Touch Her And... (Completed)

Chapter 51

The machines kept making unnoticeable noises. Yes, unnoticeable, because Dev could hear nothing. He stood by the door looking at the almost empty room if not for the aged, unconscious woman. The silence was eating him from inside. He inhaled the still lingering smell of the girl he had grown to love like nothing else. Slowly he stepped inside the room and kneeled beside the bed. He slowly moved his hand and placed it on the nearly lifeless aged hand.

"I am taking back my words Mrs. Bhutia. As you said, I have to respect her decision. Yes, I am loosing it. A part inside me is screaming, crying to bring her back to me, hold her tight in my arms, I won't lie, I tried that as well. But then the other part reminded me of you. The promise I made to you. She decided.. decided to leave me. She decided to abandon me. She left me all alone and I could do nothing. I kept my word. She is free. Free to do whatever makes her happy. I won't see her again, I won't smell her again, I won't touch her again." He hung his head and buried it into the bed. He tried really hard to stifle a sob but in turn his whole body started shaking. He raised his head again. His eyes stung with tears. The grip on Mrs. Bhutia's hand  tightened. And he released an heartwrenching cry.

"I want her back....! I want Teressa back for God's sake. Bring her back to me!!" He shouted like a crazy person. The controlled sob was no longer under control. He brought back his hand and clutched his hair with both hands.

"I'll die.. I know I'll die. I'll die if I see her with someone else. I'll die if I never get to see her again. I'll die if I don't get to touch her, if I don't get to see her smile, if I don't get to look into her eyes, if I don't get to have her in my arms. I'm dying already. It's killing me. She is killing me. Please do something, please.. I'll go insane." He kept on mumbling, failing to notice the two figures that stood at the door. Looking at his devastated state with utter shock.

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"Manik, will you give me a few minutes alone with your brother? I need to talk to him about something." Arjun whispered to Manik, standing beside him at the door.

"Mmm, that's fine but Arjun I feel like I am I missing something, something very important. Do you think you know what that is?" To this Arjun slowly turned to face Manik and gave him an assuring smile.

"Let me have a word with your brother after that I think I'll tell you what is happening around all of us because you deserve to know, provided you have to promise me that you won't freak out." Arjun said.

Manik looked at him, still confused but then he nodded in agreement and turned around to leave. While he was midway he faintly heard Arjun's voice which said,
"So, giving up already?"
He didn't wait to hear more.

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After an hour or so Manik received a knock on his door. He rushed to open it and as expected it was Arjun who was standing there.

Without asking anything he let him enter and closed the door again.

"Your brother decided to spend the night in Triss's room so practically his room is empty now. Let's go." Arjun said and Manik stood there, bewildered.

"Let's go for now, all the questions will be answered Manik. Trust me." Arjun added, to which Manik nodded and accompanied him.

Within a minute they were standing inside Dev's room. Initially it took them some time to adjust with the darkness but then they turned the lights on.

Manik had rarely been to his brother's room. He never liked anyone inside his private space. Today it was a different occasion. He observed every single thing in the room from the old king size bed to the night lamp, from the carpet to the huge window, from the chandelier to the sculptures and finally his eyes fell on something that drew his attention.

On the opposite end of the bed there hung a beautiful painting on the wall of a curly haired woman in a saffron saree. He had seen this painting many a times but today he was finding it eerie, he was finding it similar to a girl he could recognize from any angle. He slowly motioned towards the painting. With every step his heart started beating faster. He had been seeing this painting from the very beginning, when he didn't even know the girl the painting seemed to resemble. Did that mean his brother knew her even before him? But then again if he did the painting should have been of a child's, not of grown up woman. He slowly raised his hand and touched the painting.

"Triss.." He mumbled to himself. He slowly turned his face to Arjun who was also looking at the picture but his eyes held no surprise, as if he had seen it many a times.

"It cannot be." He uttered looking at Arjun. Who in turn hung his head and whispered,
"But it is." Manik stood there with his mouth agape.

"Do you remember your brother having  nightmares? They were not only nightmares Manik, all of them had a meaning, all of them were the truth of his previous life." Arjun said gesturing him to come back and take a seat on the bed. Manik slowly came and took a seat beside Arjun.

"You have to promise me, that you won't freak out. The story I am going to tell you would be really unbelievable and also uncomfortable for you. But I think you need to know it. Because I need your help." Arjun said.

"Go ahead, I won't." Manik added.

"Long ago, this mansion belonged to the Dev Barman's. A story of two brothers who belonged to the Dev Barman family, Pratap Dev Barman and Aditya Dev Barman and also a certain curly haired girl in a saffron saree named Ambika, the daughter of the purohit and the sister of a failure brother."

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"So you and Triss, you both have the same nightmares as Dev bhai" Manik asked, curiously.

"No, as far as I could understand it is only me who has seen and remembered everything, known everything from the beginning. She never had a nightmare. She had dreams, where she saw the temple sometimes. This is what she told me. And coming to Dev, he did have nightmares but even he fails to remember everything. Which means he recollects everything in fragments." Arjun said more to himself than Manik.

"What about Rik bhai then? I haven't seen him talking about any nightmares. He never suffered like Dev bhai."  Manik said.

"About that, tell me Manik, who is closer to you Dev or Rik?" Arjun asked.

"Obviously Dev bhai. Rik bhai has been different from the very childhood. He never involved any of us in his matters, he has been too independent. He decided not to shoulder the business. He was always into art. At the age of eighteen he left home to pursue his career in art. He used to visit us very rarely. Even when he was a child he slept separately, alone. He loved to stay alone." Manik said with a visible confusion written on his face.

"Hmm, then I might be right." Arjun sighed.

"Right about what?" Manik asked.

"I saw something, something different in his eyes. Something that was nowhere to be found in Dev's eyes." Arjun said.

"But what is that? And how am I to understand it as you still haven't completed the whole story." Manik said being restless.

"I saw recognition in his eyes. He recognizes me Manik." Arjun added to which Manik furrowed his eyebrows.