Deepak sat alone in his room, the soft hum of the ceiling fan the only sound breaking the silence. His thumb hovered over the "Install" button on the Instagram app. For a moment, he hesitated, questioning the need. But then, with a quiet sigh, he tapped it.
A few minutes later, he created his account. It felt odd—unnatural—but he pushed through the discomfort and searched for the only familiar name he trusted in this digital world: Chaitu👑7. He followed the account. Almost immediately, a message arrived.
"Hi," it read.
Deepak smiled faintly and replied, "Hi."
Chaitanya, ever quick and observant, responded with surprise. He had clearly noticed Deepak's sudden appearance on the app.
"So you finally followed my suggestion," the message continued. "You actually installed Insta."
"Yes," Deepak replied simply.
"But... you always said you weren't interested in social media," Chaitanya pointed out.
Deepak sighed through his nose. "Yeah… but this is the only option I have to make friends."
"You've got many options," Chaitanya wrote back, "but you need to come out of the house."
Deepak stared at that line for a long moment. If only it were that easy, he thought. "I wish I could… but..." he typed.
There was a pause, then Chaitanya replied with warmth. "I understand. No problem."
"Thanks."
"Friends don't say thanks," came the immediate reply.
"Then... welcome," Deepak typed with a weak chuckle.
Chaitanya responded with a laughing emoji and launched into a light-hearted explanation. "Okay, now I'll introduce you to social media. It's used for all kinds of things—you can skip this if it gets boring."
Deepak continued reading, a small grin forming as Chaitanya listed them with playful exaggeration: For love affairs, memes of all kinds, making new friends, forgetting actual responsibilities, watching emotional videos and crying for no reason, sharing unnecessary stories, criticizing others, and relaxing the mind with funny reels.
"That's a long list," Deepak replied.
"You'll understand more day by day," Chaitanya said. "Just explore Insta until you find some friends."
"How?"
"There are two ways—either you follow someone, or they follow you."
"Got it," Deepak said.
"Alright, I'm going out to play. See you later!"
Deepak put his phone down and leaned back in his chair. The room returned to silence—but not his mind.
From within, a warm voice stirred.
How energetic he is, said Heart, the emotional echo of Deepak's imagination.
"Yeah," Deepak murmured, "sometimes I wonder how we even became friends."
Why? Heart asked gently.
"He's full of life. Outgoing. Extroverted. And me… I'm just the opposite."
Another voice chimed in—cool, measured, and precise.
That's exactly why you're friends, Brain said.
"What do you mean?"
Psychologically, introverts are often drawn to extroverts. It creates balance.
Heart interrupted, skeptical. Who told you that?
YouTube Shorts, Brain replied, sounding smug.
Heart scoffed. I thought YouTube Shorts only showed emotional videos.
"Can you two stop?" Deepak groaned aloud, rubbing his temples.
Then came the most dramatic voice of all—Overthinking.
WHAT?! it cried. You're blaming them? That means you're blaming yourself! That means a stupid is calling himself stupid and saying it's stupid!
"That's enough," Brain snapped. "You're overdoing it."
It's my job, Overthinking smirked.
Deepak's patience thinned. "Just shut up, all of you."
Heart whispered calmly, Your weakness is your enemy. Stay calm.
Deepak inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. "Okay. Let's just focus now."
Agreed, Brain said. We wait. Someone will follow us eventually. This is just the beginning.
And for the first time that evening, the voices quieted.
The room was still, but Deepak's journey had begun—not just into social media, but into the noisy, unpredictable battlefield of his own mind.