The phone rang just as Veena entered the house after a shopping trip to Mrs Vajpayee’s. She put her shopping bags down and rushed to answer it.
‘Hello?’
‘Oh, Veena? This is Deep.’
‘Hello, Deep, how are you?’
‘I’m fine. Madhav has not been keeping in touch, so I thought I would call and ask if he’s okay.’
‘Yes, yes. Madhav is fine. Wait, I’ll call him. Chhotoooooo.’ ‘What is it?’ came a faint cry from Madhav’s room.
‘It’s Deep on the phone.’
Silence.
‘Chhotooooo, it’s Deep on the phone.’
‘Erm... sorry, he seems to have gone silent. I will ask him to call you back. He has not been feeling well lately. He hardly ever comes out of his room these days. He doesn’t eat much. I do not know what’s going on. And oh, he seems to have given up smoking. Why don’t you come over one day and see
