Let's walk! - NOTE!! (Manan FF); pg 40 - Page 22

Originally posted by: Dhariya_

loved the teaser ...eagerly waiting...

CHAPTER SIX! - Nightmare!

"Excuse me sir."

"Yes?"

Manik looked up to an unknown face that was fascinatingly scanning his seated posture. A dull featured girl was shamelessly gazing at his flawless face as if she'd never seen a man before.

"Umm hello?"

No reply. The girl's eyes slithered and absorbed every inch of his face unblinkingly. Her glossed lips had formed a slight o' as she focused her gaze on Manik's face and made herself aware of his utterly handsome beauty. Her head slightly tilting towards the right as if she'd dozen off with her eyes open.

Manik uncrossed his legs and straightened out his pose to sit up right on the leather couch. He glanced around embarrassedly as he notices the passengers around him had begun to snicker with amusement.

Manik cleared his throat in an attempt to gain the stranger girl's attention but no luck.

"Manik, where..."

The unknown girl snapped out of her daydream as Nandini's ringing laughter filled the VIP lounge at the airport. A few people joined in with their own entertained laughs. The girl continued to fidget with her black, pencil skirt and shoulder-length brown curls as she realised what a fool she had made of herself. She hesitantly glanced around to see the number of people that had slowly gathered around to witness the amusing sight.

"I...I'm sorry sir. I had just come to inform you that the First class boarding has now begun for your flight, so if you like you can start making your way to the gates." , the girl spoke with a trembling voice. A deep blush had risen up to her cheeks now as she finished her first attempt of a shy conversation with Manik.

"Oh thankyou! Nandini, are you ready to..."

"Wait she's coming with you?", the unknown girl blurted unthinkingly.

Manik threw a detesting look towards the girl dressed in a white ironed shirt and black, figure-hugging skirt. He didn't need an invitation to get up from his seat anymore. He walked a frustrated step closer to the girl as he rubbed his hands together, trying to control his boiling anger and in return the nervous girl stumbled a little step backwards

Worry filled Nandini's face as she saw Manik's eyes darken with rage. Her heart feared for the girl's occupational position.

"And do you have a problem with that?, Manik tried his best to keep his voice low and calm.

"No, no sir. Absolutely not. It'd be our honor to host the both of you on our flight today.", the girl replied with a weak smile. Fear evident on her make-up plastered face.

"Good. Because if you did, I wouldn't have a problem in solving your problem. Now if you could please leave from here and we'd certainly make our way to the gates whenever we're ready"

"Sure", and with that single worded reply, the girl was gone like a gust of wind.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the show is over. I know my life is much more exciting than yours because of this beautiful lady by my side here...", Manik openly announced. Nandini couldn't help but bow her head downwards so the lock of her hairs could cover the deep, red blush that had managed to gush up her cheeks.

"...But I hope you realise that she's mine and we're in no accord to discuss our personal lives any further.", Manik flaunted one of his monstrous smirks and swiftly turned around on his feet. Without even glancing towards Nandini, he started collecting their two bags of luggage. Nandini drove her wheelchair closer to him and placed her left hand on his tensed arm.

"Don't! Don't even start on your lecture about how I shouldn't have done that or how I shouldn't have gotten mad at that girl who we didn't even know.", Manik babbled with an annoyed tone.

"I..."

"Nandini. I'm not in the mood seriously! And if you really want to start with your lectures than forget it, I don't want to go on any holiday!" He chucked the bags on the floor, slipped back into the leather seat and threw his head back in frustration.

Nandini couldn't help but smile at just how well he knew her. If today's incident had taken place some three odd years ago, she would've stubbornly demanded he went and apologised to the unknown girl, but not today. She didn't express it so often to him but ever since her paralysis, she'd always feared stepping in a public space with him. She knew the reaction she would get from the unrecognizable faces of people. The way the eyes of hundreds of girls would curse her for holding onto someone who she didn't deserve. And today it was one of those days. She knew the minute the girl had scanned her with a disgusted look for her unbearable laughter, that this trip wasn't going to be as easy as she had wished for it to be. That maybe...just maybe it was a bad idea to go on a holiday just yet.

Nandini blinked her heavy eyes and realise Manik was still sitting on the single-seater couch. His head was now resting against the back edge of the couch and his eyes were closed. His jaw was still clenched into forming a tight line and she could notice him grinding his from time to time. He was still fuming.

Nandini quietly made her way behind his seat and positioned herself so she was in easy access of his backward leaning head. She reached out to smooth out his creased temples and then staring massaging their smoothness with her soft fingers. Once she saw Maniks's jaw relax and his forehead unstressed, she started to speak.

"Manik...I just wanted to say thank you for what you did today. You have no idea how much it meant to me. You know...ever since my legs have fallen numb and I've lost the ability to walk..."

"Don't! Don't you dare say it again that you've lost the ability to walk.", Manik had now turned around and had his right hand clasped around Nandini's mouth. There was a hint of irritation in his tone but his eyes weren't furious anymore. There was a mix of calmness and pain hiding in the curtains of his pupils. He had been working on it. Working very hard to hide that pain that had been lingering around in his eyes for the last three years. Every day Nandini had woken up hoping his eyes would have some sparkling twinkle in them. The twinkle that once used to dance in his eyes before the horrendous night. But everyday her hope would wane in defeat as she would look into his eyes and find them still drowning in the same guilt and remorse that had overtook them a few years ago.

But for the last few days he had seen him disallowing that pain to become evident in his eyes. He would try and keep himself happy because that was her wish.

They had agreed on heading off to Maldives for their ten-day holiday. He had just been glad that she hadn't argued with him any further in terms of going on this much-needed trip. Nandini hadn't mentioned a single thought of why she had agreed on going on this vacation wither. She knew if she expressed her concern for him to open up to her more, he would've cancelled the tickets sooner than he had booked them.

"We're going to fight together remember? You promised. You promised that you'd never lose hope! You'd promised that you'll never stop trying. For me, for us!"

He continued to stare in her eyes, ensuring every word that he had just uttered had leached into her brain and now she was well aware of what would happen if she sinned to say those words again.

Nandini blinked to him in response and he knew he had made himself crystal clear. He unclasped her mouth and stood up once again to gather the bags in his hands. He shrugged on a blue back pack and held the other hand-luggage bag with his left hand. He turned around to see her staring at him warmly and he smiled a patient smile.

"Are you ready to head on the most memorable trip of your life till yet Miss Nandini Murthy", Manik smilingly said as he reached out with his left hand for her hand to fill in the empty space of his palm.

Nandini gleefully rode to him and slipped her hand in the softness of his palm.

"Definitely am Mr. Malhotra."

"Manik stop stop stop!"

Manik rushed to the front to face Nandini and kneeled down in front of her.

"What happened? Are you okay? Nandini hurry up and tell me, my heart's sinking!"

"Manik...manik calm down. I'm perfectly fine. I just realised that I think I dropped my bracelet in the waiting area. I need to go look for it."

"Nandini are you serious? You know how scared I was thinking you might be in pain or I did something and here you tell me that you were half-yelling just because you "think" you dropped your bracelet? I can't believe this!"

"What? It's really special to me okay? Someone special gifted it to me a few years and hawww just imagine if he finds out that you didn't let me; Nandini Murthy, his Nandini Murthy, to go back and try and find that bracelet, I'm telling you...you're going to be beaten up helplessly.", Nandini teased.

Manik folded his arms in amusement as he realised she wasn't going to give up on that bracelet so easily.

"Please please please...Manik pretty please?", Nandini begged with a desperate look and large puppy eyes.

"Fine! But you won't move from here. Understand?"

Nandini just nodded her head side to side as if she had been scolded by a primary school teacher to not open her mouth.

"Perhaps I can start making my way towards the gate slowly and I'm sure Manik will easily fetch me out amidst the rush.", she thought to herself.

She tried rowing her wheelchair forward but it seemed to be stuck. She glanced downwards to the right wheel and realised her baby pink, crinkled long skirt had caught underneath the wheel, refraining it to move front or back. Nandini tried to reach down and free the skirt from beneath the wheel but the weight of the wheel chair was too much. She tried again.

"Oh god.", Nandini mumbled in exasperation.

She could see that the rush had increased and her wheelchair was now immobile and abandoned right in the middle of this walk way. She saw girls and boys giggling at her helpless state and some businessmen even piercing her with annoyed looks as they hurriedly ran towards their respective gates for departure. Nandini's heart was filling with terror as she realised her nightmare was coming true. Sweat forming in the wells of her palm as fear continued to slither down every inch of her paralysed body. She tried diverting her eyes from one end to the other, but the same hate-filled looks were everywhere.

She wasn't alone this time however. Two other girls were standing on either sides of her with folded arms and a humorous smile playing on their lips.

"*Tsk tsk tsk* looks like the poor girl's wheelchair has stopped working. And just look at her unfortunateness, she doesn't have any one to help her out.", the other girl mocked.

Nandini tried to read her name badge. Kriti.The girl who they had met at the lounge was named Parissa and the third girl was Sonia.

"I...my...my skirt has caught up in the wheel of this wheelchair, could you please help me unclasp it", Nandini murmured with a shaky voice.

Parissa let out a bellowing laughter as Nandini pleadingly asked for assistance.

"And why do you think we would help you?"

"Oh come on Parissa, we're not that heartless are we? Let's help her get out of the way of people and who knows, maybe she can get you that hottie's phone number in return.", Kriti exclaimed in hope.

The smile on Parissa's face widened as she realised of a deal that could be formed at this needful minute.

"Alright...I'll help you. But on one condition. You will cancel your plans of going on this trip with that prince charming. Promise me that, and my friends and I will be more than ready to scoot you over to the side, out of everyone's way.", Parissa shamelessly claimed.

"Listen...you're not trying to understand. I can't just..."

"Oh of course you can! I've seen the way he can fight againsT anyone for you. That fire burns in his eyes. The fire to protect you. And who wouldn't want a guy like that. I'm sure he agrees to everything you say. So if you try hard enough, I'm sure he wouldn't refuse."

Nandini could feel the tears forming now. She scanned the surroundings for Manik but he wasn't anywhere in sight. Her heart panicked as she saw a crowd of people had now encircled her and were videoing the whole scene.

"Come on! It's really not that hard. You let go of your guy for our friend and we'll help you move again.", Sonia spoke up in a bitter tone.

"Actually why don't we help you out first and then you can promise us? What about that? Maybe then you would know we're actually willing to help you in any way or form.", she continued.

Parissa bent down to allow Nandini to stand on her feet as she supported her with her own weight.

"Just put all your weight on me and the girls will unhook your skirt from beneath the wheel", she assured mockingly.

Nandini slowly and steadily let herself loose in her arms. But before she could fully transfer all her weight, she landed astonishingly on the hard, tiled floor. Nandini realised that Parissa must have let go.

"Move! Move...get out of the way!"

"M-manik?", she whispered to herself as she heard his familiar, worried tone approaching her defeated body.

"Move! Nan...Nandini!" He ran and slid to her side as he saw her sitting there on the cold floor, drenched in her own tears. He pulled her into his arms and squeezed her against his body to assure her that he was here now. That she needless to fear.

"Nandini...how? How did all this happen? How did you fall?", he tensely asked as he broke the hug and started wiping away the wet trails of tears. She was still sobbing but her heart was gradually slowing down to its normal pace.

Manik kissed her forehead in desperation and pulled her back towards him to console her trembling body.

"Shhh...Nandini it's okay. You're okay.", Manik continued to hush her cries as he held her falling apart in his arms. He glanced around the crowd, trying to find a familiar face which may gave a clue as to how did all this happen. He was just about to give up when his eyes landed upon Parissa's half-running stance.

"Hey! Wait!", he called out in anger.

He was about to get up to chase after her when Nandini held him down.

"Manik..wait."

"But Nandini, how dare she? Like who does she even think she is? No, I'm going to listen to you this time. It's gone too far.", and with that he was gone.

He let go of her in an almost forceful throw and started to talk as she managed to refrain herself from stumbling over her own feet and falling onto the floor.

"So you want me to go on a trip do you? That too with you? You wanted Nandini to cancel her plans just so you could...Yuck! I can't believe that despite being a girl yourself you can be so heartless.", Manik spat in a loathing tone.

He tried to calm himself down just for Nandini's sake but it was impossible.

He started pacing back and forth as he continued to talk.

"What do you even know about me huh? My name? My age? My family? Anything? I mean how could you even think I would go on this fricken trip without her?"

"Why can't you? I mean just look at her. What does she have that I don't? And plus, she can't even wal...?", Parissa replied in a blatant tone.

"Just shut up! Do you hear me? Shut! Up!"

"Owww!", Nandini shrieked a fake, painful cry.

"Nandini! What happened? Where...where is hurting? Shit! I should've known you were hurt and here I was just yelling. Alright let's do one thing, I'll get you seated and then take you to the hospital."

He picked her up effortlessly in his arms and carefully sat her down on the wheelchair. Just as he was about to reach behind for the push handles, Nandini grabbed his hands and pulled him down so he was now kneeling in front of her.

She placed a finger on his lips and started talking.

"Shh! Now it's time for me to talk and you to listen. She removed her finger from his lips and cupped both of his hands in her own.

"Manik, I can understand your anger and frustration and pain but honestly, it's not her fault. I shouldn't have started crying...I-I'm sorry. I think that's what pushed this matter out of hand and if only I had controlled my tears, you wouldn't be so furious at the moment.", Nandini spoke with a distressed heart. Sadness echoing in her voice.

She continued to gaze down at his hands, securely fastened in her own hands. After a few seconds, she continued talking.

"You know. I always had these nightmares. Where I would fall everywhere we went. I would see this horrific sight whilst sleeping that you leave me amidst some unknown place and I'm just surrounded by countless people who are staring at me like I'm some kind of an alien and then when I try to move by myself, and then I would fall. I would call you, scream, cry, weep but you wouldn't come. And then I think I just didn't have it in my to dream that nightmare any longer and so I would force myself to open my eyes and wake up from the sight of that haunting scene."

He felt the tears fall and splatter into the center of his palms. The first drop tiny and hardly noticeable. The second one was heavier however; it carried the burden of her anguished heart. Just as Nandini was about to reach into Manik's palm and smear away the wetness, he clasped his palm shut. Nandini looked up to see Manik tearfully staring back at Nandini. He shook his head in the slightest movement in response to the question her eyes were asking him. No, she wasn't allowed to wipe away those tears from his hands. They were his now. They belonged to him. Today, Tomorrow and forever!

Manik readjusted his position so he was kneeling in front of her on one knee now. His left hand reached out to hold both of her hands in comfort and his right hand reached upto her warm cheek to assure her that whatever he was going to say next was real.

"Nandini Murthy. Since the day you've stepped into my life, I've known that I would never have to dream a nightmare again. Since that day, I knew that my days of living in the darkness were long gone and from here onwards my life would only be shining by your radiance. Since that day, I can't seem to figure out where is the me in myself and which part of my soul isn't you. You're the blood that is being constantly pumped around in my body to keep me going. Every breath I inhale, it whispers your name in my ears and then diffuses throughout my body to keep me alive. Every beat that my heart beats, it only beats once I see you smiling. My heart doesn't belong to me, my breaths aren't mine, my soul has already drowned in your memories and me...I don't even remember the last time I thought of me to belong to myself.", Manik laughed a little as a lonely tear rolled down his cheek.

"I promise you that never will there be a time when I will leave you alone in a world full of unknown people. Never will I ignore your call to me. Never will I walk away from your world because that would mean my world has come to an end. I want to be able to carry you in my arms every day Nandini. I want to be able to hold you tight in my arms and cuddle against your warmth every night. I want to be able to wake up every morning to the mesmerising sight of your flawless face, sleeping like the most peaceful and innocent baby ever. I want to grow old with you. I want to start a..."

"Stop...", Nandini sealed his moving lips with her trembling fingers. The tears had ceased their movement now and there was an unusual sparkle of excitement dancing in her pained eyes.

"You...You're joking right? I mean we're at an airport Manik...", she asked with widened eyes. Her voice was still hiccuping because of the sobs she had been weeping a few minuts ago. She glanced around her and saw that an unbelievably large crowd had gathered to witness the sight which was going to change her life forever.

Manik softly kissed her fingers that were placed on his lips and moved them away just enough so he could start talking again. A reassuring smile spread across his face.

"Will you marry me Nandini Murthy?"

Manik saw Nandini's eyes re-filling with tears. But these tears were different. He recognised these tears because they were blurring his own vision at that moment. They were tears of joy.

"Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs Manik Malhotra?"

They cordially reached up to each other's wet faces and started wiping away the uncontrollable wetness from each other's cheeks. As a speechless smile spread on Nandini's face, Manik leaned in and kissed Nandini softly and deeply on her forehead. Nandini closed her eyes as she felt her time freeze.

As he broke the kiss, Nandini whispered what still had left unspoken...

"Yes...yes I will marry you..."

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Originally posted by: maankigeet4ever

sunny res

i am hoping you needed 2 only and i didn't mess it up..Hopefully :)

- Reya aka Your Sunny <3