M A N I K

Fuck- Ouch!

"Nandini! Arrey yaar ruko!" I shouted as she grabbed my hand tighter dragging me inside.

"May I know what kind of date do we have in a graveyard?" I frowned and she giggled as she finally left me and I looked around our creepy surroundings.

"Sssh Manik. Don't you know I am? Nandini Murthy. And Nandini Murthy always does things little hatke!" She smiled proudly.

"Acha...!" I said as my hands encircled her waist pulling her closer and she nodded shyly.

"So....", I traced my finger on her face. "Toh agar this is hatke then aage kya? Raste mein romance, temple mein shaadi, hut mein honeymoon, forest mein bache. Beautiful fairy tale, haina?" I asked and her eyes widened as she bit her lower lip.

My nose brushed her cheek and she held my collar as she pushed me away and I frowned.

"Manik, what are you up to? Graveyard mein bhi tumhe itne cheap jokes aur romance sujh raha hai, seriously?" She asked and I stared at her in disbelief.

"Acha! Toh graveyard mein date is okay but graveyard mein romance and jokes are not okay, seriously?" I mocked at her in the same way and she opened her mouth to speak something but closed it again and I had a victory smirk as I did a small victory dance in my heart.

"Manik!", she cribbed. "Tum- Because of you we are going off track. We are hear on a very important mission!" She said with excitement.

"Really. Important mission, nahi? Kya karna hai? Dead bodies ko identify karna hai? Tum koi chupi hui CBI agent ho kya?" I teased rolling my eyes and she made a disgusted face.

"Manik! Mujhe na tumhaare saath is date pe aana hi nahi tha! I should have got someone better, jo atleast aise cheap jokes toh nahi maare!" She said with a fake angry face as she pouted and looked away and I could kiss her right there and then.

"Can I kiss you?" I asked in trance and her eyes widened as she looked back at me.

"Kyu?" She asked with a shy smile as she took a step towards me and I held her waist, her hands encircled around my neck.

"So that the ghosts here know that this beauty belongs to the beast himself!" I smirked as my lips lingered upon hers and she closed her eyes, the red hue spreading over her face.

Just as I moved towards her lips, all ready to claim it as mine, and closed my eyes, her words echoed in my ears.

"I was about to kiss... Harshad!"

And before I knew, I pushed her apart. She looked shocked as I covered my mouth with my hand and ran my hand through my hair in frustration.

I wanted to apologise but I already saw her smiling and I felt relieved. I was so glad she didn't feel bad and was dealing with me with so much love and patience.

"Manik! You are wasting my time. I have got you on a date, let's go inside before the sun sets!" She smiled dragging me more into the forested grave yard.

She sat in a huge place between two graves, crossing her legs and I sat besides her, taking in the creepy surroundings.

"Yaha mujhe dafnane ka plan banake aayi ho kya?" I asked and she rolled her eyes as her hand jerked to my lips, her fingers covering my lips, as if asking me to not talk about death.

"You're very precious to me Manik. I can't think about losing you. Don't talk anything so absurd.", she smiled and I kissed her fingers on my lips.

"Toh phir yaha date plan kiya kyu? I am a billionare Nandini who can afford the world. And out of all those beautiful places in the world, you chose a graveyard for a date?!" I asked to lighten the atmosphere and she giggled.

"This date, is for this!" She smiled with excitement as she pulled out a packet of seeds from her bag and I knitted my eye brows.

"I have a beautiful garden and a yard Nandini. You chose a graveyard for gardening?! Tum sach mein one in a million ho!" I mocked and she rolled her eyes again.

"Sssh Manik. It's all for a reason!" She smiled as she removed some mud and put the seeds in and I helped her.

"And what is the reason?" I asked as she got up and dusted her hands.

"I will tell you later. Ab let's go!" She said
dragging me out and I blindly followed her, again.

"Ab kya?" I asked irritated as I sat in the passengers seat and she drove off.

"Sssh Manik. You have promised me a day out with me without any of your questions na, let's go!" She smiled as she drove off.

The lanes of Pune were very familiar to me, I was born and brought up here. Everything here had some beautiful memories attached to my childhood, some precious moments that I never wanted to lose.

Lost in my nostalgia, I didn't realise as Nandini parked the car and as I saw in front, a huge villa lied in front of me, shocking me to the core.

"Nandini!" I barely whispered in disbelief as I got off the car removing my shades, and Nandini followed me as nostalgia hit me hard and I took in mind my surroundings.

"This-... this is my house!" I whispered as I felt her hand entwining with mine and I snapped towards her, she blinked her eyes in assurance.

It had been more than ten years that I had visited this house, three years since I had spoken to my father and a year since to my mother. I don't know how will they react, how will they think, I don't even know if they stay together or how divorced are they.

"Manik, there is nothing called love"
"Marriage means suffocation"

I took some steps behind as all the old memories hit back and I stepped back as the huge doors opened and my mother, Nyonika Malhotra fled out. It had been ten long years I left this house, left my passion and I never turned back.

She wasn't the same young looking lady wearing short dresses. She had aged, she looked old yet beautiful and she wore an Indian Anarkali suit.

"Manik!" I saw tears flowing off her eyes and Nandini left my hand immediately as she hugged me tightly, crying loudly. I closed my eyes as I put my hands around her, taking her aged and small body in mine.

She broke the hug with a smile and I was so thankful she asked me nothing.

"Kaisa hai?" She asked caressing my face and I nodded coldly.

"Tum koi business meet mein nahi ho, atleast talk to her!" Nandini whispered in my ears and I glared at her as my mother called us in after patting Nandini's cheeks affectionately.

"Where is Dad?" I asked as we settled on the sofa, and I pressed Nandini's hand underneath mine.

"Must be coming home anytime, it's lunch time, na?" She smiled as she sat near me.

"Okay!" I said and the conversation died again as she got up to leave to the kitchen.

"Mom!" I called and she stopped in her tracks and she looked at me with love. After ten years I had called her mom, and she wanted to cry her lungs, but was stopping not wanting to scare me.

"Nandini, tum mere saath aana!" She called and Nandini nodded following her inside. To be honest, I didn't really trust her a lot. She was my mother, but I have seen her at her worst and I couldn't trust her with the most precious person of my life.

What is she stabs Nandini in the kitchen?

I decided to quietly follow them as I waited outside the kitchen.

"How long is it that you and Manik are together?" She asked directly not wasting time.

"Aunty aap-....", Nandini stammered. Aww my poor baby, she looked so scared she might just faint.

"I know that Nandini, you don't need to be scared? Manik has never spoken to us since a year, and tum usse yaha le aayi and he didn't tell anything. You must mean so much to him. And, I have looked at the way you look at him, bohot pyaar karti ho usse?" She asked and Nandini smiled, calming down.

"Bohot pyaar karti hu. More than my life!" She smiled, and a proud smile spreaded on my face. She is the girl I love and I am proud of her. So, so proud.

"Keep him safe, Nandini. He never got love in his life, beta. We could never give him the love he deserved and then Soha happened. Phir toh we lost even the small contact we had. Keep him safe, and give him all the love he deserves.", she smiled patting her forehead and a content smile played on my face too.

"Nyonika! Baby! I got the deal, all because of you!" There was a loud shout and I turned behind to see Raj Malhotra, my so called father entering.

"Manik.", he stopped in his tracks looking at me, shocked. I was equally shocked.

Did he just call mom baby? Were they still together? Was everything fine between them?

"The sadness of losing you Manik-... got us together", he weakly smiled at me, as if reading my thoughts and I nodded as Nandini and mom got out of the kitchen with the food in their hands, and laid it on the table.

No words were spoken, we all just ate food in silence.

"Manik. How is the company going on there?" Dad asked, trying to make a conversation.

"Same. Better." I replied with a fake smile and the conversation died. Nandini glares at me and I shrugged off the look.

This was sick. So much happened over the years and we were just pretending to be one, normal family and eating lunch. I wanted them to talk to me, to apologise. But midst all of that, I was happy. Happy to realise that I wasn't an orphan, I had parents, someone I could call family. And even more happy, that the small happy included Nandini.

"Meine tumhaare music videos dekhe hai Manik, you are a very nice singer!" Dad complimented and I fake smiled.

"Really? I thought you were against my music? Isn't it the reason I left Home except your fights!" I mocked and Nandini held my hand under the table. Dads head hang down and tears filled in moms eyes.

"Manik, starting new relations always takes time. But we can always give it a try, can't we? I don't know aap sabke beech Kya hua tha, so I have no right to speak, but Manik, everyone makes mistakes. Tumne bhi ki thi, meine bhi ki thi. Still we are here right...", Nandini smiled and all the anger in me just vanished.

"Okay. I'm sorry!" I glared at her and then my parents and they both smiled.

"Manik. This will take time, but beta please keep coming here. Hum saath hai, tumhaare liye bhi aur humare liye bhi. Please keep coming beta, we miss you!" Mom said keeping a hand on mine.

I wanted to flatly refuse but looking at her face, I couldn't. I just couldn't.

"Okay", I weakly smiled and Dad side hugged mom.

The lunch was in silence with me holding Nandini's hand from below the table, she glaring at me and I shrugging her looks as always.

After lunch, Nandini took the blessings of my parents and I formally hugged them before leaving and my heart pinched. It brought me down to the time I left my house for the first time, and then never came back.

"Thank you beta, thank you so much. You have gifted us something very precious. Please continue being the blessing you are, in all our lives!" Mom kissed her forehead and I smiled looking at the two most important women of my life while Dad patted her head lovingly after which we left.

I might be a monster, but deep down, I have craved for them. I have spent sleepless nights thinking how different my life would be if we would be a normal family, if my father would have taken me out for car races and my mother would have told me stories to sleep. Somewhere deep down, I have missed them and their absence had created a hole that Nandini's love was filling.

"Toh, this was your special date, haa?" I teased once we sat in the car.

"Accept it monster, you loved today!" She said and I sighed with a smile.

"I did. Just because of you, thank you!" I said as I entwined my hand with hers and kissed our entwined hands.

"This is nothing Manik, nothing in front of what you keep doing for me!" She smiled driving.

"No, Nandini. This would have been a nightmare, if it wouldn't have been for you!" I smiled and she blushed, the red hue taking over her face.

"Chalo, now we have to go to another place before the sun sets", she smiled and I knitted my eye brows.

"Kahan?" I asked and she smiled.

"To the magic seeds we just planted!" She winked and I wouldn't lie, my heart skipped a beat.

I wonder how history repeats itself. There was a time she was head over heels over me and her heart skipped a beat every time I winked, and now, it was me who was head over heels and my heart kept skipping a beat every time she winked and flirted with me, and I easily fell in love with her, all over again.

We reached the graveyard and walked inside, holding hands tightly.

I reached to be shocked, the seeds we planted had already grown sprouts.

"Nandini-.. yeh!" I exclaimed my surprise as we sat near it.

"See, Manik it grew! And look at the surroundings, it's so creepy. It's dark, so many insects, and vultures and what not. Weird sounds, bohot bad, nahi?" She asked and I nodded as I sat near her and she held my hand in hers.

"Our Love is like that. Days might be dark, we might fight, some days we might scream, we might even pull each other's hair and as well hit each other with pillows. In the worst conditions, I might try to leave Home and run away, you might even curse at me in anger. But nevertheless, our love will grow. No matter what, it will grow stronger and thicker. Binding us together, hamesha, just like this plant that grows notwithstanding the bad conditions around!" She smiled and her words directly touched my heart.

She took a stick and carved something there.

"MaNan, yeh kya hai?" I asked in confusion.

"Mere new boyfriend ka naam!" She mocked with a smile and I fake laughed.

"Ma for Manik and Nan for me, so MaNan for us!" She smiled and my smiled just widened.

"Nandini, I love you. I always say that, but today I mean it the way I never meant it. I don't know what I am without you. You call me a monster Manik, but when I am with you, I am Manik. Just Manik. You make my life what it is Nandini. I was grey until you painted me colours. Manik can never be Manik without the 'n' in my name. The N stands for you, Nandini", I smiled caressing her arms.

"You make me what I am Manik!" She confessed looking into my eyes and nothing stopped me, no hesitation, no insecurity came in my mind as I smashed my lips to hers.

MaNan, it was.

~when a girl is in love, you can see it in her smile; but when a boy is in love, you can see it in his eyes~

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