Side effects may include feelings

Raghav’s mornings were as predictable as the city’s traffic. Alarm at 7:00 AM. Shower by 7:15. Coffee - black, no sugar - by 7:30. Out the door by 8:00. A fifteen minute drive carried him to the towering glass walls of CreatiVista, an ad agency where ideas moved fast but lives stood still.

A year ago, his life had been different. Back then, there were lazy Sunday mornings, shared playlists, and the sound of laughter filling his apartment. But that was before Aisha left - before the breakup that stripped his days down to mechanical repetition. Now, his only companions were client briefs and glowing screens. The city around him buzzed with stories, but Raghav was too busy escaping his own.

Most nights, he worked late - not because he had to, but because there was nothing else waiting at home. The silence felt heavier after Aisha left, and he had stopped fighting it.

Until Amit called.

Amit had always been the opposite of Raghav - loud, carefree, and somehow always in trouble. Where Raghav excelled in school, Amit barely scraped by. Yet they stuck together - maybe because Amit could make Raghav laugh when no one else could.

Raghav hadn’t heard from him in months. So, when his phone buzzed late on a dull Wednesday afternoon, he almost didn’t pick up.

“Bhai!” Amit’s voice cracked through the speaker, breathless and excited. “Guess what?”

“You finally learned how to read?” Raghav leaned back in his chair, smirking.

“Funny. I got a call - an interview in Mumbai! Some company wants a ‘hardworking, no-experience, full-of-jugaad’ guy like me. Can you believe it?”

Raghav’s smirk softened. “That’s… surprising. When’s the interview?”

“Friday morning. I’m coming tomorrow by train. Can I crash at your place?”

Raghav hesitated. His apartment hadn’t seen visitors in months. But something in Amit’s voice — a mix of hope and fear made the words come easy.

“Yeah. Bring your lucky shirt.”

Thursday arrived with a drizzle. The city, as always, didn’t stop moving. Raghav stood near the train station, flicking ash from his cigarette as he sipped his second coffee of the morning. And then, there he was Amit, dragging his worn out duffel bag, wearing that ridiculous grin.

“You look like you fought the entire train,” Raghav said, grabbing his bag

“And you look like the train ran you over,” Amit shot back, grinning.

The apartment was just as neat and lifeless as Amit had imagined. He dropped his bag on the couch and sprawled across it, exhaling loudly.

“Dude, you live like a robot,” he said, eyes scanning the spotless shelves. “No mess, no life. When’s the last time you had fun?”

Raghav ignored the question. “What time’s the interview?”

“Nine. You’ll drop me off, right?”

Raghav nodded. “Yeah. But if you embarrass yourself, you’re on your own.”

Amit laughed, but as the night wore on, his jokes faded. At one point, he glanced around the dim apartment, voice quieter than usual.

“You ever get lonely here?”

Raghav’s throat tightened. He saw of Aisha’s toothbrush - long thrown out. The framed photograph hidden in a drawer. The ache that still showed up when the nights got too quiet.

“No,” he lied

The next morning, Amit emerged dressed in a wrinkled shirt and mismatched socks. Raghav tossed him a tie without a word.

“You sure corporate life is for me?” Amit asked, fumbling with the knot.

“You can’t live on vibes forever,” Raghav said, half-smiling.

By 8:30, they were driving toward the gleaming towers of Mumbai’s business district. Amit fidgeted with his résumé the whole ride.

“You’ll be fine,” Raghav said, surprising himself with the warmth in his voice.

“You really think so?”

Raghav glanced at his oldest friend. “Yeah. Just be yourself.”

Amit chuckled. “That’s what worries me.”

He disappeared through the glass doors with a final thumbs-up, leaving Raghav alone with his thoughts.

When Amit called later, Raghav was already on his second coffee and his third cigarette.

“How’d it go?” he asked

“I didn’t vomit on anyone,” Amit said. “So… a win?”

“You’ll hear back,” Raghav assured him, though he wasn’t sure why he felt so confident. Maybe because Amit had always landed on his feet.

That evening, they sat on the balcony, sharing greasy burgers as the city litup beneath them. For the first time in a long while, Raghav didn’t mind the company.

“You know,” Amit said, wiping ketchup off his fingers, “you should really stop living like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re waiting for something that’s never coming back.”

Raghav didn’t answer.

Days stretched into a week. Amit stayed, filling the apartment with laughter, late-night debates about movies, and the occasional mess. It was both irritating and comforting.

Then, on a rainy Monday evening, Amit’s phone rang.

Raghav watched from the kitchen as Amit answered, face tightening with anticipation. And then, just like that, he grinned - bigger than Raghav had seen in years.

“They want me,” Amit said, breathless. “I got the job!” For a second, Raghav just stood there. Then he laughed — really laughed and pulled Amit into a quick, rough hug.

“I told you,” he said.

By the end of the month, Amit had found a place across town. The night before he moved out, they celebrated - cheap whiskey, greasy pizza, and an old playlist from their college days.For the first time in months, Raghav felt something other than numbness.Maybe it was pride in Amit, or maybe it was the realization that his life didn’t have to stay so… still.

The next morning, they loaded Amit’s battered duffel bag into Raghav’s car.The fifteen minute drive to his new apartment was filled with their usual banter - Amit complaining about corporate life before it even began, and Raghav pretending to be the responsible adult.

When they arrived, Amit leaned against the car, eyes scanning the modest building. “We did it, huh?” he said, half to himself.

“You did it,” Raghav corrected. “I just gave you a couch.”

Amit smirked. “A couch and a reality check.”

For a moment, they stood there, letting the city’s hum fill the silence.

“You’ll be okay, right?” Amit asked, his tone softer now.

Raghav looked out at the horizon. The city didn’t stop. It never did. But maybe he didn’t have to keep standing still.

“I will,” he said, and for the first time, he believed it.

As Amit walked away, Raghav sat in the driver’s seat, watching until his friend disappeared through the front door. He exhaled slowly, turning the key in the ignition.

And instead of driving straight home, he took a different road. A longer road.Because maybe, just maybe, it was time to start moving again.