I stood numb in disbelief. He had not just demeaned me but also obliterated the friendship we shared. Parth was rolling around in his wheelchair while spewing these poisonous words. I had never seen him in this state—it was frightening.

‘Please, Parth, calm down and think about what you’re saying,’ I warned him. I wanted him to slow down as the gorge was very steep and in his frenzy he was headed in that direction.

‘You should have minded your own business, Madhav. And what happened in the end? She dumped you, right? Because she never loved you, just like I don’t love you. Nobody loves you.’ I felt worse than I ever had. I even contemplated jumping from that hilltop. I didn’t know anyone could carry such hatred in their heart.

‘You know what, Parth? It’s not your body that is disabled, it’s your heart. You are a perverse person, incapable of friendship or love. I’ve always treated you like a brother, always supported you through difficult times, but never did I imagine that this was how you felt about me,’ I said, calmer than before. Now all I wanted to do was hurt him emotionally, just as he had done.

‘And even if Shriya had not been with me, she would never have gone out with you! You are a loser, a poor geek, with nothing but brains and which girl cares about that? She only used you to pass the exams.’

My words did something to Parth and he completely lost control. Parth had never been happy with his fate, which is why he wanted to become a scholar and get a high-profile corporate job. He wanted to prove to himself that he could get a girl like Shriya to love him.

He narrowed his eyes, screaming in murderous anger, and almost jumped from his chair to hit me. I grabbed his hands to stop him but he managed to hit my face. He slowly lost control of his wheelchair and it started rolling on its own. I tried to hold him but his flailing limbs prevented me from doing so.

‘I love her!’ he kept shouting as I tried to hold on to his wheelchair.

‘She never loved you. She ditched you. She’s mine!’

His attempts to punch me pushed him away from me. The wheelchair slipped on a boulder and tumbled downhill and Parth slid from it. His trousers were caught in the arm of the wheelchair and he dangled from the edge of the gorge, with the chair dragging him downwards.

‘Parth!’ I screamed, my blood freezing.

I ran to grab hold of his hand. There was a spine-chilling silence for a second.

‘Madhav! Madhav! Please save me!’ he said as tears ran down his face. His trousers were still caught in the wheelchair. My heart beat erratically as I looked around for help. Dusk had arrived and there was nobody around.

‘Parth, just hold my hand tightly,’ I said as our hands grew sweatier by the second.