Originally posted by: MeeraWrites
You and Me
“Arey… where are we going?” Mannat slowed down so as not to trip over the pleats of her saree. They walked into a dim lighted alley in the terrace. She could still hear the faint beats of some Bollywood song downstairs.
“You’ll know,” Vikrant led her to the table set at the end of the alley and slowly let go of her palm. His eyes trained on her in anticipation, to read every flicker of her reaction.
“What? Why did you bring me here?” Mannat looked around irritated.
Puneet’s exasperated face rang a bell in the back of her head. She should be downstairs, cleaning the mess the cake made. She was sure that if some Saluja or Raisingh walked into that scene, she’ll get an earful and she was clearly not in a mood for that. Most importantly, she has to keep an eye on Aishwarya Raisingh. Her boss is clearly wasting her time. She huffed and turned to leave.
“Sorry sorry…,” Vikrant held her arm, stopping her. “My fault. Stay here. Don’t move, okay?” He showed his puppy eyes; an attempt to make her stay.
“I’m going back.”
“Don’t,” he shuffled on his feet and disappeared behind the nearby wall.
“Where are you going? I’m goi…” She fell silent as the terrace lit up like studded with thousands of stars.
Mannat skimmed around. A gentle smile blossomed on her lips as she drank on the beauty she was surrounded with. Has she ever been to such a beautiful place? Never. It was magical. Like she has been transported to some fantasy island. With the blink of an eye, Puneet’s angry face, the cake on the floor, the Salujas, the Raisinghs, her mission to keep an eye on Aishwarya Raisingh… everything took the backseat.
On the other hand, Vikrant stood there tongue-tied. His heart skipped a beat. She looked ethereal in that midnight black saree. The star studded sky like saree clung to her with such grace that he could spend every day for the rest of his life just by looking at her. And her smile is not less than any radiant crescent. The soft light enhanced her features. The smile on his face grew wider realising how good the pendant will look on her. Feeling short of breath, the background blurring only to focus on that special person, eyes never willing to let go of that favourite person, that mushy feeling in the pit of the stomach, the smile that automatically perches on the lips with the mere mention of that special name, the urge to be everything that person admires, the urge to protect that person from everything under the sun, the longing to be admired back by the person the way you do… He could list a fortnight long such things. He considered all of them too filmy. Wondered how someone could be obsessed over someone. But now that it was his turn, there are no ifs and buts left in his being.
Mannat gently swirled back to find him smiling at her. She has been getting a lot of it in the past few days, on and off. Just like that, the smile on her face dissipated into the air and her heartbeat quickened. Like every other time. Where has the bubbly Mannat gone who would beam at everyone who smiles at her? She has been wondering the same. These days, the moment she notices his gaze on her, her facial muscles forget to hold her smile intact. She quickly diverted her gaze and turned to her side, trying to find a way out. The two-seater table, casserole, perfectly arranged plates and forks, champagne, flowers, fairy lights… Just as her brain registered the surrounding in detail, her throat dried up in the twinkling of an eye.
“Umm… these…the arrangements… Is it for Anisha and Nikhil’s date? Why are we here? Why am I here? Huh? Did you bring me here for my opinion on the arrangements? Or for some last minute preparations? Do you want me to cook something special for them?” She blabbered trying to find a middle ground.
She was hoping that he would interject and tell her that the arrangements are for Anisha and Nikhil’s date and that he brought her there to ask her opinion on the decorations and would like her help in the last minute preparations or perhaps asks her to prepare something special for the couple. But nothing of that sort came from him. Feigning an innocent face, he stood there silently, failing miserably to hide the smile that was threatening to split his face into two anytime. He was enjoying seeing her fumble and getting all worked up. It didn’t take long for Mannat to read the obvious. He’s having fun teasing her! And that was it. The weird twist she has been feeling in her stomach slowly faded. Her nose flared. She has had enough of that double-edged-sword kind of behaviour from him the whole day.
“Just leave it,” she turned around to go only to be stopped by him, again.
“Why are you smiling?” He has been behaving like a bipolar mother-in-law the whole day. Taunting her, scolding her, smiling at her, showering affection on her… at every given opportunity. “Okay tell me. What do you want to say? You were going on and on that you wanted to talk. Now that I’m here, you are acting all weird. What else is there to talk huh? You’ve been scolding me since morning. I can’t understand you anymore. Sometimes you are this friend… talks to me nicely, smiles at me and then you turn into a rude boss and talk bitterly. You…”
She cut short defeated at the sight. He was behaving like a child getting scolded by his mother. Pretending to be getting beaten up. And that wicked smile on his face! She wished to wipe it off his face. He is supposed to be downstairs in the hall, with his family for the cocktail party. If not anyone else his mother will be looking for him. And here, he’s playing dumb charades with her! At that point, Mannat was certain that she’ll be hearing either from Neetu or Puneet soon.
“People usually have mood swings. But you are having character swings. Do you realise that? I don’t get it. Just leave it.”
She turned on her heels to go but this time too, he held her arm and stopped her.
“What is the matter with you? You were yelling at me a couple of minutes ago and then you brought me here. What is it? What do you want to talk about? I don’t understand.”
“Firstly, I didn’t yell at you Ms Mannat. I scolded you.”
“So? What’s the difference?”
“Okay fine. What I want to say is…”
“I don’t want to hear anything. I obeyed all of your orders, listened to your taunts, endured your scolding and now… you listen to me.” She took a long breath seeing him bite down the smile and nodding at her. All eyes and all ears. “Don’t you feel pity for me?” Her voiced weighed down by the heaviness of her heart.
He playfully nodded in no. Why wouldn’t he? It was not pity but pure love that he feels for her. He was so drunk in love that all of those vulnerabilities that hesitantly emanated from her went completely unnoticed. For a moment she couldn’t come up with the right words. She was stunned at his behaviour. Dejected. She has been worried for Sunita the whole day. She has been asking him to get himself checked by a doctor. She has tried to lighten his mood with the cake earlier that day. And what not? But he didn’t seem like the Mr Vikrant Saluja sir ji she was accustomed to. He has always been affectionate. They shared a certain kind of friendship. He recognised even the slightest overtones of worry on her face, in her voice and even in the way she carried herself. He has changed. Something changed in him and she was acutely aware of that.
“I’m worried about Sunita ji. That doesn’t bother you? Your behaviour is bothering me. You’re bothering me. You’re deliberately doing this, aren’t you? Do you think it’s a joke?”
“Be quiet,” before she could utter anything more, he shushed her with his finger on her lips.
Mannat froze for a moment. Her voice died at the back of her throat. He was standing just a step away from her; looking straight into her eyes. The proximity. She wasn’t sure since when but it has started affecting her in weird ways that she has never experienced before. In weird ways that she would never dare to share to anyone else about. There has always been a comfort between them. He has always felt like home. But these days she’s mostly at war with herself. She had started feeling conscious whenever his eyes fell on her or whenever he stood by her side. Her body acted weird from inside. As if every cell of her body is tingling. She was not blind to the lines of friendship between them blurring. It scared her that the line has started blurring from her side too.
She closed her eyes gently. She could hear him breathe next to her. As if on cue, her left palm rose and the tip of her fingers caressed the back of his palm. Gently. Hesitantly. It was an attempt to make sense of the myriad of emotions unfurling in her right at that moment. An attempt to make sure if all of that were actually happening or not. Her brain was losing the battle.
A different kind of battle was brewing inside Vikrant too. He marvelled at the way the faint innocent caress of her finger tips evoked tempest in him. The insides of his chest tingled, ached and soothed all at once. Now he could clearly see it in her. He is not alone in this journey. As much as he is smitten by her, she is as affected by his proximity; his touch. There’s indeed love. She is clearly shielding her emotions from crossing the line. He made a mental note to take a step forward, hold her palm and lead to the other side of the line.
Across a few seconds, Mannat flung her eyes open and took a couple of hurried steps backward. Reality hit her straight on the gut. She looked up at him. He was standing still, eyes fixed on her, trying to gauge her dilemma. She turned around unable to accept the fact that she has stepped into the forbidden zone. She walked straight into the button of the sprinklers and in the next second, the sprinklers were spraying on her from left, right and centre. Taken aback, she stepped backwards only to get bumped onto Vikrant. Before she could move away from him, he took off his blazer and held it above their head.
Standing that close to him, she was torn between the perceptions of her brain and the feelings of her heart. A part of her screamed at her to just run away from there before it’s too late. And the other part of her begged her to stay. She clutched onto his waist coat trying not to get drowned in the whirlpool of conflict. She couldn’t move her legs or even take a step back from him. It all felt wrong and perfect all at once. Harbouring such feeling for the person she considers as her Babaji Ka Banda felt wrong. His place is high on the pedestal. Even if she considers him as just her boss. It felt wrong too. There’s still the huge class difference between them. And friends don’t even feel this way for each other, do they? She lowered her gaze unable to meet his eyes.
“Ms Mannat… look into my eyes,” his voice exuded warmth. She hesitantly looked up to meet his eyes. “Do you see anger in them for you? What do my eyes say to you? Read them. Just try. My eyes are saying something to you. What do they say?”
Her heart screamed love and but her mind interjected, successfully bringing up the image of him hugging Malla. Before she could review the words, her tongue rolled up the answer, surprising her.
“Malla… You hugged Malla today… Why did you do that?”
She regretted the very next moment she said it out loud. It’s true that she told him on his face that she has full right on him and it doesn’t matter to her if he’s her boss or whatsoever. But does she really have the right to pose such a question at him? She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Really?” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It dawned on him how his sloppy dialogues and actions have affected her. He’ll explain everything to her later. At first, he wanted to give her the right push. Make her see that they’re meant to be and there’s no point in holding back. “Is this the answer to my question?”
“I don’t have the answer to your question. You’ve become a question to me. I’m trying hard to understand you. But… you’re beyond my comprehension.”
“Then don’t ask your brain. Ask your heart. Ms Mannat, your heart will understand everything. Just ask it.”
Mannat realised where the conversation is nearing to. If either of them spelled out love, there will be no going back. She knew that. Everything will change forever. For both of them. At the juncture of life she’s standing, she was aware that she can’t afford love. That too Mr Vikrant Saluja. Her Babaji Ka Banda. Her Boss. For a moment she wondered if he really remembers what all have transpired between her and the members of this Saluja Mansion. Aside all of these, how could he have feelings for a girl like her? For an employee? There’s nothing special about her. She underlined it in her mind.
“I… I have to go now. If Puneet sir gets to know that I haven’t cleaned up the mess yet, he won’t spare me. And… your mother must be looking for you. You should go downstairs as well.”
Mannat stepped out of the canopy of his blazer and walked towards the alley. Every second with him is costing her an inch of her territory. She is inching closer to the line. She slowed down to wring out the damp pallu of her saree. Putting up a show in front of the guest or Salujas or Raisinghs was the last thing she wanted.
“Malla… Puneet… we don’t have to worry about them Ms Mannat,” he tossed the wet blazer on the chair and turned the sprinklers off. She stopped on her track but was still facing away from him. “Trust me. About mom, dad will handle her.”
The hair on her nape stood up. What is he referring to actually? ‘We’? She wondered if there will ever be a ‘we’ between him and her. Maybe she was reading too much.
“Ms Mannat…” He called out aloud.
She turned around to find him getting down on one knee. She wondered if the smile on his face or the fairy lights around were brighter. She bit the insides of her lip, trying to calm her erratic breath. She could feel the rush of adrenaline at every inch of her body. He swayed his hands in the air in a gesture asking her for a dance. He chuckled getting no response from her.
“You would have understood if you watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Not a Sharukh fan?” He stood up, walked to her and held out his hand. “Care to dance?”
“But there’s no music.” She was surprising herself.
“Is that a problem?” He raised his eyebrows.
Like cast under a spell, she gently slipped her palm into his. With a smooth pull, she twirled into his arms. As if trained into perfection, her hands found their way around his neck and his settled on either side of her bare waist. A jolt passed through his spine. And he was certain that she trembled under his touch as well. They were breathing inches away from each other. Without letting go of her kohl rimmed eyes, he gently held one of her palms in his while her other one settled on his shoulder. She let him take the lead as they swayed under the moonlit sky, amidst hundreds of lights.
Across a couple of minutes, just as she turned around and managed to take a few steps away, there was a tug on her saree pallu. Her hand instantly flew to clutch her shoulder where the pallu was pinned on. She looked back over her shoulders to find him standing there with one of the corners of the pallu in his grip. He chuckled a bit at her astonished face and let go off the pallu. She stood rooted there, overwhelmed as he walked towards her. He stood just a step away from her. Her heartbeats went crazy. There’s no child play anymore. It’s clear as a crystal. He can’t be clearer with his actions. She was certain that he is going to confess his love. And what would she tell him?
“So Ms Mannat…I’ve been trying to say something to you for the past few days. The thing is… I can’t keep it to myself anymore. Ms Mannat, you told me once that a man bows down in front of only three women. I…I…”
Even before he could complete the sentence, a searing pain shot up from his abdomen and his legs instantly gave away. Mannat couldn’t decipher what was going on. She got down on her knees and made him lean onto her. He was squirming in excruciating pain that he couldn’t even utter a syllable or keep his eyes open. She tried to wake him up, gently patting his cheeks, calling out his name but nothing helped. The moment she saw his bleeding nose, breath hitched in her throat. Her eyes stung. She called out for help as loud as she could, hoping that her cries would reach the people downstairs amidst the chaos of the Bollywood beats. And it did reach them.
The moment she heard Neetu, she knew that she would be pushed away from him. Like a bad omen. And Neetu did push her to the floor with a clear warning to stay away from her son. That didn’t stop there. The one she least expected shove her away from Vikrant the harsher way. Malla. The frenzy in which Malla cried out for Vikrant didn’t go unnoticed by her. But it was not the time to zone out. Even though the Salujas, Raisinghs and Neetu herself are huddled around her, she knew that she can never stay away from Vikrant. Not at this point. Not when he is in this state. Without caring for the people around she got up, kneeled to his side and held his hand all the while praying to her Babaji.
Without waiting for another moment, Puneet and Gagan pulled him up and balanced on their shoulders. In that hustle and bustle of his family taking him downstairs, it was when she saw her hold on his palm slipping away, she came face to face with the mirror. The mirror of reality. She couldn’t take a step ahead. She just stood there watching the last person disappearing into the curve of the alley. She looked down at her blood smeared fingers and her tears turned into muffled sobs. She shut her eyes cursing herself for wanting to wipe that smile off his face a while ago. His agonised face and the bleeding nose kept coming back to her eyes. She couldn’t make sense of what happened all of a sudden. He was all fine until a few moments ago. A dozen what ifs galloped through her mind.
It has not been even ten minutes that she almost shrugged off her insecurities and dared to think what if she crossed the line. And life happened. She gathered herself, climbed down the stairs, dragged her feet through the empty hall of Saluja Mansion and sat down on one of the chairs. A throbbing headache latched onto her temples. Her mind kept going back and forth the same menacing question. “Why do the people she loves and cares for, the people who love her end up hurt every time?” If life is that stubborn to conform to the pattern, she would rather take a step back than to see him suffer.
“What are you waiting for now?”
The authoritative voice of Aishwarya Raisingh echoed in the hall. Mannat drew a long breath before turning to face the woman marching towards her all shrouded in fury.
Amazing writing Meera ...loved it 😍❤
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