"Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you
That is how I know you go onFar across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on."

(My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion)

Tchh!!!

"Avneet, why did you stop the song? What's the problem?" Nandini was annoyed with her younger sister's behavior. 

There she was standing beside the door keeping her hands either side of her waist. She rolled her eyes visually examining at her sister and the way she was getting exasperated with this minuscule matter. 

"Ohh.. Miss. Danger, wait wait wait, let me understand the matter better before we start arguing over this."

Nandini got down from her bed and stood in front of Avneet. "What're you talking about? What matter? Which matter?"

Avneet smirked. "It's not some random matter. The matter seems to be genuinely solemn. I mean sad songs, dark room, chocolate flavour ice-cream. Wow! Everything is pointing to one direction only."

"What?" Nandini looked at Avneet with the corner of her eyes.

"The pain of separation. The pain of heart break."

"Avneet!" Nandini shouted on top of her voice. "I'm gonna kill you today. You've become precocious. Who has asked you to blow your nose in my matter? Get out from here right now. Just leave." She was fuming.

"Wow! Wow! Wow!" Avneet made a woebegone face. "Just because of this, just because of people like you it says never do good to people and you should stay 1000 miles away, if the person is like you. Where I thought that my beautiful sister is so sad and crying at some corner, precisely in her room, so I should I go and console her a little. Then she will feel better. But what did you say? Leave from here!"

Nandini sighed seeing her dramatic behavior. She turned and went to sit on her bed. 

Seeing her not saying anything, Avneet felt bad for her sister. Even though Nandini never told her anything about her feelings for Manik or something else. But Nandini is her sister who has literally raised her up since their mother's death. So, how could she not know what's there in the heart of her mother like sister? She also knew why she was sad. She has been seeing Manik and her sister since her birth. Manik is like a brother to her and she knew he was the perfect one for her sister.

Avneet couldn't help feeling bad for her sister. She was well cognizant of what all Nandini had to go through all her life because of their father mainly. That's why, she had approved Manik for Nandini. After all, he was the one who could console Nandini and he was the one who can protect Nandini from this vicious world. 

Avneet gulped her thoughts and got on Nandini's bed. She had lived in this same room till few years back with Nandini. "Listen this is my room too. I'll stay here only. You can't ask me to leave from here. I'm telling you clearly."

Saying so, she lied down on one side covering herself completely with the duvet and turned off the light of her side. 

Nandini paused for a moment seeing Avneet and sat down there quietly not knowing what to say to her. No matter how much she pretended she knew Avneet knew about her feelings for Manik. That's why she kept on endeavouring to get them closer. But she was too puerile to realize that a relationship can't be built, if only one person is involved there. It's only her who's there in the relationship, Manik was never there nor he would be here ever. 

Nandini let out a breath and looked at Avneet. She was well aware that Avneet was not sleeping. She was only pretending in front of her. 

"Avneet...." She called out for her.

She peaked out her face a little from the duvet and looked at Nandini with frown. "What?"

"Get up. I've something important to tell you."

"I'm feeling sleepy. I can't speak right now." 

"Avneet, please. Don't pretend. I know you're not sleeping. Fine, I'm sorry. Now get up."

Avneet couldn't stop herself anymore looking at her sister. She sat in front of Nandini and took her palms in between hers. She caressed Nandini's softly. "Now tell me what's the matter? What's going on?"

"You know what happened, then why are you asking again?" Nandini's throat was getting sore as she tried not to cry.

Avneet sighed. "I know. I know what is it and I also know that the drama you're doing is completely idiotic. I've always known that no one is as smart as my sister, then what has happened to you now?"

Nandini let out a sigh. "Why're you doing this, Avneet?"

Avneet felt pity seeing the condition of her sister. "Listen, I know you must be feeling bad hearing this but you need to face this one day. You can't run away from this all your life and you know it as well. I will forget him, I will go away, I will ignore him. Nothing will happen with these things. Neither you can forget him nor you can go away from him. He's gonna be here in front of your eyes all your life."

"Why can't I do this?" Nandini said emphatically. "Of course, I can do this. I will do this. You'll see I'll forget him completely one day." 

"I can write to you that you can never forget him. That's impossible." Avneet told in the same way. "From last one month, the drama you've started, it didn't do any help. In this one month, you have only hurt yourself and nothing else."

Avneet looked at Nandini for some reply but she only looked away. She had nothing to say. She couldn't deny the fact that Avneet was on point and she was not wrong at all. Another thing which surprised her was that her baby sister had grown so mature and she had no idea of it. 

When Nandini didn't say anything, Avneet started again. "And I don't understand one thing why aren't you saying everything to Manik bhai clearly? If you don't tell him, how will you know what's there in his heart, how will he know what you think of him? What's there in your heart? Is he some indweller or what?"

Nandini looked at Avneet with frightened eyes. What she said is not something she could ever think of doing. "Are you mad or what? That's left only! Now I should ruin this friendship too and hear me out carefully, he has no such feelings for me. So even if I tell him everything, then too nothing will happen. Only I'll be insulted in front of him and our friendship will end. I don't want to make fun of myself." 

Avneet almost jumped in anger but she somehow stopped that urge. "That's fine. Then why should I tell anything? You've understood everything by your own. You know what you and Manik bhai are exactly same. Both of you are blind. Completely! He doesn't see your feelings towards him and you don't realize his feelings for you either."

"Manik has feelings for me!" Nandini chuckled sarcastically. "Are you dreaming with open eyes these days?"

"Of course, no. I see exactly what's happening. But you... You don't see the reality." Avneet took a breath. "Well think of it carefully what I'm gonna say right now. At the night of Manik bhai's birthday, we all were together celebrating his birthday. But after returning home, he called you out again and gave that pen to you which is his father's and we all know that how much that pen meant to him. He shared his responsibilities with you. He calls you every time he needed someone to hear him. He didn't call us for that nor he mentioned of it with us ever."

Avneet was trying her best to give her sister a piece of mind which didn't seem to be happening at all. 

Nandini nodded her head in no. "Hey, he did it just like that. It doesn't prove anything. See, that time Sid was having some problem in his home and you're too young. That's why he just shared what was in his mind with me. That's it."

"Okay, fine. I agree with what you are saying. But that night when dad was almost forcing you to go out with that drunkard, you didn't see the look on Manik bhai's face. But I had seen him. I did see how worried he was for you. His eyes were speaking what was going inside him. Then when you returned home, the peace in his eyes were enough to tell what you mean to him. Even if you don't see, but I understand that Manik bhai himself doesn't know how much he likes you.

You know how he is. He can't think of anything out of his psychology books. Give him a little time. He will understand exactly what's there in his heart, what it wants and the day he realizes it, he will just run to you and express everything. Till then hold your heart and wait a little more even if it's hurting you."

Till now Nandini was only hearing Avneet quietly. Not for once she raised her eyes neither she spoke anything. After a while, she slowly raised his tear-soaked eyes. "What should I do know?"

"You don't have to do anything." She wiped the tears from her sister's eyes. "Don't cry. You're the most courageous woman I've ever seen. These tears don't suit you, they're not for you. Now wipe away the tears and take a long nap. Tomorrow is your birthday and if the birthday girl looks bad, then what will everyone think?"

This time Nandini smiled. Who knows when this little, sweet sister of her became so sensible? Tonight she will sleep. After so many sleepless night which she has spent crying for something, tonight she will have to sleep. Even though she did not believe Avneet's words completely, yet she kept a hope that tomorrow's morning would bring something new in her life. Tonight she will sleep with this new hope of her life. 

At some other side of the lane, Manik was standing in front of a book shop completely bewildered. He failed to choose a book for Nandini which he could gift her tomorrow. Only Sid's words were circulating in his empty head since he had left from his place. Whatever he spoke, all went over his head. 

FLASHBACK
Manik shared everything about Nandini with Siddharth. He told how Nandini was behaving differently and trying to keep herself away from her unlike before, the way she was trying to ignore him.

After hearing everything, Sid looked at Manik as if he was some alien. "The character of women cannot be understood God Himself, have you ever heard this line?" That's the first thing he asked Manik. 

Manik nodded. "I've heard this but I don't believe in it. Because I think we don't try to understand what a girl thinks or what she wants, we don't want to see their pain, the things which are there in their heart. We try to avoid all this. That's why we've given this badge to them. Listen, it can be difficult to understand the minds of both boys and girls, not only girls."

When Manik finished his not so long speech, Sid passed a sarcastic look to Manik. "Wow! Wonderful! When you understand so many things about girls and their heart, then why don't you understand the simple thing that Nandini likes you?" He questioned Manik seriously.

"What's new about this?" Manik shrugged his shoulders like a complete stupid. "Not only Nandini, I also like her. What does it have to do with Nandini's this behavior?" 

Sid slapped his head seeing his ever so smart friend behaving like a complete dumb right now. "What should I do to you, Manik? I'm not speaking about that sort of likeness which you're thinking of."

"Then?" Manik frowned.

"Manik, Nandini loves you." This time Sid spoke directly without beating around the bush. 

"What? Impossible!" Manik shrieked. He didn't realize that he spoke on top of his voice. "It can't happen? Did you even hear yourself, Sid? What're you saying?"

"You can think whatever you want, Manik." Sid shrugged his shoulders. "I just said the truth. Then what do you think of it, it's up to you." 

Hearing Sid's voice Manik knew that he was not kidding at all. But it was difficult for him to believe that something like this can happen. The thought only scared Manik. He hurriedly nodded his head and tried to take these thoughts out. He couldn't believe Sid at all neither he could deny him strongly. 
END   OF    FLASHBACK

In any way, did Nandini really feel anything for him?

As soon as this thought crossed Manik's mind, he wiped that immediately. He cursed himself saying he was going mad after those craps from Sid. Then he came back to his senses and found himself standing at the same time for almost an hour now. He couldn't even choose a book till now. 

He couldn't help blaming Nandini for this. She knew how bad he was at gifting something to anyone. She could have asked for anything from him. Didn't she know he would never say no to her no mater whatever she had asked for. 

When he was thinking all this, his eyes got stuck on a particular book and he knew he wanted to gift this to Nandini. But why? Is there anything special? 

That's all for today. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Do share your precious thoughts and vote.

Thank you.

07.10.2022