MaNan: Mirage || Completed

5.||Old Endings And New Beginings||

~Shuru bhi tumse hi aur khtam bhi tum par hi mai, rahunga, hamesha~

Nandini was standing on the terrace, thinking how life took a turn in the last few months. It was late afternoon, she had a off from college. And it was little early to go, visit Manik, and hence, she took her own sweet time, thinking about her own life.

When had she anticipated that somone called Manik would enter her life, like a fresh breeze of air, swiping her off the feet?

Never.

And when she started to like this subtle smile clad man, she came to the bitter realization of how everything she dreamt and saw was an illusion.

Tears escaped her eyes, when her mind travelled back to that wretched day, when she had seen Manik that vulnerable, asking for drugs. She thanked Aiyaapa for helping her through this, for letting her help him through it. He was in a content space now, having let go off the drugs, and she was positive that soon he will be completely clean. Soon, his smiles will be a figment of her reality, not his illusion!

A few hours later, the dusk was ready to bid bye, welcoming the night, but that solemn evening, Nandini didn't get up to leave. She sat still, with Manik beside her, watching the stars.

They usually shared an hour of the evening everyday, after Nandini came back from her college, or work on weekends. They talked rarely. They were still, practically strangers, knowing almost no factual details about each other, but the silence they shared was too intimate.

Sometimes, Nandini wanted to ask Manik about his likes, his dislikes, his past, his scars and his wounds, why did he wanted to become a writer, or would he ever let her read any of his writings? But whenevershe sat beside him, she used to forget all the questions, and just stare at him, much to his irritation.

Manik thought of it too, to ask her, why she did what she did for him? He knew she was working double shifts to pay for his rehabilitation. He knew she lied for the first time to Mr and Mrs Sharma, for his sake and to keep watering the seed of hope he had planted in every heart of that wretched colony. He wanted to ask her why had she kissed him that night? Or what she thought about him? Why didn't she talked to him? He had seen her chat occasionally and animatedly with a few other patients there. But he didn't, sitting beside her gave him enough solace.

"It's already over ten!", Manik broke the silence for the first time, in eight weeks that he had been here, and they had been sharing the bench.

"I know!", Nandini turned to look at him, and smiled.

" You won't leave today? It's getting late!", He was concerned for her, how would she manage if it's too late at night?

Nandini shrugged it off, not bothering to explain. He rubbed his hands in anxiety and suddenly Nandini turned to him.

"Can we sing for a while, together? I promise I won't ruin your music!", She always amazed him with her ideas and requests, and he found himself always nodding, without making any fuss.

Nandini brought him his guitar, from his room, and he tuned into it, as she gestured to start first, both unaware of the crowd that had started to gather behind their bench. Hearing him sing was something all the people at that centre, patients and staff, looked forward to.

Zehnaseeb, zehnaseeb!
Tujhe chahu betahasha zehnaseeb!

Manik was shocked when she started it, he had not expected her to choose a love song, but anyway, he continued it with a surprised smile.

Mere karib, mere habib!
Tujhe chahu betahasha zehnaseeb!

Nandini smiled at him, and tucked a loose stand behind her ear, as she prepared herself to sing the next set of lines. She just wanted him to know that she meant every word of the song.