I never thought I would get that call so early in…

I never thought I would get that call so early in the morning. My phone was on silent. I had slept at 2 AM because I was making those tournament notices. Ma'am had said "send it tonight only, don't wait till morning." So I stayed awake and completed it.

At 6:15 AM, I woke up and saw 3 missed calls from mummy. My heart just stopped for a second. I called back immediately. She picked up and said in a very low, shaking voice, "Nanu nahi rahe."I said "Kya?" I heard it, but I didn't want to believe it. She repeated it again, and then she started crying. I was sitting on the edge of my bed. My feet were on the cold floor. I didn't cry at that moment. I don't know why. I just sat there blank.

My first thought was very stupid. I thought "Now I have to inform Ma'am that I won't come to school today." And then I felt so guilty. How can I think about school at a time like this?

I went to the kitchen. Papa was sitting on a chair, looking down. Mummy was trying to pack something but her hands were shaking. I didn't know what to do, so I made tea. For everyone. Because that's what we do when we don't know what to do.

After some time relatives started coming. One by one. Everyone was crying, talking about Nanu. His old radio was still on his table. He used to listen to news every morning at 6 AM. That radio was still on. Nobody switched it off.

The whole day I was just bringing water, bringing chairs, opening the gate again and again. In between all this, I kept checking my phone. I had messaged Ma'am in the morning - "Ma'am, won't be able to come today due to family emergency." No blue tick. No reply. I kept thinking, will she think I am making an excuse for leave? Even on that day, I was worried about what Ma'am will think.

At night around 11 PM, everyone left. The house became completely silent. It was too silent. I went to the bathroom, locked the door, and then I finally cried. Quietly Because if mummy heard me, she would cry again.

That's when it actually hit me. Nanu used to sit on the terrace every evening with his chair. He used to call me "bitiya, chai pila de." He will not be there tomorrow. He is actually gone.

I came out, washed my face, and saw my notebook was still open on the table. On it was written "NOTICE: Teaching shall remain suspended..." I just closed it.