The Final Adieu...

As I reached home, I realised I had forgotten the keys. Raghu, my brother, had them with him. There was still an hour for him to turn up. I sighed. Me and my brother, a year elder to me, lived in a rented flat together. Our parents had passed away when we were quite young, so Raghu and I were more than just siblings. I decided to go to the terrace. Leaning on the railing, I scrolled through the pictures of the evening. I laughed silently, watching us all pile cake on Raghu's face. It was his twenty-fifth birthday celebration--lots of fun with dancing and jokes. Now he had gone off with some friends to give them a birthday treat.

Suddenly, I heard a whisper from a corner of the terrace and saw someone's silhouette. I glanced at the time. It was a quarter to twelve. I squinted in the darkness to see who it was.

'Kashish.....Kashish......' a husky voice whispered.

I froze and became scared. Who was it, calling my name in the middle of the night? Quick as lightning, I turned on my flashlight. The beam fell on my brother's face. He was laughing.

'You were so scared!' he chortled.

'It's not funny,' I snapped.

This was just like Raghu. Once, when I was eleven, he went on to pretend I was invisible to prank me. The show went on for five hours and I was nearly in tears by the end. I remember the day as if it was yesterday. This was not because the event was particularly memorable but because it was the day our parents had died. I remember seeing their peaceful faces lying on the pyre and myself crying loudly while Raghu cried silently, with one hand on my shoulders like a one-armed hug, consoling me.

 I said,'I didn't see you arrive on the terrace.'

'Yeah because you were glued to your phone. You didn't notice,' he replied.

'How come you are back so early?' I asked.

The smirk was wiped off his face and he grew serious all of a sudden.

'I thought I would say bye to you and then go', he said. 'Here are the keys, anyway. You left them in my pocket.'

'Oh right,' I said, taking the keys he was handing over to me and keeping them in my handbag.

'I should get going now. If I get any more late, my friends are going to haul me off this terrace,' he joked.

'Haha! See ya!' I said.

He walked to the door to go. Suddenly, he turned and said ,'I love you, sister'.

Then he hurriedly went away before I could say anything. Frowning, I thought, 'He's in a funny mood today.'

I turned and continued to watch the pictures. After hardly a minute, my phone rang. It was Rohan, Raghu's friend. I picked it up and heard Rohan's voice which was shaky.

'Hello -- yes Rohan, tell -- what happened -- what! --' my heart skipped a beat '--Do-d-don't joke with me,' I found myself saying.

'B-but--How--He was just here --How --No,' I spluttered, my shock and confusion making me inarticulate. I hung up. 

Rohan's words , 'Raghu had an accident and died on the spot five minutes ago....' echoed in my mind. I wished it was a prank but I knew, from Rohan's anguished voice, that it wasn't.

But wait! I saw Raghu with my own eyes just a few minutes ago, how could he die!? Rohan is either joking or lying. Raghu had come, he even gave me the keys. The keys. I jerked my bag open and groped inside it, searching frantically for the keys. They were nowhere to be found. I stared aimlessly at the tousled bag. It took some time for the truth to sink in. Tears welled up in my eyes. I heard Raghu's voice in my head--"I thought I would say bye to you and then go." 

Oh! Only if I knew what that bye meant. All those good times with my brother ran like a slideshow before my eyes. I cried, tears rolling down my cheeks. The one who wiped them every time I needed wasn't with me, he was gone. Forever. I got down on my knees sobbing into my hands. He always stood with me, always came for me and so he did today. 

I won't see him anymore except in my dreams---

I won't hear him anymore except in my head--- 

Wailing, I raised my head towards the sky and yelled, agonised, 'I LOVE YOU TOO, BROTHER!'