Nandini was pacing up and down, on the pavement in front of the non-descript mobile shop, the only one within walkable distance from her house. The day had begun on a sordid note and it seemed to her that the rest of it would continue to be crappier. We call it the ripple effect. You throw a stone in water and the ripples spread far and wide. That was what he was, Neel Dixit.. A piece of useless rock that could only be hurled at someone or something. He had unsettled her perfectly calm life.
She looked at her watch.. 5 more minutes to 9. Each minute felt like eternity , like someone was stretching them like an elastic. Of course she couldn't go to school, not with this mindset, not when there was so much more to unfold all through the day. She could not tell the truth as well. On another day, she would have simply called off sick, but today, even her phone was dead. So she had sent a mail to her nasty principal stating that she would be absent because she was down with viral fever. But the thing was, no one communicated via mails in her school & so she wasn't sure he would check his mail and even if he did, he would be suspicious. After his public showdown at Manik's hand on Friday, she was sure even her tiniest of mistakes would be blown way out of proportion.
A huge wave of relief washed over her as soon as she saw the young shopkeeper lift the front shutter.
"Bhaiya, mera phone na gir ke tut gaya hai. Isko jaldi se thik kar do na...aur agar nahi ho to ek naya phone dedo." Her face could tell her urgency.
The shopkeeper, perhaps in his early 20s was just about waiting for this girl to walk in. He had the instructions loud and clear. He had been categorically told to repair her old phone and do the maneuvering on it. But the boy was smarter, he knew he could do the same thing on a new phone too. Why then should he leave the chance to grab some easy cash from Nandini. If only he had thought that his greed could screw innocent lives.
"Dekho madam, yeh wala replace karoge to 1 din lagega, naya phone loge to abhi mil jayega." It would cost her a lot of money, but money was secondary now, she just needed a phone ASAP.
"Naya hi dedo, zyada mehenga mat dena, 10-12 hazaar mein jo phone aata hai, dedo"
"Madam phone to de denge but ek problem hai"
"Kya problem???" Now what, Nandini thought.
"Madam yeh phone to tut chuka hai, iska data back up to nahi liya hoga tumne, to saaraa data loss ho jayega"
"Oh God!!! " how could she lose years' worth of data, pics and songs.. All her precious memories were captured there. "Are bhaiya kuch karo na, data recover nahi ho sakta kya...tum to in sab mein expert ho, kuch karo na" She was almost pleading him now.
The guy pretended to be thinking hard, when he already had it all sorted in his head. "Ek kam kar sakte hain... Google drive se recover ho sakta hai... apka gmail password lagega"
"Awesome, to do na, let me login"
"Are ajeeb ho madam, phone to tuta hai, usko system mein lagake data retrieve karna parega. Tumko password likhke dena parega yahan."
"Password kaise dedun? Password aise share nahi kar sakte na..."
"To fir data back up bhool jao. Dekho main tumko help karne ki koshish kar raha hun. Data back up lena mera kam nahi hai, fir bhi main kosish karta, par agar tumko lagta hai ki main tumhara password leke tumhara damage karunga, to sorry main nahi help kar sakta..."
Nandini thought for a while. It was angerous to share password with anyone, let alone a shopkeeper. But she needed the data urgently and besides, she could reset her password any time, so may be it wasn't such a bad idea. She scribbled the password down on a piece of paper and gave it to the guy.
The guy went inside, trying hard to hide the grin on his face. He had trapped her. As per Neel's instruction, he would now download an app for recording all phone and text conversations on her mobile and link it to her google account. So anytime she made a call or sent a text, a copy will be saved in the google cloud drive. He would then forward the password to Neel so that he can log in to the account from any device and have ready access to all the information. That's how you tap a phone in the times of androids and cloud drives. He had already received a lump sum amount of 20000 rupees from Neel and now he was making some extra money by selling Nandini a new phone, when he could have easily repaired the older one.
The moment Nandini got her new phone, She ran towards home. She had to make a very important phone call.
************************************
"Hellooo" Navya mumbled drowsily with closed eyes. She had had a late night show & was deep in sleep when Nandini called her.
"Hello Navya, tumse bohot zaruri baat karni hai"
"Abhi?!!? ...Abhi to tum school me hogi na...na bari zor e neend aa rahi hai.. ...hum tumhe baad mein call karein kya?" She replied, with three yawns cutting through it.
"Navya I can't wait till evening, it's very very urgent."
Navya rubbed her eyes and sat up straight on the bed. It now hit her that Nandini was damn serious and perhaps had something important to share. She hoped it wasn't about Neel. "Kya hua Nandini, hume bolo"
"Mukti aas paas hai kya? We can't tell her anything now, its just between you and me."
"Nahi Mukti to hospital gayi hai, uska morning shift hai... ooo...tumko to pata nahi hoga na, usne na new job join karli do mahine pehle..woh kya kehte hain..alternative healing therapy with music.. Aisa hi kuch bola tha usne."
"Navya, can we please talk about all that later, I have something very very important to tell you..." Strange, that the girl who had pulled FAB3 together after the accident, who had managed their lives and music despite her own pain, had no clue about Mukti's whereabouts today. She didn't know when or where Mukti had started working. The last time they had met some 6 months ago, Mukti was still doing her masters in psychology. Who would have known that of all people, Mukti, who herself underwent depression would one day treat others with Music.
"Sorry sorry bolo" Navya's heart was sinking now. What could it be, she wondered.
"I know mujhe yeh pehle bolna chahiye tha, and you will be very angry with me..damn I donno what to say" She just couldn't utter it out.
"Nandini please jaldi bolo, mera dil baitha ja raha hai... jo bhi hai bol dalo"
"Manik is back... Woh wapas aa gaya hai.." Navya wasn't able to believe her own ears. She rubbed her eyes once more, to rule out the possibility that she was still asleep and dreaming.
Nandini could understand the shock Navya was reeling under. She remembered her own reaction, how she had fainted in Manik's arms, the first time he had appeared before her or how the phone had slipped from her hand when Navya had told her about Ranbir. "I know tum shocked ho, but Manik is actual mein back and use apne past ke baare mein kuch yaad nahi."
"Manik ka bhi koi twin tha kya? Ranbir ki tarah?" Finally Navya managed to ask, the only question that came to her otherwise blank mind.
"Navya!!!!!"
"Yeh sab kab aur kaise hua?"
"Yaad hai jis din I was in hospital, on my engagement day, us din"
"Who to 1 mahine pehle ki baat hai aur tum hume ab bata rahi ho?" Now Navya was angry. She had felt it that day. She had even asked Nandini if there was something she wanted to share. There were best of friends with no secrets between them, why then had Nandini hidden it from her when Nandini was the first person she had called to inform about Ranbir.
"I know ki you will be angry and tumhe hona bhi chahiye but I had my reasons and I will tell you sabkuch aram se. I have a bigger problem at hand & that is ki maine Manik ko bhi uske past ke baare mein kuch nahi bataya. Par ab mujhe batana parega because of that shithead Neel." What the hell was happening here. First of all Nandini said Manik was back, then she said he had lost his memory and then that she hadn't told him anything. Now where the hell did Neel come in between them? Navya was beginning to lose it with the ongoing information Overload. "Neel ko Manik ke bare mein sab pata chal gaya hai and he came to Panchgani today morning to threaten me. I donno what to do. His intentions were scary Navya." Nandini continued.
"What to do matlab kya? Tum already kafi raita faila chuki ho Nandini, abhi ke abhi Manik ko sab kuch bol do... Waise wait, tumne kaha ki uski yaad-dash chali gayi hai so abhi to tum pehle ki tarah..." She was struggling to choose the right words. However, what she intended to ask was what was the status quo of the relationship between them. Were they friends, or acquaintances or lovers. Man this was way too complicated.
"Navya, tum Manik ko janti ho, When he knows all this, that I had purposely hidden everything from him, he will hate me. I don't wanna lose him Navya, not again. Isbari agar Manik ne mujhe chor diya to I will die."
"tumhe apne pyaar pe bharosa kyun nahi hai Nandini. Mujhe nahi pata tum dono kaise, kin halat mein mile,... Par mile to sahi. Kyunki tumko milna hi tha. Agar Manik ko dur jana hi tha, to woh tumhe kabhi wapas nahi milta. Jhoot kabhi bhi achi nahi hoti Nandini...agar tumne pehle din hi use sach bata diya hota to baat yaha tak pohounchti hi nahi... khair jo bit gaya so gaya...please use sab sach bol do.. Agar woh ruth bhi jaye to tum use mana lena.. Hum sab tumhare sath honge." That's what best friends for, to scold you when you are wrong, to show you the right path and to watch your back. Why hadnt she confided in Navya before.
"Abhi to Manik Pune mein hoga, woh pune mein rehta hai..."
"Haan to phone pe bata do."
"Nahi phone pe nahi bata sakti, Navya. If I tell him all this on phone, he will lose it. Either I will ask him to come here or I will go to Pune. I know Navya, tumhare liye yeh sab bohot confusing hai, and I will tell you sab kuch baad mein but for now, I can't take the risk of telling him over the phone. You know how impulsive he is, galti se kuch hogaya, usne gusse mein kuch kar diya to I won't be able to forgive myself." Her concerns were justified. Things like this should always be confessed face to face. Navya could understand that Nandini was in deep shit. She never spoke like this, today she was sounding disoriented. Even though she was upset with Nandini for not sharing a news as big as this, her heart went out for her. She knew her friend well enough to know that Nandini might have had her own reasons. But whatever it was, she just wanted her bestie to be safe. She was the only person apart from Nandini who knew the ugly truth of Neel and the extents he could stoop to.
"Nandini suno, pehle to apna dimaag thanda karo. Fir Manik ko phone karo aur usse milne ka time set karo, jitni jaldi ho sake, utna hi acha hai aur fir mata rani ka naam leke use sab kuch bata do.. Yeh sab lukka chuppi hamesha problems create karta hai. Aur kuch bhi zaroorat ho to hume batana. Hum mata rani se pray karenge ki sab thik ho jay aur Manik us Neel ke bacche ka sraddh hi kar de... but tum apna khayal rakhna..please"
Nandini felt much better after talking to Navya. She also made Navya promise that she wouldn't disclose this to anyone in FAB3 or even Ranbir, till Nandini confessed everything to Manik.
*************************************************************
On the other end of the town, the jerk was downloading all the calls made to and from her phone. He was damn sure that after the threatening in the morning to expose her, Nandini would not dare to reveal anything to Manik, but it seemed like this time he had miscalculated the outcome.
However, One thing was pretty clear in his evil mind. He would not let that happen. He would just not let Nandini share the secrets with Manik. That would mean he might have to redraw his strategy, but if it came to that, he would do it. He could go to any damn extent this time.
CID
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
