The Friend You Stopped Calling

There is somebody in your phone you have been meaning to call for over a year. This is about him, and about why you have not.

Nikhil is looking for a plumber. There is water coming through the ceiling of the second bathroom, his wife is holding a bucket and an opinion, and he is scrolling his contacts for Sameer Plumber, who came in March. What the search returns first is Sameer Hostel.

He taps it by mistake, and the chat opens. The last exchange is from fourteen months ago. Happy birthday bro, Nikhil had written. Long time. Let’s catch up soon. And Sameer: Thanks yaar!! Definitely. This month for sure. Above that, a year earlier, the same two messages with the names reversed.