𓆩𓆪

Manik's Honda City rumbled through the gates that were being pulled apart. He navigated to the familiar diagonal visitor park and switched off the engine. The sudden silence amplified Cabir's loud munch, and Manik flicked to him, glowering.

"What the hell?! Stop eating it, you're ruining the plan!" He snatched the gift box of sweets specifically purchased to create a nice impression amongst the hosts, examining its contents to see three empty slots in the twelve-pack. Agitated, Manik grabbed the collar of his passenger's grey kurta and shook him back aggressively to his senses.

Midway through chomping down a laddoo and being yanked in every direction, Cabir whined, "Main unke daamaad thodi na banne jaa raha hoon?! Subah se kuch nahi khaaya, bhook lag gayi thi yaar! Had you pulled over and bought me some of those Mangalorean bajjiyaan near the airport, we would not be having this discussion. So let it go, I'm sure they'll understand if a few pieces are missing,"

He pulled his kurta from his friend's grip and eyed the half-eaten globule sneakily before stuffing it into his friend's furious mouth. "Here, have one... to sweeten the bitterness in your life."

Manik rolled his eyes, not sufficiently prepared to bore himself to another lecture from the love-guru. The whole plane ride to Mangalore had been filled with some revolting compositions of couplets by the self-proclaimed poet and Manik's patience had been wearing thin. If it wasn't for the flustered state he was in, he would have snapped Cabir's neck in half a long time back.

"Listen now," He grunted, and Cabir lazily regarded him, "You're looking for Navya Naveli, Harshad's 'so-called' girlfriend. We want to find out as much information as she knows about him,"

Navya Naveli had been a newly introduced name in the mix of victims they were filtering that surrounded Harshad, but amongst all the other victims, Manik had more insights on this girl.

"So-called, huh? How do you know she lives here?" Cabir smirked as Manik distractedly rearranged the sweet pieces to evenly distribute the gaps and make the set look intentionally partially empty. "And here I thought you were only interested in the happenings of a certain girl called Nan –"

Manik's head rose with a command, "Shut it!" Even if Cabir was intimidated by Nawab under usual circumstances, the lovestruck version of him had been mild in many aspects and hence, teasing Manik had been a tender development in their friendship. "Kya?! Dekh kya raha hai?"

"Tu nahi chal raha hai mere saath?" Cabir asked and then furrowed his brows while adjusting himself in the seat. "Wait a second, don't tell me this whole plan of yours is actually going to be executed by me!"

Manik grinned. "Of course, coaches don't play!"

"No no no no no, look... I want to live a long life bro, I want to go travelling, and settle abroad in a country jahan... mujhe apna pyaar chupaana nahi padhega..." Cabir sniffled dramatically and Manik slipped back in his chair with a smirk, enjoying the play before him. "You see, I have big dreams yaar! So please, don't... make me your... bakra!"

"Ho gaya tumhara? Now out!"

Cabir helplessly unbuckled his seatbelt and reluctantly took back the sweet box. He was about to undo the car door lever when a thought clicked. "Help me understand this... so all this time when you were in Mangalore, you were also..." Manik's eyes widened in a questioning, threatening manner which was when Cabir decided the safest option would be to rephrase, "I mean, that's... interesting..." Interesting was one way to put it! "Hmm, so you weren't a one-woman man up until you slept with – "

Manik pressed his temples, shutting his eyes.

"CABIRRRR!"

"Okay, okay I'll do you this favour." He said, exiting the vehicle. Leaning into the rolled-down window, he blurted, "But you owe me answers."

Walking up the stairs to the particular house he was supposed to have taken longer than he was briefed, so Cabir had second thoughts about the idea of embarking on this dangerous journey on his own. Yet, he gazed at the rangoli outside the house from which soft prayers were emanating from a feminine tone and found the aura of it beyond serene to be cloaked by.

An elderly lady approached the door with her pallu over her head as her lips moved mindlessly in a prayer that synchronised with a sound system.

"Hi Aunty, Navya ghar pe hai?" She frowned at the unkempt hair falling over his face and the overall attire of a kurta and jeans, and drab sandals. "Mera naam Cabir hai, maine engineering ki thi uske saath Manipal mein. Murdeshwar Mandir aaya tha gharwaalon ke saath aur Navya ki yaad aa gayi thi. Toh socha milke 'thank-you' yaani dhanyawaad boldu, aakhir uski wajah se hi pass ho paaya main!" He affectionately admired, touching his chest as if personally meaning every bit of it.

And that gratitude and energy the woman felt had warmed her to the idea of such a delightful guest at her doorstep.

"Aao, andhar aao na beta, Navya naha rahi hai." Cabir moved into the living room, seating himself on the same couch Manik had occupied nearly a month ago on a dreadful night. Mrs. Naveli had swirled back into the kitchen, arriving with a piping hot cup of tea. "Murdeshwar toh yahan se theen ghante duur hai, subah bohot jaldi nikle hoge phir, kuch khaaoge? Main aloo ke paranthe bana rahi hoon!"

"Nahi Aunty, sab intezaar kar rahe honge mere. Oh, yeh aapke liye. Laddoo." He placed the gift on the tray, sadly rejecting the cup. It would not be fair to fill his belly while Manik endlessly waited for him, starving himself.

A door clicked open, and Mrs. Naveli quickly yelled, "Navya, dekho toh kaun aaya hai!"

Cabir turned around at the corner of the couch, catching a drenched Navya air-drying her hair in a thin towel.

"Navyaaaa hiiii! Kaisi ho?" He gleamed dramatically, causing her to study him with caution. Who was that guy and what was he doing in her house? First of all, Navya had been wary right from childhood not to mention any boys to her parents after one traumatic incident where as a child, she had innocently confessed to her mother that a boy had pulled her hair in the playground and for the rest of primary school, her mother had teased her about that boyfriend.

Cabir recognised her confusion and put his hands on her shoulders. "Arrey mujhe nahi pehchaana? Main toh tumhare notes ka chori karta tha..." He looked at the corner of his eye twice, in the same direction that Navya's mother had disappeared in. Navya's eyebrows danced as she slowly picked up on a hint. "Yaad aaya?" He nodded, pleading for her to play along.

"Haan? HAAN! Hehe, haan, tum..." She chuckled dryly, unsure of how to ask him his name if she was already supposed to know him.

"Cabir!"

"Haan... Cabir... hello." She said politely, careful not to be overly talkative or smiley in front of her mother.

Cabir decided it was the perfect moment to get a little more privacy to execute his plan further. "Arrey, kitne din ho gaye! Tumhara kamra abhi bhi waisa hi hai kya?" He peered into her room, unaware of the fuming girl who had her hands on her hips, and glared at his back for having no boundaries. Yet, she followed, softly shutting the door behind both of them.

"Oh hello... tum kaun ho? Kaafi ajeeb ho! Kabse bak bak kiye jaa rahe ho, hum toh kisi Cabir ko nahi jaante, naa hi humaare college mein koi... tumhare jaise dost... bane the." She waved at him up and down in a crass, distasteful manner.

He frowned. "Harshad se milne aaya, and I was sent to this address."

"Har – you know Harshadji?" Her eyes glimmered as she moved some belongings off her table. "Toh pehle bolte na! Have a seat..." She gestured to the swivelling chair, which at that point Cabir proudly ascended. "You've actually come at the perfect time! Only yesterday I received a letter in the mail from him. Letters in the mail, so romantic na? Bilkul Bollywood film main hota hai aisa!"

Navya enthusiastically pointed at the table where the letter sat neatly folded and tucked into the ripped envelope.

There was no way Harshad could have sent her a letter himself. Prison did not allow that. Someone from the outside had definitely helped him, but how concerning was that source of help? That would only be determined by the contents of the envelope.

From initial examination, the packet appeared to have no creases or a gaping mouth, both of which alluded to the fact that only a folded sheet of paper was tucked in it.

"He sent you a letter? That's surprising, he never does that for anyone!" He regarded her blush with utter disgust but did not let the repulsion show on his face. "What was the occasion?"

"Nothing as such, he's been busy travelling for his work. He works for a manufacturing firm na, and their clients are almost everywhere, so he's having to do site visits on the client's side." Cabir tipped his head in unbelievable surprise, which could have easily been deduced as sarcasm. Only downside was that Navya wasn't that clever.

"It's just easier for him to send letters I think, when compared to calling at odd times. My friend too does this, but she works in the army so it's more accessible for her to reach out via letters than calling us."

Cabir shrugged. "Indeed, it's a much faster approach to draft a letter and wait five working days for a response in comparison to a five minute call in real time."

Navya nodded innocently at first, but when she met his indifferent eyes, she was not sure he was on her side. "Tum humaara mazaak udha rahe ho?" Cabir scoffed, but relaxed in his seat, letting her come to her own conclusion. "Nahi hume pata hai!" She said assertively and then sulked as she sat on her bed.

The audacity of him to come to her house, her room, and then ridicule her!

But Cabir's next sentence and the tone used in it doused Navya's irritation, "Did he say anything to you before he left on his work project?" She heard something akin to concern in his voice and naturally overlooked his hostility because he could possibly be Harshad's friend.

"No, not really. He did say he wanted to talk to me about something important but then my best friend was going through something difficult in her life and..."

As the girl rambled on, Cabir spun in his chair and scanned the walls as he twirled. One photo frame on the opposite wall caught his attention, and he lingered on that picture frame for quite some time.

She registered that he was looking at a photo of three girls, one of which was Navya on the left. "Oh that is my best friend I was talking about, Nandini Murthy, and her boring friend Soha Khurana. To be honest, I didn't really like her to begin with but now with Nandini gone, it's nice to talk to someone who feels that emptiness just as deeply as I do."

So Navya Naveli had known Nandini Murthy; not just known, they were best friends, in her words. Manik's strict stance against entering the flat made far more sense then. Why would he want to be reminded of her over and over, when there was nothing to look forward to in that aspect? Manik had not really talked about it, but from Cabir's intuitions, things did not end well between the two, and the devastation it caused Manik had been far too severe to continue overlooking.

At least Navya had Soha, but Manik... he probably felt so hollow inside without a person to talk to in their world. "I can imagine what that feels like." Cabir instantly decided that once he returned to the car, he would force the entirety of the truth out of Manik's mouth. Whether it helped him or not, there was only one way to find out.

Despite all those meandering thoughts that crossed Cabir's mind, over and over his gaze drifted to the girl in the centre, the source of light in his friend's life. Her features weren't particularly soul-snatching, but the simplicity of just a genuine smile amidst the multitude of fake ones he had seen all his life had highlighted her; and he could finally understand the relentless turmoil in his friend's heart in his inability to forget her.

Cabir had only seen a photo of her for some moments and had been affected. Manik had been on several dates with her, had spent several hours of his days and sometimes nights with her, and had touched that delicate part of her soul that remained untainted in that photograph. Added to that was his desire for the woman on a completely intimate level, one which Cabir could not feel for her at all.

"Those smiles are all so beautiful and real, especially that of the middle girl... she looks truly happy!"

"Nandini? Yes, she really was sunshine, and then a spineless bastard broke her heart and..." Cabir stared at her with growing shock. "If it was up to me, I would first mix some rat poison in his water and then summon Matarani to crush each of his limbs one by one, spread it into thin mulch, and feed it to some giant rats and..."

Drowned by a series of aggressive coughs, Cabir sprung to his feet and dabbed his chest to seek some relief, with a panicked Navya rubbing his back from the side.

"Are you okay? Wait I'll go get you some water..."

"NO! NO, not water!" He gasped, fearful of the rat poison awaiting him in that cup. "Warm haldi wala doodh, that cures this!"

Soon, the girl bolted out the door to fetch her guest's order. At her disappearance, Cabir plopped back. The letter peeked through, and Cabir could not control his curiosity. Detaching the letter on the table from its cover, he unfolded the sheet of paper, skim-reading its contents.

Sorry, I can't be with you... Wish I could show you how awesome things are here... I miss you and can't wait to be with you again... I hope your Matarani will keep our bond safe from all external harm... ghosts and witches can't come between us...

That was disappointing; he had expected to find something more malicious and juicy detailed in the letter that could put them one step ahead of Harshad but the boring, lovey-dovey letter reeked of cringy filth.

His trained ear heard footsteps in the vicinity and put the love-vomit where it belonged.

𓆩𓆪

Were any of you thinking about Manik ever coming back to Mangalore? What were your thoughts about Cabir and Navya – there might be development to this track btw but not in the romantic kind of course :P

Please don't forget to vote comment and share with your friends <3