Janam Janam (Life after Life)

Part 8

Manik manages to hold Nandini and stop her from rolling down further. The thought that he would have lost her or she would have got badly hurt had terrified him to a great extent. Manik wanted to hold Nandini in his arms and convince himself that she was safe. He was about to embrace her, but Cabir reached there by then followed by Fab3.

Cabir : "Are you okay Nandini?"

Nandini : "Yes.. I am."

Manik suppressed his feelings and stopped himself.

Manik's thoughts : "What was I going to do? What would she have thought of my actions?"

Little did Manik know about the turmoil Nandini was going through. On one side, she was pondering whether Manik is reincarnation of Aarav or not. On the other side, Alya being around was a constant reminder that Manik is already committed. 

Even the slightest indication of his feelings for her would have been a ray of hope for her. Both Manik and Nandini had feelings for each other, but were unaware of what the other person felt for them.

Manik felt that he had been through the same situation earlier too, but he couldn't remember when.

That night, Nandini was in deep thoughts. Now that she had figured out Manik wouldn't be able to give her any information about the past, she had to figure out how to proceed further. She decided to approach Manik's dad Raj, who is Aarav's brother.

Next day, when Raj was alone Nandini approached him and brought up the topic.

Nandini : "Uncle, I heard from Manik about your brother Aarav. Can you tell me more about what happened, how he died?"

Raj didn't want to discuss about his brother's death with someone he didn't know much about.

Raj : "Why do you want to know about him?"

Nandini's thoughts : "I won't tell anyone about reincarnation unless it is really required. Who will believe me even if I tell? I myself didn't believe in it, till I came to know that I am reincarnated."

Nandini : "Uncle, I am a private detective. I know a lot about Aarav, but I have a few questions for which I need answers."

Raj : "How can I believe you? Probably you weren't even born when he died, how can you know about him?"

Nandini : "I will tell you what I know, you can decide for yourself. I don't mean any harm. I strongly believe that Aarav didn't commit suicide."

Raj : "Okay.."

Nandini : "Aarav and Manik look exactly alike and some of their habits are similar too. Aarav had a best friend and cousin Aryaman. Music and shooting were Aarav's hobbies. Aarav had a girlfriend about whom your family wasn't aware of."

Nandini told a lot of things she knew about Aarav and Raj was convinced. Raj was surprised as to how she knew so much about him.

Raj : "Okay. What do you want to know?"

Nandini : "How and when did Aarav die?"

Raj gave her the details of the day - the date and the approximate time. He also told Nandini that Aarav shot himself and committed suicide.

Nandini's thoughts : "It is the same day I died in my past life, just a little later. Could Aarav have committed suicide after knowing that I was dead? "

Nandini : "Are you sure it was a suicide?"

Raj : "It looked like suicide. There were no evidences to prove otherwise."

Nandini : "Was there anyone at home when this happened?"

Raj : "No, we all had gone out for the town festival. Aarav also came with us, but he came back home early. When we came back home, we found him dead."

Nandini : "How about Aarav's friend Aryaman? Wasn't he there?" 

Raj : "Arya had to go out of town, so he didn't come with us. He came back home much later. He didn't know anything about it."

Nandini : "Where is Aryaman, doesn't he stay here?"

Raj : "He went to US a little after that incident and settled there."

Nandini : "Does he visit here?"

Raj : "Arya comes to India for his business related work sometimes. He is usually busy so he doesn't come here. We try to go where he stays and meet him when he is in India."