While They Were Busy

As the van rumbled down the dark streets, carrying Raj, Billy, and the rest of the group deeper into their tangled web of confrontation, Sofia was far from the chaos. She sat in her apartment, unaware of the abduction or the brewing storm between the men who had become so entangled in her life.

But Sofia could feel something was off. There was a stillness in the air, a sense of discomfort that she couldn’t shake.

She had spent the day going about her usual routine—shopping, catching up with friends, scrolling through social media. But beneath the surface, a restlessness gnawed at her. The thrill she used to feel from these little distractions no longer satisfied her. It was as if her life had become a series of performances, each one masking the growing void inside her.

She tried to reach Raj earlier, but his phone had gone straight to voicemail. A small part of her felt relieved. She needed space—space from him, from Billy, from everything.

She sat on the couch, replaying the events of the past months in her mind. The first time she met Raj, the way their connection had felt like electricity. The laughter, the passion—it had felt real, in a way she hadn’t felt with Billy. But now, even Raj was starting to lose his spark. Maybe it wasn’t them, she thought. Maybe it was her.

Sofia glanced at her phone again, her finger hovering over Raj’s number. She had noticed the change in him, the growing distance between them. At first, she had thought it was work stress, or maybe even guilt. But lately, it felt like something deeper, something unspoken. Was he tiring of her, too?

She sighed, leaning back against the couch cushions. While the men in her life were busy plotting and fighting, here she was—alone, once again wrestling with her own thoughts.

Why was it always like this? The same cycle, over and over. The excitement of a new connection, the thrill of the chase, followed by the inevitable fall into dissatisfaction. She had wanted so much to believe that Raj was different, that he could fill the void Billy had left behind. But the truth was, no one had ever been able to fill that space. No one, not even Raj.

Sofia stared at the ceiling, wondering if she would ever escape this cycle. She wanted love—real love, the kind that made you feel whole. But more and more, she was beginning to think it didn’t exist. Not for her.

While Raj and Billy clashed over her, Sofia was busy clashing with herself—lost in her own endless search for something she couldn’t quite define.

© Nil | 2024