A brief sigh flew out of Mayank, who was inundated by the insipid stillness of the night. His grip choked the rusted bars of the window for one last time before he relinquished his posture and turned around. His exasperated eyes rested on the center of the bed, where sat Fayzan, curiously examining the leaves he picked up during the day. The all-rounder's annoyance intensified at the peaceful sight.

"Looking for some fellow worms, huh?" 

The boy shot him a quick yet bold glare. "Don't disturb me, kid. Go and play outside. I am busy."

Mayank raised an eyebrow. "Really, parasite?"

"I am not talking to you."

"I'm sure I can't be lucky enough to have a worm-free day."

The boy crossed his arms as he locked the all-rounder under his furious eyes. "Oh yeah? Nobody is ever going to come to your rescue if you put all your luck in a pot, seal the opening, and let it flow down a river."

"What?"

"It doesn't take a genius to realize that you are being a brilliant definition of stupidity."

Mayank narrowed his eyes. "Stop being a philosophical worm. You are a stinky little diaper. Act like one."

Fayzan frowned. "You lost your way while fleeing from the bad guys, and now you are simply ashamed of it! I hate it here, Mayank! No mobile phone, no internet, no video game, no laptop, no toy, no chocolate, no AC, no nothing, and—"

"And no Waseef Bhaiya," he added with a sigh. "Or Nayif Bhaiya, or any other boys."

"How spoilt are you, worm?"

"Just as spoilt as your kids would be. I'm sure you wouldn't be denying them any of the things I have mentioned. These are basic human needs. And so is my big brother."

Mayank smirked as he walked to the bed and claimed a seat. "If that captain worm had loved you for real, he would have never let you live with that guy."

"I have told you before. He doesn't even know that Sajid mistreats me sometimes."

"An idiot can guess that. Proves that your cousin is worse. Admit it already."

"There's no way he could have guessed anything. I mean, you wouldn't expect that either if you were paying a big, fat amount for something."

"Your own brother gets paid to look after you?"

"Waseef Bhaiya pays him in the hope that he will treat me well when he isn't around. Sajid will do anything for money. But he knows I will keep my mouth shut, no matter what. So, he isn't afraid of being a jerk to me."

"And why do you keep your mouth shut?"

Fayzan fidgeted in his seat. "If Waseef Bhaiya comes to know that I suffer in his absence, he will probably stop playing cricket. Anyway, his fiancé retired recently, and they will be married soon. I will become their kid then, and I won't have to live with Sajid anymore."

Mayank smirked. "Not that you are going back."

"Ugh!" the boy cried in frustration. "I want to go home. There's nothing in here! Not even my brother. I have searched for him everywhere!"

"The worm wasn't supposed to be here."

"I am not talking about Waseef Bhaiya."

Curiosity played across Mayank's raised eyebrow. "Who is this other brother you keep talking about?"

Fayzan sighed. "Want to hear the story?" 

"Can't guarantee. I'll ask you to shut up if I don't like it."

"Mum had a son from her previous marriage."

"What's up with him?"

"I never saw him. Nor did Waseef Bhaiya. I don't even know where he is. All I know is that he was going to come to me someday. But he never showed up."

"Your mom didn't tell you about his whereabouts?"

"I don't know why, but she never mentioned him. Not to me, at least. Papa didn't tell us much about him, either. He used to be in Amsterdam, Waseef Bhaiya said. Now he can be anywhere in this world. We don't know. But we would find him someday." Fayzan smiled weakly.

"You look for him everywhere you go?"

The boy nodded. "I must find him."

Mayank leaned his head to the right. "Even if you come across him someday, how are you supposed to know it's your brother?"

"I don't know."

"No name? No picture?"

"Nothing."

"Sounds like a very simple quest to me."

A hue of gloom conquered Fayzan's face. "I believe he's there somewhere. He is probably looking for me just as desperately as I am looking for him. I'll find my lost brother, and once I do, I'll never let him go. Never."

Mayank shook his head. "Do you even know how large the planet is?"

"Not larger than the space I have saved in my heart for him."

Heavy silence fell upon the two creatures. Mayank was taken aback; he did not expect the kid to come up with anything as such.

"It's true that I have never seen him," Fayzan continued a minute later. "I have never even heard a single story about him. But he is always there, in my mind."

Mayank suppressed the part of him that wished to draw an end to the conversation. "How have you imagined him?"

"As an affectionate, caring big brother who will love me more than anything in this world. Someone who will never be tired of playing with me. Someone who will be there by my side no matter what. Someone who will—who will be more than what I can express in words."

Following a moment of calm observation, Mayank gently got up from the bed and walked back toward the window. With the thought of Aanvik and Shranav skiing through his mind, the static night did not appear to be unbearable anymore. The kid watched the all-rounder for a little while until his expectation of receiving a reply was extinguished. He blankly eyed his collection before crawling toward the stuffed tiger placed on a pillow. The leaves had lost their appeal.

**********

The encircling darkness seemed to sigh at its own failure to lead Waseef's swollen eyes to slumber; they were stubbornly locked upon the home screen of the phone before them, where a merry Fayzan stood with his arms around the captain. The trepidation on his lips grew more apparent as the view once again drowned in the saline stream. A sharp blade seemed to cut through his chest while his heart desperately sought a source of comfort. But there was no arm firm enough to hold him, no shoulder broad enough to provide shelter, and no tongue cruel enough to speak a word of futile condolence.

A thorny sob escaped his throat as he once again allowed the thought inside his mind—the cold yet simple truth that the next day, by this time, he would be back home. Alone.

He did not relish staying for a single moment in the place that heartlessly seized his little brother from him, nor did he wish to fly back to his den that would never offer the jingle of the kid's laughter again.

"Where are you, chipmunk?" Waseef's voice trembled with despair. "Aren't you done with your hide-and-seek game yet?"

The next few words drowned in sobs as he held the phone against his chest.

Minutes flew past the captain's dilapidated heart. With time, the world around him only grew more arid and bland.

"Oh, Allah," he muttered with a sigh. "If you won't return him alive, at least let me know that he's in a better place and that he's happy and safe with You! If it's the punishment You had in mind for me, then punish me harder and take my worthless life. Let me die the most painful death ever, but let me hold my little brother one last time."

He did not know what God did with his eccentric prayer, for no voice spoke from heaven. The only sound he heard was the earsplitting laughter of the irony he was submerged in, and with every moment, he only sank deeper.

**********

A silhouette stood still before Mayank's eyes. The all-rounder breathed heavily, struggling to stay upright on his unsteady feet.

"Wh-who is there?"

There was no response.

"Hey!"

The stranger displayed mild traces of movement. However, silence was not disturbed on its part.

Mayank swept the place with his powerless vision, only to discover himself in the lightless, desolate cemetery that haunted his dreams every now and then.

"Hey!" he let out a groan.

The silhouette looked back. A sense of recognition surfed through Mayank's mind as he processed its partially visible face.

"Y-you? Y-you?"

"I have come to get you, Mayank," the silhouette whispered.

Mayank set his quivering foot toward it.

"No, wait, don't go!" He cried as the silhouette began to fade away. "Take me along, pl-please!"

All of a sudden, he was being approached by a thousand dark figures. His heart raced as he stepped backward, trying to flee the horrifying sight.

"No, don't leave me here! Come back!"

Monstrous chuckles erupted from countless voices.

"At least don't take away what's mine!" he yelled in an attempt to overpower the amplifying laughter. "IT'S MINE! IT'S MINE!"

Collapsing on his knees, Mayank let out a deafening scream. He shivered and yelled until total darkness descended upon his plighted soul.