Hola peeps. So this Oneshot is a little gift for my Twinkie Bear. She is my sadist partner hence I can gift her something like this and get away with it..lol. And plus..this is Hamari Adhuri Kahani and I know my girl and I share great love for this song and movie.
Well, I hope you peeps enjoy this piece.
Disclaimer: to the poor souls who read this piece without it being proofread..i apologize, truly. I will proofread..someday đ
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Manan OS : Hamari Adhuri Kahani.
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He tossed. He turned. And he tossed and turned, from one side of the bed to the other, trying desperately to fall asleep. He pulled the black duvet closer to himself and shut his eyes again. But sleep eluded him tonight. The anticipation left him with too much energy. She is coming back tomorrow. She is finally coming back. After two whole months. He can finally see her again. Just the thought of seeing her again is going to keep him up all night.
He threw his hand to the side table and flicked the lamp on and stars filled his bedroom ceiling. He sighed, because just by looking at the stars she had gifted him brought him peace. She brought him peace with her positivity, with her light. That Diwilai had changed for much for them. He had been honest with his feelings.
I don't know what happens when I am around you, I just change.
It was useless to attempt sleep tonight. He glanced at his digital clock: 1:30 am. He had hours, endless hours to go before he could see her. Giving up, he tossed his black duvet aside and picked up his Iphone from the bed as he got up. Slipping his black flip-flops on, he walked through the silent and dark Maltorta Mansion.
He eventually found himself stopping at the outdoor pool. In a swift motion, he shed his loose white vest tossing it onto the pool chair.
What had he told Nandini ? Let you go, Nandini. With just his black shorts on, he stood with his back to the pool and held out his arms and let his eyes drift close.
Just let go, Manik, he heard her soft whisper.
And he did. Letting his weight drop backwards, he let the water engulf him and its coolness calmed him. He kept his eyes closed and stayed underwater for a few seconds. Deep down, he knew what he was waiting for. He was waiting for Nandini to follow after. He was waiting for her arms to fanatically flap in the water until he clasped his arms around her to steady her. He stubbornly waited until his lungs screamed for air. Giving up, he brought his head up and grasped for air as his eyes opened. And he found himself alone. All alone.
But even when he was alone, her memories always surrounded him. Swimming to the edge of the pool. He rested his back against the wall of the pool. Right at the spot where he had once cornered Nandini on the day of Holi. The day he had broken a 12-year tradition just so he could color her with the color of his love. They were at war at that time. Her hope and his hatred. But all along, a part of his heart had known that he could never hate his Nandini.
So when she had said "Let her experience love." She may have been talking about Mukti but his heart understood her words as: Let me experience love, Manik. My heart, it wants your love, even if just for a few moments. I just want your love.
And how could he deny anything she wanted ? And he wanted the exact same thing she wanted. He wanted to let go of the their hope vs. hatred battle. He wanted to shower his love in abundance.
So that day he had. He had colored her red, the color of his love. And if he could have, he would have colored her with every color there had been on the platter. Because she has brightened his life so, taking his black and white existence and plunging it into a rainbow of colors, rainbow of life.
The red of love, where only the red of fierce anger used to exist, she replaced it with her love. Though he had to admit, the anger still make it's appearance once in a while.
The yellow of joy, she taught how bright a real smile can be, bright as the sunny sunshine.
The orange of affection, she became his best friend. One he could share anything and everything with. Fab 5 had their place in his life and Nandini hers.
The color of green of healing, she had healed him. She healed old wounds of the bitter, loveless childhood with her love.
Because the memories were beginning to overwhelm his heart, he pushed away from the wall with a leg and swan quick laps hoping he could tire his body enough to doze off into slumber for a few hours.
*****
Nandini's flight was late afternoon, around four so Manik still had to get through half the day as if the night hadn't been difficult enough. Even though he hadn't slept well last night even despite his tiring swim, he was still at college bright and early. At freaking seven in the morning. Well, what can a man do when Nandini Murthy has a way of instilling good habits in him ?
He wandered the quiet, empty hallways as he sought out his place of peace. Coming to a stop at their staircase behind the music wing, he lowered himself on the stairs. A sense of content filled him and he found himself smiling. It was the effect this place had on him. Their staircase has been a witness through their relationship, from their initial fights to their budding love to their relationship struggles to their easy companionship they came to find in one another. That's why he felt such peace here despite the fact he still missed Nandini so deeply to the point where there is a always present ache in his heart.
Manik let his eyes flutter close and he sighed as he thought of their moments that came from this staircase. And of all the moments, he actually had a favorite.
I..trust you.
She had placed something so fragile as trust in his hands. He had been shell-shocked when she heard her utter those precious words softly. She had believed in the goodness of his heart even when he didn't.
He had been a monster just later that day, he had hurt her, marked her with his fingers. And seeing those red, painful marks proved to him yet again what a monster Manik Maltorta can be but yet again, she had been kind and trusting. And just like that, she had clipped at another piece of his Monster Manik amour. And in return, he found himself placing the same fragile trust in her.
*****
Finally, it was time for him to head to the airport. He could barely wipe the wide grin off his face as he drove to the airport. After he parked his car in the underground parking lot, he rushed to arrivals. Her flight from London had landed but he was yet to see her. He paced back and forth with his eyes glued to the she was suppose to come from.
After an long wait, he finally saw the Murthys. Chacha and Chachi waved with ear to ear grins on their faces as soon as they saw him. He smiled and waved back and waited for Nandini's face to appear. As they reached him, he was drawn into warm hugs and greetings.
"Nandini ?" , he started to ask when she saw her exiting the tunnel with Rishab in tow. Rishab waved with a grin before he ran down the length of the tunnel. Manik opened his arms and welcomed him.
"Hey Champ, how are you ? All good ?", he asked. Rishab nodded a positive yes. Manik smiled in return and looked up as Nandini reached them.
She looked at him with questioning eyes so he extended his hand forward, "Hi, I am Manik Maltorta."
He introduced himself because she didn't know him. She had no memory of him. To her, Manik Maltorta is a stranger. She doesn't know who Monster Manik once was. She doesn't know Nandini's Manik. Because to her, they have never met and their love story never happened. Their six months of Hamesha never happened.
*****
What was supposed to be their day had ended as one of the worst days of his life, because that day robbed Nandini of her memories. It had been their day, they had sang together and hope had finally won. He had confessed his feelings to her, and she to him in her own way.
I love you very much, Nandini. Hamesha.
And then that Pandit destroyed everything for them. He had kidnapped Nandini because of his sick obsession. And when Manik had reached the car garage Pandit had locked Nandini in and had proceeded to beat the crap of him for hurting his Nandini. Pandit had attacked him with a mental rod from behind just as he finished untying the ropes that binded Nandini's hands
"Manik !" , Nandini's scream had been a short warning before she had pushed Manik hard and his back hit the hard ground with a thud. And when he looked back at Nandini a few seconds later, the mental rod had struck her head with a painful sound.
"Nandini", Manik rushed to Nandini pushing Pandit out of the way as he stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the metal rod still in his hands. He caught her in his arms as she limblessly slid out of the chair. Lowering them onto the ground, he gently cradled her head in his hands and right away his hands were coated with her blood.
"Nandini, look at me. Please.", he begged as her eyes began to droop close. He blinked his eyes rapidly to shake off the tears. "Don't, don't you dare do this to me. Please !" Her hand weakly reached out for him. He brought it to his cheek knowing that's what she wanted.
"Manik", a soft whisper before she closed her eyes. Just a soft whisper she had managed before she faded away to unconsciousness.
*****
And that was the last time she had said his name with love, before he faded away from her memories. As if the water of the waves washed his name from the sand as they rolled in. As if he had never been written on her heart. And when she woke up after ten, ten agonizing, endless days, his name was of no importance to her. His face, she didn't recognize it.
"Manik", she called out his name and the past faded away but it still ached his heart. And the pain in his chest expanded when she looked at him with no recognition.
Amnesia, the doctors called him. Death, Manik called it.
The metal rod had struck a part of her brain that dealt with her memories. And it had stolen all her memories of him. The hippocampus was damaged, the doctors said, and not only did it affect her past memories, it also impaired her from creating and remembering new memories. A combination of retrograde and anterograde amnesia the doctors diagnosed her with. That's why she had gone to London. Manik had arranged for a renowned neurologist, Dr.Smith to oversee her treatment. This recent trip, Dr.Smith administered tests to see how her brain was healing. And even a year, her brain still needs to heal. And to pressurize her brain to recall memories could have ever-lasting damage. That's why she doesn't know a man called Manik Maltorta and hence he couldn't go with her to support her. So, the Murthys went with her and kept him updated. Later tonight, he had a conference call scheduled with the Dr.Smith
"Hi Manik. Nandini, Nandini Murthy."
He was half tempted to nod to say that he already knew her name. But instead with a smile he wasn't quite feeling, he clasped her petite hand in his and let her warmth soothe him. Her touch, it had always been magic. When she used to touch him with her gentleness, she healed him. She had put his broken heart back together with her touch. But now, too soon she pulled her hand away, their eyes colliding for a second before she looked away.
So close, they were so close. She was right here. He was right here. But when she looked at him with no recognition, without that smile she use to smile just for him. It was like they were miles apart. He felt so far away from her. He couldn't reach out and intertwine their fingers, because she didn't recognize his touch. He couldn't stare into her eyes, because she could no longer see herself shining in his eyes.
Manik fought to look away from Nandini lest his eyes gave him away. He turned his attention to Chacha and Chachi asking them how their journey was. At the corner of his eye, he saw Nandini and Rishab standing with Nandini whispering to Rishab and glancing at Manik every few seconds, probably wondering whom Manik Maltorta is.
"Arre Nandu, Manik is Rishab's guitar teacher.", Chachi told her. "Manik na, he is a sweet boy. He didn't want your Chacha to waste money on the taxi so he volunteered to pick us up."
That's pretty much the explanation they gave Nandini every time she asked about him. It was partially the truth, Manik was indeed teaching Rishab how to play the guitar. With her incapability to store new memories into long-term memory storage, she tended to forget more often. Satisfied with the explanation, Nandini nodded and smiled a small smile in his direction. A small, polite smile, so unlike his Nandini's smile.
*****
When they arrived at the Murthy residence, everyone dispersed to freshen up but Manik and Chachi stayed back in the kitchen where Chachi engulfed him into a warm hug. This woman, this kind-hearted, warm woman isn't just Nandini's Chachi, to him she is a mother he never had. He tightened his arms on her shoulders, hugging her closer for a few moments. These two months he hadn't just missed Nandini, no, he had missed his whole family. At times, he felt so overwhelmed by their love, he isn't sure how to express his love in return.
"Everything is going okay, Manik beta.", Chachi reassured him with a soft touch to his cheek.
When she said it with such confidence, he could almost believe it.
"So tell me, did you just get food from the restaurant because you don't like your Chachi's cooking ?", she asked with a sly smile.
Manik had to chuckle, "Of course not, Chachi. You know I love your cooking." And he really did. Her food tasted of all the love she made it with.
"Chachi, I can't find my white kurti !", Nandini hollered from her room.
"It's in your red bag, Nandu.", she yelled back.
Manik eyed Nandini's red carryon, which was still by the base of the stairs. Manik told Chachi he would take it to her. He raced up the stairs taking two at a time.
*****
He saw her perched up on the sitting bench next to her window as her baby pink curtains and her beautiful tresses gently danced with the soft breeze coming in. The sight of her stopped him short at the threshold of the door. Sitting on her knees, with her hands gripped around the window frame hit him hard with the sensation of deja vu. She stared out the window, as if she is waiting for someone, waiting for him. He had found her sitting exactly like this once upon a time. Drunken Night. A drunk Nandini. Drunk Nandini was fun Nandini. A soft chuckle escaped him but Nandini was thankfully too zoned out to notice. Her inhibitions shed that night, she had been so open, with touches, with her words.
You na, You always stay with me. And I will, I will shine for you. Hamesha.
Despite her dislike for stars, she had still promised to shine for him. Her first promise to him. Her first Hamesha. Their first Hamesha. And then his bright, shining star became the light of his existence, flooding his world cloaked with darkness of negativity with the light of her positivity.
And just because he couldn't help himself, he walked in and leaned his shoulder against the white wall and cleared his throat. "Why aren't you in the bed ?", he asked sternly, just like he had that night.
And she reacted, just like she had that night, startled like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she jumped in fright. But then she looked confused as she got off the bench and stood. "Sorry, what did you just say ?"
He caught himself before he could say anything about their past. "Woh, your bag.", he gestured with his thumb over his shoulder where her red carryon was by the door. "I got your bag for you."
"Oh, thank you so much.", she said with a sweet smile that had his lips reluctantly tugging upwards too.
He nodded to acknowledge her thanks and started to walk out but her words halted him in his tracks at the door.
"Don't you smile, Mr. Manik Maltorta ?"
He turned around to face her as she walked towards him and stopped a few feet away from him. He arched his eyebrows in question as he smiled and pointed to it as if to ask, "Aren't I smiling right now ?"
She negatively shook her head, looking a little sad. "You don't really smile. You just do it with you lips. And a real smile, na, Manik; it shows in the eyes. And your smile doesn't come anywhere near your eyes."
BANG.ON. Nandini Murthy. Observant as always. But Manik wasn't sure what to say to her. He didn't want to lie to her but he couldn't tell her the truth either. That she, she used to be his reason for smiling. Her smiles, her love, everything Nandini Murthy used to bring a smile his face. His Nandini used to make him smile for real. And His Nandini, she's..she's gone.
"Then I guess I better start practicing.", he managed to mumble to her and tore his gaze away from hers. She still had a way of looking at him, with that quiet courage and warmth he fought so hard against early on in their relationship. She had his gaze, refusing to back down, silently challenging him to disagree with her. But instead he turned and walked away without glancing back. Because if he turned, she would see the hot tears that filled his eyes to the brim. The sadness had engulfed him so tightly in that moment, when he realized that his heart, it didn't just need to be around Nandini, it needed Nandini to be his Nandini, it's heartbeat.
*****
He stayed for dinner and caught up with the Murthys. Nandini was the quietest of the lot but she still stayed, even after dinner wrapped up and they all moved to the sitting room to catch up over coffee. Well, coffee for the Murthys and earl grey tea for Manik. Chachi kept it stocked up for him especially and even brought some for him from London.
Sipping his strong black tea, he listened to the stories Chachi, Chacha and Rishab had to tell. But he was always aware of Nandini sitting across of him, sipping her coffee, observing everything, observing him. He saw a start of a smile as she watched him and Rishab bonding. Despite the fact that Rishab still couldn't speak yet, he too was undergoing treatment but Manik understood him well enough and they got along just fine. And by the way Nandini was watching them, he knew she was touched by their bond.
Soon, Risbab was in the mood for an impromptu guitar lesson. So Rishab went to grab their guitars from his room. And the boys jammed. Rishab played what he had been practicing over the months. And as he finished, everyone applauded. Then Manik decided to teach him a new song :Jenna Jenna. He had only meant to strum the guitar but soon he found himself singing softly too.
He closed his eyes for a moment because he knew in his heart, he was singing this song just for one person: His Nandini. His Nandini who is lost somewhere, he sang in a desperate attempt to find her, to reach out to her, to tell her what she means to him. A hollow of a shell he used to be, a man who wore a mask of monster to survive, his world was a cloak of darkness. And then came this light, a girl who adored fireflies. And somehow she became his light, his shining star, his life. She has been his light ever since she met him, pulled him out of the darkness into the light. She completed him. She gave meaning to his life. Because she has taught him how to live.
And as the song drew to a close and his voice hang over the last note, he blinked his eyes open and found them locking dead on with Nandini's. She was staring at him with a mix of expressions. A little confused. A lad lost. A little moved. A tad emotional. And he knew, his love had reached some part of her heart.
Come back to me, Nandini. Please. Breathe life into me again. Teach me how to live again.
*****
As the night drew to an end and everyone said their goodbyes before heading to bed. Manik walked to the door with his guitar slung around him. Nandini stood at the base of the wooden stairs, softly saying bye to him before she tugged up the stairs. With just Chachi left at the door, he shed pretenses and hugged her tightly. And she understood because she just held him, for as long as he needed. And after the emotionally draining day, he found out he needed a long hug. And as he drew away, he opened the door but couldn't get himself to walk through. He didn't want to go. He wasn't ready to part with Nandini yet. He still needed to be surrounded by her essence.
Muttering softly to Chachi, he asked her for permission. With a soft pad to his cheek, she nodded. "Remember to lock up when you leave", she reminded him before she too headed off to bed.
*****
He sat on the stairs on her terrace with his guitar in his lap. Eyes closed, he rested his head on the railing and his thumb strummed lazily over the strings. This place, a lot like their staircase brought an odd sense of peace to his heart. Perhaps because he could feel Nandini's presence here, could feel their love here. They had sat here that night as he helped her prep for a song. And now that he thought of it, hope must have been smiling proudly that night. After he had issued out her hope vs.his hatred challenge, that night they had sung together.
After Nandini lost her memory and bared no recognition to him, he felt himself falling to a dark place again. His frustration with fate channeled into hot anger. His anger started getting more fierce because Nandini's light wasn't around to mellow him, her touch wasn't there to soothe him. Nyonika had begun cashing in on the supposed return of Monster Manik.
Manik soon realized that Nandini still needed him, still needed him to be her Manik and not Monster Manik. So during the nights when sleep eluded him and his heart cried out for Nandini, he would himself parked at her doorstep, staring at her room window with hope, hope that she would come and push her baby pink curtains aside and angrily gesture him to go away. Or she would rush down to meet him. As he came to terms with the severity of her injury, he stopped his late nights visits lest she discovered him. Instead he would sneak onto her terrace, close his eyes and feel his Nandini there with him.
But after a couple of months as he started frequenting the house as Rishab's guitar teacher, as he always introduced himself to Nandini. One evening as he was heading out, Chachi placed a house key in his palm.
"Use the door, Manik beta. I don't want you to hurt yourself.", she had said quietly. Just like that. Chachi accepted his odd nights ever now and then because she knew they helped him cope and Manik couldn't be more thankful.
Manik's fingers continued to strum his guitar and if he tried hard enough, he could delude himself into believing that his Nandini is here with him right now, sitting on the step below with her head leaned against his knee as they both sang. But then the reality would set in as he opened his eyes. And he had the urge to throw his guitar hard because he so desperately wanted to turn back time, to the precise moment that metal rod hits his head instead of Nandini's, to the precise moment where he strangles Pandit with his bare hands.
Sometimes he hated himself for having a pity party where Nandini is the one suffering the injury, when her daily life is a constant struggle because she can't remember the past and can't attain the present firmly enough to retain it. But he can't seem to help himself. To see Nandini but not be able to hold her. To be around her but not be able to express his love. It was like cancer, slowly killing him.
He longed, he longed for Nandini., for her to look at him, not as a stranger, but as her Manik. Manik longed for her, longed to be her Manik, for her to be his Nandini. Longed for them to be each other's again..
He could usually put up a strong front for Nandini, knowing she needs him to stay away rather than close. But when alone, he figured he could allow himself to wallow. Desperate to find the peace the terrace usually brought him, he put the turmoil of his heart into words, into lyrics. Pulling out the black dairy from his guitar case, he began to pour his feelings out. Half an hour later, his pen stopped and he leaned back against the railing, spent. His neck cricked as he gave it some exercise. He rose, deciding to give his entire stiff body some movement. Grabbing his guitar and notebook, he went up the stairs and settled against the wall of the terrace. He looked down at his black 'chicken scribbles' as Nandini called them and knew, his aching heart had managed to say it all.
Hamari Adhuri Kahani
Picking up his guitar, he started to make music that could accompany his heart's cry. He worked mechanically on his guitar accompaniment until he knew his song was perfect. And then he sang his heart out.
"That's just so heartbreakingly beautiful." Manik was in such a daze as he sang the lyrics and his fingers strummed the chords that it took a second or two for him to register Nandini's voice. He opened his eyes and his blurry vision cleared as he blinked his tears away. He wiped them away just as he saw Nandini.
Surprise. surprise. He saw Nandini wearing that same sleeping outfit, the blue one that she worn that night. Sometimes, he felt like Nandini's Ayyiappa is out to torture him when coincidences like these happen. She came up the stairs cradling her jar filled with her precious fireflies. That jar of fireflies he gifted her the night of his confession. The best and worst night of his life. Her fireflies, they still glowed in their presence and somehow Manik found that comforting.
Her fireflies. His stars. That fateful day his stars and her fireflies conspired, to make their love story. That fateful day without even meeting each other, their love had glowed for the first time as he caught her jar of fireflies. And from that strange day to this day, how far their love came ? And how far their love could have gone, Manik would always wonder.
She came to stand next to him as he glanced up at her. He rose to his feet. She didn't seem to be upset that a man, who is practical a stranger to her, is sitting on her terrace late at night. She was just watching him quietly until she spoke.
"You aren't just Rishab's guitar teacher, are you ?", she asked softly even though it seemed that she already knew the answer.
He shook his head "No, I am. But I am also a friend. And kind of an adopted son of your Chachi. She knows how special this place is to..", to us. He trailed knowing his heart was starting to speak for him now. He took a moment to gather himself "for my music. So she lets me come here some nights when I need an outlet..when I need to do some writing."
Without another word, she slid down to rest her back against the wall, cradling her jar of fireflies.
"Your voice, it's like I have heard it before. Your smile, your real one, I feel like I have seen it before", she wringed her hands, visibly nervous. So he let it pass, not commenting on her words and just look at her quietly.
The way she was looking at him now, with something, something that resembled recognition, Manik felt a part of his unqlenching thirst satisfied. Nandini always had an expressive face, an open face that wore her feelings for her, on her lips, on her cheeks, in her eyes. And Manik was familiar with the way she looked at him as a stranger, as a friend, as the love of her life. He knew it all. And right now, she wasn't looking at him as a stranger.
"Will you..Can you sing for me again ? Please."
And because Manik Maltorta hadn't been blessed with the ability to ever deny his shining star anything. He gave her a soft smile, a real one before he adjusted the guitar on his lap.
Paas aaye..
Dooriyaan phir bhi kam naa hui
Ek adhuri si hamari kahani rahi
Aasmaan ko zameen, ye zaroori nahi
Jaa mile.. jaa mile..
Ishq saccha wahi
Jisko milti nahi manzilein.. manzilein..
Rang thhe, noor tha
Jab kareeb tu tha
Ek jannat sa tha, yeh jahaan
Waqt ki ret pe kuch mere naam sa
Likh ke chhod gaya tu kahaan
Hamari adhuri kahani..
Hamari adhuri kahani..
Khushbuon se teri yunhi takra gaye
Chalte chalte dekho na hum kahaan aa gaye
Jannatein agar yahin
Tu dikhe kyon nahin
Chaand suraj sabhi hai yahaan
Intezar tera sadiyon se kar raha
Pyaasi baithi hai kab se yahaan
Humari adhoori kahaani
Humari adhoori kahaani..
Pyaas ka ye safar khatam ho jayega
Kuch adhura sa jo tha poora ho jayega
Jhuk gaya aasmaan
Mill gaye do jahaan
Har taraf hai milan ka samaa
Doliya hain saji, khushbuein har kahin
Padhne aaya Khuda khud yahaan..
Hamari adhuri kahani
Hamari adhuri kahaniii
He sang the last note letting it hang before he opened his eyes and found his Nandini blurry in his vision. He blinked the tears away that had snuck up on him and glanced at Nandini who sat with her knees drawn to her chest and her head resting on them. And she just stared at him, with unshed tears swimming in her eyes until she smiled a soft, sad smile and let them descend down her cheeks. He clenched his fists because the urge to wipe her tears himself was far too strong.
"Do you think you will ever have the chance to complete your love story ?" , she asked quietly a few moments later. She was now cradling her jar of fireflies, the glowing fireflies, the proof of their love. She used the back of her hand to wipe the moisture off her cheeks and waited for his answer.
His cleared his throat, " What makes you think this is my love story? I am a lyricist, I am a singer. I write about.. just about everything."
She shook her head softly and looked him dead in the eyes, " This is your story. It has to be."
"Why ?"
"There's..there pain in your voice. And a longing. You long for someone."
I long for you. I long for you, Nandini. You are here, yet you are so far away from me.
Because he couldn't say that, he chose to rest his head against the wall and closed his eyes, finding himself nodding.
"As long as I am breathing, my love is alive. And our love story, for now, it lives on in my heart. For now. " Because he could never give up on her coming back to him as his Nandini.
He felt her warm hand over his that rested on his knees. Her touch, her healing touch was like magic on him. It immediately soothed his battered heart and he found himself intertwining their hands and relishing in the joy that she didn't pull away. Despite her memory loss, she still knew how to help him cope.
"Your love, it's going to get its destination one day.", she reassured, squeezing his hand tighter for a fleeting moment. Manik found himself nodding again even though if he ever asked himself the question: Had their attained their destination ? to be with each other as long as their Hamesha lasted ? He would say yes. Yes, they had.. Their love has been as true and as pure as it could have been.
Somehow they had closed the short distance of few inches between them. Now, Manik could feel his shoulder brushing her bare shoulder as they sat with their hands intertwined.
"It has already reached its destination. Our Hamesha. I have promised her a short span of Hamesha after all. So I guess I am waiting for her until my last breath." , he whispered softly.
He has been waiting for years, endless centuries of wait has gone by, but yet, he waits. Waits for her memory to come back, for the love to be reawakened in her heart, for his touch to be recognized, for her to smile at him again, for their hands to intertwine. Everyday he waits. He will wait for a lifetime. He will wait for Hamesha, just for that one moment. For her to be his Nandini, so he could be her Manik, even if It's just for one moment.
Right now, this moment felt like that 'one moment' as Nandini gazed at him with her expressive eyes. Such warmth he found in them. Her eyes, they are truly the gateway to her soul. And they sat, hands intertwined, shoulders brushing, Manik felt as if he could see the love flickering back to life in her eyes, until she blinked. And the moment broke. She gently pulled her hand away.
"I better get to bed before Chachi finds me." She rose to her feet, holding her jar of fireflies tight. Manik too followed suit and came to his feet. And he gazed down at her, willing her eyes to look up at him but she kept her gaze downward. He was tempted to grasp her chin and gently tilt it up like he used to so their eyes could meet and converse
But instead he simply said, "Goodnight, Manik."
"Goodnight, Nandini."
He couldn't help but watch her as she walked away from him. He wanted to call her back and pull her into his arms and whisper to her just how much he loves her. She stopped at the stairs she was suppose to take down and turned to face him.
She looked down at her jar of fireflies and then at him. Slowly, she walked her way back to him. Picking up his right hand, she opened the palm and placed the jar of fireflies. The fireflies he had gifted that night. Their fireflies.
"Fireflies, my Mom always said." Fireflies mean true love. Yes, he knew that. In fact they were glowing right this minute. "Fireflies glow when there is true love." He placed his hand on the glass jar, covering hers.
"I want you to keep these fireflies, because they will give you hope. Hope for your incomplete love story to be completed one day. "
"Thank you", he found himself whispering back, too caught up in emotion.
Their hands lay over one another, basking in the glow of the fireflies but Manik and Nandini were too lost in each other's eyes to notice. And in that moment, Manik felt her love in every deep nook of his heart.
Their love, was it incomplete ? Had it ended the moment Nandini woke up with no memories of him ? The world may say so. But he knew their love still lived on because he, he loves her. They had promised a short span of Hamesha to each other, and his Hamesha would last till his last breath. She had loved him, her love had been true, still is but now she doesn't remember their love. But he does, he remembers every moment he spent with her. All those memories, they help him live, live as Nandini's Manik. A story may end, but love, love is endless. It cannot end, his love cannot end. And as long as he loves her, their love story goes on...for Hamesha.
~~
So I just want to mention that memory loss is dodgy business, and the brain is such an complicated organ. So while Nandini's memory loss may seem far fetched, based on my research, it isn't. And folks with traumatic brain injury all have varying issues. So yeah.đł
So over to you folks. Let me know how you liked it.
And Twinkie bear, i really hope you liked this 'little something'. đł
- Reya <3
Other Manan Pieces:
His Nandini: https://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4283880
His Light: https://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4321796
Her Shadow: https://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4378563
Connected Hearts: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/kaisi-yeh-yaariaan/4370726/manan-os-connected-hearts
Jhanak
Shiv Shakti
