Phone call at night

I was woken up by a phone call. I checked who was calling. The call was from my friend Shruti. My first thought was why was she calling me this late. It was almost 3 o'clock in the morning. What if there is a medical emergency? What if her mother was unwell? Thoughts were clouding my mind. There was only one way to find out.

I answered the call, "Shruti what happened?" I tried my best to sound calm but my voice gave away my fears.

Shruti on the other side had not been speaking anything. All I could hear was sobbing. Hearing her cry I got even more worried. I assumed it was something serious.

"Shruti please try to speak. Please tell me what has happened. Come on Shruti you need to speak with me," I almost pleaded. I needed her to tell me what was happening so that I could help her.

"You know.. It is... That," Shruti was still crying and telling me with broken words. I could not understand what was she talking about.

"Shruti please take a deep breath. Tell me slowly what has happened. I need to understand so that I can help you," I was trying to calm her down.

I could hear on the phone that Shruti was trying to take a deep breath. I understood that she was trying to make herself calm. It had been 5 minutes on the call but still I was unable to understand what had happened and if I need to intervene.

"That.. That..oh god," Shruti was still sobbing and trying to make complete sentences that could make sense. I was not able to interprete from her incoherent speech.

Meanwhile I heard her brother Vinay in the background. He was speaking probably to his mother. He did not appear to cry so I thought it would be a good idea to speak with him, " Shruti I can hear Vinay nearby. Will you please ask him to come and speak with me?"

"Yes," Shruti handed over the phone to her brother Vinay.

"Vinay please tell me what is happening? Why is Shruti crying so much? Is your mother okay? Please tell me Vinay," I too was on the verge of tears after hearing Shruti's sobs. The suspense was making me anxious.

"Relax didi, there is nothing serious. Do you remember Shruti had applied for the post graduation course?" Vinay mentioned in a very calm tone.

"Yes I do remember that. She had applied for the course on Industrial Psychology. What does that have to do with the crying?" Now I was really confused as why Vinay had been changing the topic.

"Shruti got the email half an hour ago. She not only got the admission but she got 50% of the scholarship. She had been crying ever since she saw that email," Vinay said that and he started laughing.

"You stop laughing right now," I heard Shruti in the background.

"Wow that is a great news. Shruti really got me scared. Who calls someone at night and then suddenly starts crying? I was thinking the for the worst but this news is really amazing. Is she back to herself now? I would like to speak with her," I was feeling relaxed. The stress was now replaced with joy.

"Hi. Sorry for earlier. I got overwhelmed," Shruti was still crying but now she had managed to speak.

"Congratulations. You really scared me tonight. For everything that you have done you me, you owe me two treats. One for the admission and one for scaring me by calling and crying at night," I demanded.

" I will give you as a many treats as you demand. You had always been with me throughout the admission process. Now you are going to be with me throughout the resignation process," I could hear smile in her voice over the phone.

"You bet. Can I please go back to sleep?" I asked.

"Good night and I will see you tomorrow," Shruti hung up.

I too went back to sleep after going through whirlwind of emotions.