3rd August, 0095.
The house stood modest but warm, a two-storey home with a small veranda at the front and narrow stairs rising from the hall.
The ground floor consists of a medium-sized living room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. A small temple is made at the corner of the living room, facing the entrance. At another corner, a vintage wall clock is placed.
The upper floor held three rooms and an open space that caught the breeze from the balcony.
Usually, the morning of Vedman's residence is filled with the noise and chatter of two brothers arguing among themselves, but, since a day before yesterday, not a single argument or quarrel could be heard from the house.
The reason for this is that the two sons of the Vedman family, Hira and Yash Vedman, have gone to Uttarakhand to explore the Himalayan mountains.
It is 08:30 in the morning.
An old lady can be seen worshiping in the living room; she is Mrs. Shanti Vedman, grandmother (Dadi) of the brothers.
Their mother, Jyoti Vedman, is in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for everyone.
At the same time, two men enter the house from the main gate. An older man with a little hunch back, and a middle-aged man supporting him
The older man seems to be in his eighties; he is Kapil Vedman, the eldest of the family.
The middle-aged man is Virat Vedman, father of Hira and Yash.
"We are back," Virat announces as he and Kapil return from their morning walk.
Shanti glances at them and continues back into her worship.
"This woman and her gods…did they even hear anyone's prayers?" Kapil seems irritated by his wife.
"Come on, Dad. You don't have to be so rude to mom." Jyoti's voice comes from the kitchen. "You guys should freshen up; breakfast will be ready in five minutes."
"Haha, Papa, let's go. You should not disturb Mom during the puja; otherwise, instead of siblings quarrelling, we might see a couple quarrel."
Virat is amused by his Father's usual behaviour.
"What are you laughing at, my son?" A hand reaches for Virat's ear and starts pulling it as Shanti has finished her morning puja.
"Ahh, Mom, I am just joking." He starts yelping from the pain.
"Don't you think you're too old to be joking with your parents?" Kapil remarks as he also starts pulling his son's ear from the other side.
"Hahaha, since Hira and Yash are not here, you all are fulfilling their absence." Jyoti comes out of the kitchen, laughing, and puts breakfast on the dining table.
Everyone was enjoying the family time, when…
BOOOOOOOOM
THUNDER THUNDER
The sound came. Then, it started.
Shanti and Kapil, still holding their son's ear. Virat and Jyoti still have a small smile on their faces.
But everything was paused. It's as if the whole world had stopped.
As everyone slowly came back to their senses, confusion filled the room.
THUD
Before anyone could understand what was happening, Kapil suddenly collapsed on the floor, unconscious.
"PAPA." "PAPA." "KAPIL."
Everyone rushed toward him in panic, calling his name, shaking him, hoping for a response.
"Koko, hurry, call an ambulance," Virat shouted. (KOKO is the name of an AI assistant.)
"…" But no response came.
He again shouted, tapping his bracelet, "KOKO, pls call an ambulance, its an emergency."
A blue hologram screen appeared in front of him, but it was completely blank, no bot face.
Seeing the malfunctioning of the A.I., he tried calling an ambulance manually, but that also did not connect.
"Kapil, wake up. Wake up, Kapil. What happened to you?" Shanti started breaking down in tears.
"Virat, Papa is not responding at all. Do something." Seeing Shanti's condition, Jyoti also started panicking.
Frustrated and anxious, he decided to take Kapil to the hospital himself. He ran outside to open the garage, started the car, and drove it to the front door.
"PAPAA."
Just as he parked, a sharp scream came from inside the house. His heart skipped a beat.
He rushed in – and froze. His mother was lying unconscious on the floor beside his father, and Jyoti was crying uncontrollably, clutching Kapil's hand.
"Virat, his pulse…sob sob."
Virat slowly moved toward Dada. His steps were unsteady, like every inch forward was a step into something he didn't want to face.
He knelt beside him and pressed his fingers to his wrist, then his hand slipped away. He touched Dada's neck, his chest, as if trying to find a different answer.
But it was the same. Nothing. Kapil is dead.
Still trying to refuse the reality, he started moving Kapil's body.
"What are you crying for, Jyoti? Come help me move Dad to the car; we have to take him to the hospital."
"Virat, he's gone. Dad is gone, Virat." Jyoti's sobs echoing in the room as she clutches Virat's hand tightly.
At first, he refused to accept it. But as he realised that Kapil's body had started getting colder, the reality sank in.
"But… Just now… we were laughing, and…and" his breath hitched, and suddenly all that strength he carried, just broke up.
He sat back slowly, his head lowering until his forehead rested on Kapil's arm. Then he began to sob.
The air felt too heavy to breathe.
. . . .
Four hours passed.
The house had gone silent, like even the walls were mourning. Shanti was still unconscious – Jyoti had carefully moved her to the sofa.
Virat hadn't left Kapil's side. His tears all dried up. Jyoti was sitting beside him, holding his hands.
The air had grown cold. The diyas from the morning prayer had fully burnt.
Then – ding dong.
The doorbell rang. The sudden sound sliced through the silence. Jyoti wiped her tears with trembling hands and ambled to the door.
She hesitated before opening it.
Outside stood two policemen, their faces somber and tired.
A.N. - Well, this chapter was a little too heavy for me to write, as I am a very emotional person, and I can't handle emotional scenes nicely.
NIDHANAM means 'death of someone.'