Nandini Murthy could not sleep. Her phone would not stop vibrating and flashing. Squinting her sleepy eyes, she saw the 200 whatsapp notifications from the Fab 5.
Why don't these guys ever sleep?' she thought, grumbling to herself, and switching off her phone went to sleep.
That was a mistake she would have to make up for the next day.
She woke up two hours later, bathed in sweat. Another nightmare. She debated whether she should call him or not, but deciding against it, she tried to distract herself with various things, including music.
It had been a year since that Pandit fiasco, and life was good. She was happy and at peace. And yet, there were residual feelings of panic every time a teacher passed by too close to her; she was jumpier than ever and trusted only a handful of people: ironically, five of these were those she had hated in the beginning of her life in SPACE.
One of the those five was pacing across the room, angry and babbling to himself.
'Switched off. Again. Will she never learn? How many times do I have to...'
'Manik, calm down! It's okay. This is her time to sleep; she must be asleep. Ab har roz toh woh tere saath nahi jaagegi na poori raat? She wakes up when you fall asleep. So, why are you worried?' said Cabir, Manik's best friend and love guru.
'YOU don't understand. She has been fidgety all day. Ever since that new teacher passed by her and almost knocked her off her feet in a hurry. She has been preoccupied. And I'm worried. I thought I would distract her by going over. But no, madam does not even pick up her phone. No, leave that aside, she has switched it off! One day, I swear, she will give me a heart attack'.
Hearing Manik so preoccupied with his girlfriend was no big deal for Cabir; he was used to it and most of the times it was even endearing. The way Manik kept checking his watch, waiting for college, so he could go pick her up and finally see her was sweet. But it could get annoying. And when it was a case of band rehearsals, everyone was annoyed. He knew he'd be calling out Nandini tomorrow and pretty much begging her to not do this again.
Manik was annoyed too, needless to say.
She did this. Again. Knowing how he would feel. But then, he was more annoyed about the fact that he left her alone that day after college. He should have ensured she was okay but he realized a few minutes too late.
He jumped when his phone rang.
'Nandini?'
'Manik...'
'Nandini? Are you okay? Phone kyun off tha tumhara? Do you know I have been trying for...What happened? Nandini?'
Manik... I had that dream again' said Nandini, holding on tightly to a cushion.
'Manik?Hello?'
She looked at the phone and saw he'd disconnected it already.
It was Nandini's turn to pace back and forth in her moonlit room, waiting for Mr. Manik Malhotra to show up honking his horn at 2 am. As usual. She knew it was a bad idea to call him. But, she was still jittery and she wanted to be happy (which she was), which was why she could not understand how these nightmares kept recurring. No, he wouldn't show up-even to herself, it sounded like a lie. As expected, he was at her door within fifteen minutes. She rushed downstairs, as sneakily as she could, to find him waiting.
One second he was looking at her anxious face; the next, his arms wrapped around her in a safe, woollen embrace. He did not say a word, neither did she.
But she shed a few tears (but she wiped them before he could know).
A few eternities later, when they broke apart, though still holding one another, Manik smiled at her
'Don't scare me like that, please? And next time, try harder to wipe off those tears' he said as he rubbed his thumb near her eyes and then as gently as he could, and touched her eyelashes to pick out those drops that still sparkled there.
Smiling a bit, she stood on her toes to quickly kiss him and rubbing her nose against his for a second, she whispered sweetly,
'I love you. Thank you'
To which he said nothing at all but turned her around and ensured she went up to her room.
Switching off all the lights, he asked her if she felt anxious even now (she didn't).
So he kissed her eyelids and sang her her favourite song, one her maa used to hum while cooking, and waited till she was asleep to sneak out of her house, back into his own and then practice till 5 am.
He ignored Cabir's pointed looks and deliberate coughs as he tried to distract his racing heart from the memory of that lingering touch, her smell that still surrounded him in a haze of happiness.
Tomorrow would be another happy day, with Nandini loving him and smiling at him.
It still thrilled her that he loved her so much! A year later, nothing had changed much. In fact, they had become happier than they ever were, separated or fighting or trying to keep up with each other's mistakes. Finally, nothing could separate them, and she, she was happy. She had woken up to a small pink note stuck to her bedpost
'I love you. Humesha'
Four simple words, and how they had struggled to reach here.
When Alya found it in her purse, she had teased her a lot, but not before remarking that Manik had never believed in these romantic gestures; Nandini had changed him.
Cabir had remarked, ' Nandini ne Manik ko change nahi kiya. Bas usko woh bachpan de diya jo hum sabne saath mein khoya tha. And that is a remarkable feat Nandini. I wish I find my Nandi (since Nandini toh ladki ho jayegi na!)'
Nandini had given him a hug as Manik joined them. And then, she couldn't see anyone else. For there he was: The boy who hated to smile, smiling for her, bathing her in a love so pure that her eyes filled up.
As he came to her, and held out his hand, she quickly kissed his palm and they left, their friends smiling and shaking their heads at their daily ritual.
It was just another day in MaNan's life.
Kay, I'll just walk out of here now, quietly..no one needs to get hurt😕😆
(this is a bit embarrassing!)
Okthanksbye!
love
Geet
