an inquiry thrown by the kid. "How many?"

"Three. Your favorite ones."

The kid shook his head. "I still don't talk to bad boys then."

"I'll get you more. As many as you want!"

The compensation was taken into consideration, but Fayzan was not yet done with his revenge. "Does anyone need a hug?"

Aanvik's eyes sparkled at his proposal. "Will you hug a guy in misery?"

The kid nodded merrily. Things were going the perfect way.

"In that case," he continued, "I haven't eaten anything for seven days."

Fayzan jumped closer to Aanvik and locked him in an embrace. The plan seemed to work, as Waseef's face was indeed transformed into one worth watching. His lower lip received a bite as he continued to observe the two, not knowing whom to get mad at. His cousin was not an option, and Aanvik could not be blamed either. Waseef knew he would never miss a chance to cuddle a living creature. As they broke apart after a while, the kid looked fairly contented. Aanvik, however, decided to let it flow a little further.

"Well, little one, I'll tell you a secret," he said in a wickedly soft voice. "You were supposed to be mine. When God played the shot, I accidentally missed the catch, and you fell on the other side of the boundary. This ball boy took you away."

Waseef could sense black smoke rushing out of his ears. His lips were quivering with a peculiar feeling that he did not strive to figure out. "Oh, thanks to God, I did." He finally spoke in an infuriated yet compressed voice. "Imagine being stuck with an idiot for your whole life."

He did not bother to ask for the child's consent anymore. Confirming a tight grip on his arm, he drove him along toward the exit. Fayzan did not resist. He turned his head around to catch a glimpse of the other captain, whose gaze was already locked on him. A pair of guilty smiles were exchanged before they vanished from each other's sight.

The grin did not take long to evaporate from Aanvik's face, and its departure was marked by a long sigh. As he walked off to join his teammates, he could not ignore the harsh squeeze deep inside.

**********

Fayzan hopped out of the bus with his usual vivaciousness, followed by his cousin, whose face was still stained by the oddment of the recent turmoil. The spot, veiled by greenery, appeared charming under the resplendent azure sky. The vibrancy stretched an arm to shake hands with the sprightly nature of the kid, making a considerable amount of anxiety pile up inside the captain.

"Hey!" cried Waseef from behind Fayzan, who was already bouncing dangerously after a butterfly near the lake. "Come back here. You'll fall into the water!"

Although the boy shot an annoyed look at the captain, he decided to obey him. He did not quite relish yet another bath so soon.

"Follow me to that building first." Waseef carried on as he walked into his range. "Put your stuff down and wash yourself up. You have the whole day to mess around."

"You go first!" Fayzan's voice penetrated through the chirping of birds as he put on yet another sprint. "I'll come later!"

"Hey! At least leave the bag with me!"

"Don't go far!" He added in a voice louder than before as he found the kid heading toward Nayif. "Stick to him. There are dinosaurs lurking in the jungle. They might come out!"

The warning evaded Fayzan's ears. It would not have worked either. Nothing could stop him from the mission of finding his brother, not even dinosaurs. He stopped briefly to mess with the opener. Once Waseef was out of the scene, he left Nayif alone and carried on his relentless race against the soft breeze, eventually getting into the forest. The joy that was encompassing his mind and limbs prevented him from casting his eyes to the fairly large signboard, making him dive straight into the zone behind it.

Fayzan was unknowingly in company. Moments after he headed into the lonesome location, another pair of feet appeared before the warning sign. The feet remained fastened to the ground for a minute, following which they moved along the path taken by the kid.

Waseef, who was by then a pretty long distance away from Fayzan, blocked a yawn that was stubbornly trying to break out. His sleep-deprived vision moved to the window in the meantime. The view was indeed pleasant. He, however, moved his eyes away in no time. Although the day was fairly bright, its agility seemed to lose its way while approaching his mind. He let out a quick sigh and gingerly placed himself on the bed. He knew he had disappointed the rest of the boys by refusing to be a part of the fun. His senses began to slide under a veil in a few minutes; the very last corner of his conscious mind wished for a little figure to raise a rumpus and pull his soul back into the real world.

There was no uproar. The captain was entirely lost in the arms of deep sleep.

Hours and hours went by. He was left alone in the realm of dreams.

"Waseef Bhaiya!" a voice cried.

"Chipmunk?" Waseef let his restless gaze brush across the dark place. "Where are you?"

"Waseef Bhaiya!" The voice reached his ears once again. "Save me!"

Waseef panted with his feet glued to the ground. He knew that he was stranded in the deepest of misfortunes.

"No," he muttered in a barely audible tone. "Don't take him away. Please don't..."

"Waseef!" Austin's voice went up as he continued to shake his captain. "Waseef!"

Waseef, at last, jumped back to reality. For a moment, he was lost in the remnants of the plight. As his head began to clear, he discovered Austin standing with his arms crossed.

"Your door was wide open. Are you alright, my boy?" the coach asked in an anxious tone.

Waseef nodded gently. "I'm good. Just a bad dream."

Austin was about to speak again, but he was stopped by the captain. "Fayzan! Where's Fayzan?"

"I don't know. Must be with the other boys."

Waseef got up at once and rushed out of the room, leaving his bewildered coach behind.

Evening was pouring down from the sky. Fortunately for him, it did not take long to locate the boys. There they were, several feet apart from the front gate of the boutique hotel, gathered together in the grassy yard. He ran closer to the lot. 

"Hey! Where's Fayzan?"

"Wait." A puzzled expression took over Nayif's face. "Wasn't he with you all this time?"

"What!" A yelp broke out of the captain. "I left him with you."

"Yes, but he wasn't there for long. He said he was going to find you."

The boys exchanged perplexed looks. Following a short period of silence, Nayif got up from his spot. "I peeked for a moment through the door that you left open and found you fast asleep. You asked us not to, so I didn't wake you up for lunch. I thought Fayzan was there too, sleeping along."

"I thought the same. Haven't seen him all day," mentioned another one.

"Where is he then?" Waseef cried. "Where is my brother?"

"Calm down. Calm down. Don't get excited." Nayif walked closer to the grieving captain and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to conceal the anxiety in his own voice. "He must be somewhere around. Let's split up and look for him. He can't just disappear, can he?" 

The unrest among the boys claimed the attention of a few staff; a similar shade of concern claimed their faces as they learned what was going on. Two hours of relentless searching went on, but there was no sign of the kid. The news was no longer confined to the few. By then, the security officials had sprinkled themselves all over the area. The boys were kept secure inside a small space in the hotel. The concerned authority continued to walk in and out, occasionally flinging words of hope toward the lot.

"Do you really think he went past the danger sign they are talking about?" Nayif asked in a low voice, expecting a response from the coach, who was sitting barely an inch away.

"I hope he didn't," replied Austin in a similar tone. "But if a gate says, 'Do not enter', that's the very first place a child is likely to invade. I can't believe no one saw him sneaking out."

Nayif got up from his seat. He continued to wander around for minutes before a sudden blow of suspicion seized his movement. "Have they checked the other hotel?" 

Austin stared at the opener. "The other hotel?"

"Of course!" Nayif let out a heated response. "How come we haven't thought of it before? That's where Fayzan is! He has been abducted by that moron, I'm telling you!"

The coach rolled his eyes. "Now is not the time to get started, son. Why on this earth would he—"

"He has taken him! Let's go and check. We might get lucky enough to find him in less than five pieces."

The captain, who was numbly sitting in a precise spot, jumped to his feet. "My chipmunk," he uttered softly before putting on a sprint toward the main gate.

"Waseef, wait!" the coach shouted from behind. "Come back here!"

The words failed to reach Waseef's conscious mind. He was on his way.

"Did you have to say that, Nayif?" asked an infuriated Austin as he continued to run after Waseef along with the opener and a few officials. "He is out of his mind!"

Nayif did not respond. His eyes were locked on the captain, who was a little ahead of them, undoubtedly heading toward the "other hotel" that was barely ten minutes apart. Following the unsuccessful chase, they observed Waseef bursting into the area that was unusually crowded with staff and the boys from the opposite side. The coach could not be more unwilling to predict what was coming up next.

Waseef's feet finally came to rest. His eyes arrested a weary-looking Aanvik, who, with an astonished expression pasted on his face, was walking right toward him.

"Waseef!" he exclaimed. "What's up with you now?"

"Where's my Fayzan?"

"Fayzan?" It was difficult to figure out whether Aanvik was shocked or frightened, but it could be told effortlessly that it was the very last thing he was longing to hear.

"We can't find him anywhere." Austin interfered in a calm voice. "We have been looking for him since evening, and it's almost midnight."

Aanvik looked flabbergasted. "No way," he muttered. "It can't be so..."

"What?" Nayif's sharp tone demanded an explanation.

"Mayank..." A numb response came from the Indian captain. "He is gone too."