IDENTITY UNDER ATTACK · EPISODE 15

When a Friend's Account Changes

Ritu's real account, with fifteen years of their messages above it, asked Nina for money late on a Wednesday. Ritu had never once written 'hey'.

Identity Under Attack, episode 15: When a Friend's Account Changes. Fragment 15, the friend.

This message didn't come from a copy. It came from Ritu's real account, with fifteen years of friendship scrolling above it.

10:40 PM. Wednesday.

Ritu and Nina had been messaging each other for fifteen years, through four phones, two cities and one wedding each. So when a message from Ritu arrived late on a Wednesday, Nina opened it already smiling.

Messages from Ritu's account late at night: 'Hey, are you awake?' and a request for 15,000 rupees by UPI because her phone is acting up and she can't call.

It was Ritu's real account. Their whole history sat above it: birthday wishes, holiday photos, a long argument about a film. The amount was something Nina could manage. The request was something Ritu might really need.

But in fifteen years, Ritu had never once started a message with hey.

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