"Hello" He said shakily, waiting for her to reply. It was quiet on the other side, except for a few sniffles, here and then.

"Amy?" He asked again after a while.

She finally answered, sniffling.

"Hi" her voice was hoarse when she whispered.

"Where are you?" He asked, but continued when she couldn't stop crying.

"Stop crying, Amy. Breathe" he said.

"Breathe with me" He said again. And they started counting.

After a few minutes, Amulya managed to control her breathes, and her crying seized to soft sniffles and hiccups.

"Now talk to me, Amy. Tell me what happened."

His voice was soothing, Amulya was able to slip into a daze just from hear his voice. His accent was smooth. She could feel herself calming down as she explained what happened.

He was quiet for a very long time. Not knowing what to say. He knew she didn't want to hear a sorry.

"My dad died when I was fifteen. It was a car crash. He fell asleep at the wheel." He didn't know why he was telling her all these. "He was the best dad a person could ever ask for. He always understood me. He never got angry. It felt like I lost a part of myself when he died. I was mad at the world after that for a very long time. I was mad at his employer for making my dad work so hard that he fell asleep on the wheel. I was angry at the doctors for not being able to save him; it's their job to do that right? I was mad at myself, for wanting to drive across the country, to come visit me, for my game. But no, it is not anyone's fault." He wasn't sure what he was saying anymore.

Amulya kept quiet. She was just listening; she didn't know what to say. He shared an important part of his life with her. And what did she do? She kept quiet.

"All I was trying to say is" he started trying to explain himself, when she didn't say anything. "It wasn't your fault. I know you did your best to save her. And you would do it all over again. But that is life. You can't always make everything right."

"But I cannot afford mistakes, Rick. It costs a life." Rick kept quiet when she snapped at him. He knew whatever he said, wasn't going to make her feel good. He knew she needed time.

"Go home, Amy" He said, his voice dropping, just like he did the conversation.

"Rick..." She whispered.

"You need sleep, Amy. Whatever I'm going to say is not going to make you feel better. Just sleep it off. We will talk tomorrow, okay?" He told her.

"Okay" She waited a moment, waiting for him to hang up. But he didn't.

They were both on call, just hearing the other breathe, not wanting to hang up.

"Will you stay on line, till I get home?" She asked him, not wanting to stop talking yet.

He chuckled before saying yes.

And then all the way through the train, and the walk back to her apartment, they talked. More like she talked and he listened. By the time, she reached her flat, she felt more at ease. And her Evening has remarkably brightened. She was able to smile again.

"Thank you" She told him "for brightening up my mood"

"Good night, Amy. Sleep tight"

Smiling to herself, she hung up the phone, before heading to get ready to sleep that night.

~*~

15.04.20