Kiyaansh descended the staircase slowly, his eyes glued to the glowing screen of his phone. Viyana’s chat was still open, mocking him with its silence. Her display picture had vanished, replaced with the dull default icon, and the last message from her was just a plain good night, sent three days ago. Since then, nothing.

He had tried everything, calling her number only to be greeted by the frustrating beeps of either a busy tone or the cold automated voice saying “not reachable.” Each text he sent remained stubbornly undelivered, stuck in limbo. His heart sank a little more with every attempt, uneasiness gnawing at him. A thousand questions filled his mind, but none had an answer. As he walked down, his grip on the phone tightened, his chest heavy with worry. Something was wrong. He could feel it. And the silence from Viyana was eating him alive.