Zehnaseeb

46. Relief

As soon as they took Nandini inside, Manik tried to enter behind them while Cabir and Dhruv held him back. Doctor gave them a glance and left inside. Manik wriggled in their hold.

"Cabir, Dhruvv.. What are you guys doing? Leave me. Let me go inside. Golu.. she's not well. She was scared. Voh dar jayegi akeli. I should be with her. Chodo mujhe." Said Manik with red eyes and tears flowing continuously. Ansh sobbed and immediately left from there while Mukti ran behind him.

Cabir and Dhruv dragged Manik away and made him sit on nearby chair. Cabir sat infront of him. Manik looked at him.

"Manik.. calm down. Aur meri baat suno. Let doctor treat her. She needs rest. She will be fine. Trust me. Nothing will happen to her. Aur hum sab yahi hai. The moment doctor come out treating her, you can go and be with her. No one will say anything. But right now, let them treat her. She needs medicines. She has to be fine, right?" Said Cabir controlling his own tears.

Manik looked at him for a few seconds and engulfed him in a tight hug. Cabir hugged him back.

He knew how madly and crazily his brother in love with Nandini. A scratch on her and he suffers the pain. He goes insane.

"She will be fine, right? Main nahi jee sakta uske bina Cabir. Mujhe uske bina jeena aata hi nahi. Aadat ban chuki hai voh meri. She become my whole world. Please, tell her to be fine. Main.. main hoon uske sath. Haan! Humesha. I'll make everything fine. Everything.. Just ask her to wake up. Please.. please.." Cried Manik while Cabir rubbed his back. Aliya also cried silently looking at her friend's condition while Dhruv kept hand on his shoulder.

"Everything will be fine, Manik. Don't worry. We all are with you. Sab thik hojayega." Said Dhruv to which Manik nodded breaking the hug and wiped his tears.

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Ansh came out of hospital and sat on a bench nearby crying hysterically. Mukti came out and saw him. She sat beside him holding his shoulder. Ansh looked at her once and wiped his tears harshly.

"Everything finished, Mukti. Sab.. sab kuch khatam hogaya. Ek pal mein. My sister whom I love like my baby, is not my own sister. And I.. I never knew it. Everyone hided from me. From Nandi. Why? We had the right to know this truth. And Bhai, he.. he is again leaving us.. he is lying there fighting for his life. Once again, history repeated. Pehle Nandi ne mumma papa ko apne saamne marte dekha hai, aur ab bhai agar.. if something happen to him then she will die this time. She won't be able to bear that. No one can save her. Main bhi nahi. Why mukti? Why always us? Why her? When I thought everything will get fine now, everything got ruined. Sab khatam hogaya. Sab.." Ansh cried hugging Mukti. She rubbed his back.

"Nothing is ruined, Ansh. Kuch khatam nahi hua. Kuch bhi nahi." Ansh looked at her while crying to which she passed him a small smile and wiped his tears.

"You see, bhai saved our Nandu. He is being operated. And I have full belief that nothing will happen to him. He will be fine soon. Dekhna tum. Aur rahi baat us sach ki toh.. tell me one thing, will that truth decrease your love for Nandu? Will you not love her anymore because she's not your real sister? Will you abandon her?" Ansh immediately nodded in no.

"What nonsense, Mukti! This truth doesn't matter at all. She's still my sister, my baby. My Nandi. And no fucking truth can ever lessen my love for her." Said Ansh making Mukti smile.

"That's it. Then why are you crying over it? Whatever happened is a past now. No one can change it. But you can always correct the present and secure your future. You should stay strong enough to support her through this phase of her life. She got to know the biggest truth of her life, Ansh. And the way it came out was not at all good. It must have affected her badly. These all incidents took toll on her. You saw her state. She is broken. She needs you. She needs us. She needs assurance that we are there for her. You are there for her. She's not alone. We are her family. And if you will break like this then who will handle her? And bhai? He's also injured. Who will take care of him ha?" Asked Mukti to which Ansh hugged her.