"Wake up, Mayank. I have come to get you."

The words spoken in a whisper chimed in Mayank's ear, letting desperation invade his veins. He got up to sit in haste, unbothered by the darkness that was encompassing him.

"Come to me; I am here. Come to me, Mayank."

His trembling lips refused to set the imprisoned words free. He was by then on his feet, frantically trying to locate the source of the words amidst the absence of light.

Then there was silence. The place was forsaken by the voice.

"No..." An agonized mutter fled Mayank's tongue. "Don't leave without me. Please don't..."

The radiant beams flying in through the open window woke Mayank up. The day was welcomed by him with a few marks on his forehead. He cast his gaze toward the chest, only to find the kid cuddling him from behind. Rolling his eyes, he slapped the guilty wrist. He could detect mild traces of movement behind him; barely a second later, he discovered an unwelcome leg on his top.

Frustration kicked a sigh out of him. "Get off me, worm!" he uttered in an annoyed voice.

Fayzan stole another moment before responding, following which he was lying flat on the bed surface. 

"Good morning."

Mayank utilized his freedom to abandon the bed. "Yeah, of course. Mornings had never been better!"

The boy ignored his reply and got up to sit. He looked around for the stuffed tiger, unable to recall where he left it the previous night. The search came to a halt with a familiar sound near the door.

Vaibhav walked in with a grin plastered on his face. "How are you feeling, little boy?"

Fayzan gasped.

"If I ever look annoyed, just know that someone is having a great day," commented Mayank.

"Of course, that's what siblings are for. Wash up and have breakfast, kid. Your brother won't eat without you."

A funny shade of scarlet conquered Mayank's face at once. "Hey!" he howled. "I never said anything like that! I said I was not hungry. Th-there's a damn difference!"

Vaibhav smirked, followed by the boy. "Well, never mind. Should I send the food here?"

"Please do!" replied Mayank in a desperate fashion, with hints of embarrassment stubbornly holding on to his voice. "And make it fast!"

Vaibhav could sense that the all-rounder did not appreciate him lingering in the room. Catching a final bemused glance at Mayank's dyed face, he turned around and walked off.

"Don't wait for me next time. Even if you are not hungry."

Mayank narrowed his eyes. "Shut up, worm. What are you so elated about anyway?"

"I saw that I found my brother. Wish I didn't have to wake up."

"Your brother? The captain worm? Forget about it, kid. The next place you are going to is heaven."

"You won't get it." Fayzan shook his head and hopped down from the bed. "Not a hungry gorilla."

The all-rounder clenched his fist to hold back his rage as he watched the child run out of the room. His fierce eyes collided against Tobias barely a second later; his calm posture on the floor only seemed to accelerate the expanding fury.

Peace continued to persist in the breakfast session; the kid was busy extinguishing the flame in his stomach set by sparks of hunger. Mayank stole occasional glimpses of him while struggling to stifle the hazy instigations from coagulating into solid thoughts.

A decent portion of the contents remained on Mayank's plate as he put it down on the bed. He got down and approached the door without saying a word.

"Good boys don't waste food," Fayzan asserted from behind, trying to summon his cousin's preachy voice.

"Eat it up then."

"But—"

"I am not hungry." He cut him off, half-expecting the boy to burst into laughter at the repetition.

"Are you sure?"

"Do whatever you want to do with it. Just remember your own definition of a good worm. And if you don't, it's easier to remember the fact that I roam around with a knife in my pocket."

The kid stared with curiosity sparkling in his eyes as Mayank hurriedly walked out of the room. His serene vision descended to the plate a moment later. With a rather somber hue on his face, he dragged it closer to him.

Half an hour flew past before the all-rounder returned to the place and glanced toward Fayzan. The kid was sitting still in a robotic fashion, his eyes calm. Tobias was resting on his lap, unaware of the maze of emotions his owner was caught in.

A few moments tiptoed by in awkward silence.

"Hey," Fayzan said. "Thanks."

Mayank raised an eyebrow, trying to overlook the sudden sensation of heat on his cheeks. "What are you talking about? I don't speak worm language."

"You—you—"

"I what? Next time, prepare a draft before you speak."

"I just wanted to say that... Well, thanks."

An equivocal expression veiled the all-rounder's face.

"You are nowhere near as bad as Sajid," Fayzan carried on. "The brother from dad's previous marriage, I mean. The one I told you about."

"Nobody can be worse than me."

Fayzan ignored the stench of offense in his voice. "He would sometimes even make me starve. But you... um... well... I was really hungry... and you... and you were not hungry... or you were... or not... I mean, whatever, you let me eat."

"Your cousin is an idiot for leaving you with him then."

"He doesn't know."

"I would have known. I would have done a better job!" With that, Mayank looked away. Suppressing an ardent desire to smash his head against a sturdy wall, he shut his eyes tight, wishing to fade away to everlasting darkness, where no rays of sun would ever invade.

"Then why don't you go back to your brother?" asked Fayzan after a minute-long pause.

"None of your business."

The child continued to observe him in silence. Mayank's lifeless eyes held more stories than his turbulent heart could bear.

"There's a reason why I haven't gotten rid of you yet." A heavy voice broke out of the all-rounder's throat as he moved closer to the boy. "But I can't guarantee for how long I will be holding on to it." The words seemed to be belittling their own reflection in the raven eyes of the kid. Allowing the flash of a certain memory to dazzle him once again, Mayank turned around and disappeared.

Hours went by with no further significant occurrences.

The stars across the night sky made themselves at home by then, indicating it was time for the boy to surrender to his drowsiness. He sent his eyes behind the lids with the toy in his arms, and a thousand rogue thoughts wandered all over his mind. He could not tell when he was back in company.

**********

Marcus, the stuffed lion, stared keenly at the captain in the presence of meager light as he continued to stroke his mane with a weak smile conquering his lips.

"Where would my chipmunk be, Marco?" Waseef carried on as he lay on his back; his eyes were devoid of sleep despite the comforting darkness that was encircling him.

"Is he crying for me? He loves the other boys too. Does he think of them?"

No response was offered.

"Why don't you talk, Marcus?" His voice trembled as the smile dissolved into desperation. "Tell me, does he know how terribly Nayif misses him?"

"The wound in our hearts hurts every second; does he know that?"

"Marco," he said again, following a brief pause. "Is he alive?"

He pressed the toy strongly against his chest. "And now, I have messed things up again."

"But I promise I'll make it right, no matter how much it costs me. Wait till tomorrow, Marcus, and you'll see I care."

Waseef let out a massive sigh as a thought crossed his mind. He was a trifling dot conquering an insignificant space in the colossal universe; neither his smile nor his frown would bring forward devastation.

He offered the stuffed toy another moderate squeeze as he closed his eyes.