"He wouldn't be able to know whether we are planning to do something. Probably, he guessed that we would be concerned about him, and he said such things."

"So, you are saying that it is a coincidence."

"It is definitely a coincidence."

"And?"

"Let's make a trip to the East Village today."

"Are you sure? We can't just leave him alone in this house."

"Can't we take him with us?"

"Did you notice how heavy he is?"

"Umm… Let's call the caretaker. She can stay in this house and take care of him."

"Amelia, I don't get it. You were never like this! How can you live our son here alone and go there? If you want to go, then go, I'm not going. You were never selfish to begin with, but now…" He did not complete the sentence, but his face was shrouded with sadness. 'What has happened to Amelia? She was never like this before.' He was completely puzzled.

Amelia looked at her husband and sighed. With one look, she understood what her husband was thinking. She softly called him. "Hubby, listen to me. This is important. Most importantly, Brad would be okay. His friends will protect him. Ah!! On the mention of friends, I remember that Brad asked me to inform his friends." She immediately ran to the living room and picked up the telephone, and dialed Chris's number immediately. After two rings, a lazy male voice answered, "h.e.l.lo, who is this?"

"Amelia Holman speaking. Can I speak to Mr. Chris please?"

"Chris speaking. Mam, do I know you?"

"You don't know me, but you definitely know my son."

"Huh?" Chris's confused tone came from the other end of the line.

"I'm Brad Holman's mother. I hope this will help." Amelia chuckled and Chris was stunned for a while before he managed to stutter, "What happened Auntie?"

"Such a sweet boy. Nothing happened to Brad. Actually he is a bit ill, and is resting. So, he wanted me to inform you all about this."

"Auntie, is anything the matter?"

"No. Everything is okay." Amelia answered, trying very hard to mask the sadness in her voice.

"Um... Chris, I have a favor to ask. Can I?"

"Sure Auntie. Tell me. If there is anything that I can do, I will do it definitely." Chris knew that something was up, but couldn't pinpoint it.

"Can you take a leave for his absence?"

"Sure. May I know for how many days?"

"20."

"Uh.." Chris was a loss for words, but he did not want to put her into trouble by asking her more. So, he immediately said, "Sure. I'll speak to the Dean tomorrow. But I'm afraid, that the Dean won't allow it. There is an upcoming Arts Exhibition at the New York Museum and Brad was supposed to partic.i.p.ate in it."

"Okay."

Chris didn't know what else to say. He couldn't hang up on her, so he waited her to continue. After a full minute of complete silence, Amelia said, "Thanks Chris. Please inform all his friends."

"Sure, Auntie. I will definitely tell them."

"Thank you." Amelia hung up the phone without saying goodbye. She knew that the young boy was curious, but she couldn't tell him the truth.