"Okay, so we will get to know how the universe began...

But why does it exist in the first place? "

---

Utkarsh Mehra was standing in front of a mirror in his bathroom. He took a deep breath and leaned against the marble sink with his left hand clutching the stone.

He looked at himself and frowned. The boy in the mirror had dark circles, pale skin and dried lips with greasy hair. He even tried sniffing himself and god, was he stinking.

He made a face at himself and decided to take a shower, but with a fracture in his right hand, it was going to be difficult. He was pondering over the possible ways of washing his hair without getting his cast wet, when a robotic voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Excuse me sir, Miss Evangeline has come to pay you a visit. " The security robot informed him.

Utkarsh turned around sharply and gritted his teeth. "Tell her to go away," he ordered.

But then, he yelled. "Wait... Send her to my room."

With a white towel wrapped around his waist, Utkarsh was standing in his balcony when Evangeline came. He turned around to find her raising eyebrows at him.

"How are you after hitting your head last night? And...what are you doing like that in your balcony?" She asked with big wide eyes and Utkarsh chuckled.

"Calm down, will you? " He began and she pouted. He stepped near her and bent a little to come to her level. "I am fine, just have a fracture in right hand as you can see."

"Oh?" was all she said and before she could fire her second round of questions, Utkarsh put his arm around her shoulder and took her to his bathroom.

"Actually, I need a small help... I want you to wash my hair. "

***

After four hours, Utkarsh was heading towards the site where that meteorite had crashed with Evangeline. He had made her wash his hair, help him dress up and he even made her cook him lunch that she did happily. But she was itching to ask him questions and he was reluctant to answer her.

He still hadn't told her about the meteorite.

"Utkarsh... " she began but Utkarsh glared at her and she stopped.

Soon, Utkarsh tightened his grip on her hand and faced the crater from last night.

But, it just didn't look like one.

The ground was completely flat with some cracks here and there. Trees were lying on the ground with rocks rolled down from the nearby hill masking everything under them.

The crater was filled by the huge boulders of soil that rolled down the hill last night and the stone rocks covered them.

The look of pure horror was visible on Utkarsh's face.

His eyes were wide and his body froze there. He let go of Evangeline's hand and fell to the ground on his knees. He crawled towards the center on his hands and legs like a toddler and started removing the rocks desperately.

"No, no, no...NO," He yelled, with tears rolling down his cheeks. His breathing became uneven and he started looking around. When he found nothing useful, he started digging the ground with his both hands.

He was going mad with desperation when he felt something pull him. Paying no heed, he continued his assault on himself. His hands had started bleeding, but he couldn't feel the pain.

Again he felt a pull and this time, the pull on his left arm was stronger. He gritted his teeth and jerked his hand out of Evangeline's grasp with a great force. And a 'crisp' followed.

Utkarsh turned back to find Evangeline on the ground. Her brown skirt got caught in a branch and tears were flowing from her eyes like river.

Utkarsh blinked twice at what he had done and got out of his trance. He got up with a pained expression and started walking towards her. He swallowed the saliva and crouched to pull her skirt out of the branch's hook.

"I'm so sorry Eve, I didn't mean to do it. I'm so sorry. " he begged and his voice broke with the realisation of his actions.

Eve smiled weakly at him and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry Utkarsh. You don't have to be sorry. I can understand that with your bipolar disorder, things are a little tough for you. "

Utkarsh had his head hung low. He was ashamed of himself. Eve didn't deserve it, she was his best friend. So he decided to tell her the truth.

"Eve, I know what I'm going to say might just sound like a lie but trust me, I'm not lying. Last night, I swear I saw a meteorite crash right here. " he confessed and bit his lip.

Eve chuckled with surprise. She held his chin high, daring him to look away. "I was on the night shift yesterday, and trust me, there was no meteorite."

"But..." his eyes were wide and his lips parted to explain but he decided against it.

"I found you over there," she pointed to a large rock a couple feet away from them, "You were lying unconscious and Squi was in a trance like he was the one who pulled you out there. Funny right? But it was the perfect place to fall and hit your head Utkarsh Mehra, otherwise you would have been smashed under the rocks. "

***

After knowing that Eve was the one who carried Utkarsh to the hospital on her ranger bike, his mood got skulkier.

"The report you had sent to your dad that night was thought to be a prank, that's why he asked me to search you. There were no signals tracked that night, it's only you who is claiming about that meteorite." Eve told him.

"No one is believing me. But I know it's true, right Squi?" Utkarsh raised his left hand to touch the fur ball when he remembered Squi was still in the hospital.

"I wonder what they are doing to him." Utkarsh picked the first aid kit on the table and put it in the drawers. Eve had already cleaned the injuries and bandaged them. He chuckled and thought, "I wonder what I'll do without her. "

Utkarsh looked at his bandaged hands and the blue plaster cast. His hands won't be working for some days now. Deciding that he had nothing better to do, he got up.

***

Utkarsh absolutely hated doctors. The moment they ask you "What's wrong?" is when his blood start to boil. If he knew what was wrong, then why would he come to see a doctor? He would have simply gone to a pharmacist.

He shook his head at the stupidity of doctors and made his way to the vet section of the hospital. Every island on Vinveli had only one hospital with everything available there, from medical college to medical research centres. In Utkarsh's words, you can find all the stupids on Vinveli at one place.

Utkarsh chuckled but controlled himself when he reached the room where they keep pets. There were different sections for pets and wild animals. Pets' one was smaller because the population of Vinveli was small and hence the number of pets was very small compared to the wild animals.

Utkarsh entered the room after entering the security access code. He looked everywhere but couldn't find his brown fur ball.

He scratched his neck in confusion and turned around. Squi wasn't there. Just when he was about to call for help, he saw someone entering the room with a clipboard. Living in a place with small population also meant knowing everyone there. So Utkarsh knew who that person was and approached him.

"Dr. Brown, have you seen Squi? " he asked with a smile but seeing Dr. Brown's expression dropped his heart.

Dr. Brown's eyes got widened and he took a step back. He even started shaking. "Oh Utkarsh, I... Squi... Squi is..."

"Squi what Dr. Brown?" Utkarsh pressed with a reassuring smile, hiding his frustration. Only his parents and Eve knew of his bipolar disorder and he wanted to keep it that way.

Dr. Brown swallowed the saliva and felt his heart beating fast. Knowing that he had been cornered and the truth would come out soon, he decided to take the chances.

"Squi is kept under surveillance. "

Coincidence that the crater was hidden by Mother Nature? Was she hiding the extraordinary event or was it just an ordinary effect of an earthquake?