A narrow escape

Bye…dis z my last nite.…cnt take it nemore…take care of yourself…was the SMS sent to A from her friend whom we will call B. A got the message at 12:04 am and all hell broke loose.
Flashback. A and B have been friends for the past three years. They met in Delhi at a private media school and lived in the same hostel. By a stroke of destiny, they left the place within the first month. A to join one of the best media schools in the country to which she got admitted later, B to her home state to start afresh (the private media school was a farce). So, A and B knew each other just 15 days or so. But they kept in touch over the years.
A went on to top her media school, got placed on Day Zero of the placements, got the highest pay packets offered on campus and set out to embark on her new life and her first job. B stayed at home, squealing happily over the phone whenever A, sometimes a little immodestly, told her about her achievements. Time passed. A found love, happiness and contentment.
Soon, she moved to a new city to further her adventure called life. Though they spoke to each other only once a month, they kept in touch. Rather, B kept in touch.
One day, B called A and started crying. A and B were never close. Not close enough to cry on each other’s shoulders. A was taken by surprise but chose to just listen as B updated her on those lost years. The three years through which A went on to achieve success and glory. Each day had been a pain, B told A. Sobbing, B told A of the mental and emotional abuse she had been undergoing for the past three years. She was living as a servant in her home serving her own family. No outlet, no money, no happiness, no love. B told A how her own mother abuses her. She left A distraught and shaken.
Things A had taken for granted all these years—financial independence, a job to go to, family support, unconditional love—suddenly became prized possessions. A vowed, a little too late for her liking, to rescue B.
But before she could do anything, she got the SMS from B. So what did A do on getting the SMS? Called B coaxing her not to take any such step? Wrong. Sure, A’s fingers started to reply but suddenly from somewhere, a fear clutched at her heart. An inexplicable fear of the aftermath. The rest of the night passed in trepidation and guilt.
The next day, A kept on calling B but her phone was switched off and her guilt grew. Finally, she got a message from B saying she was down but fine. She was fine. A felt she had been given a new life, a new chance to redeem herself.
To do justice to B……