[ CAN BE READ AS GENERAL FICTION ]
~•~
Busy in their lives, one in London other in New York, Manik and Nandini were two people lost in each others memories.
Once inseparable throughout college, a mistake tore them apart and broke them to shambles...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
M A N I K
Imagine, you've been dreaming to reach the stars. For years and years, it has been an ache at the very bottom of your heart.
An ache of a kind which you know is unattainable and irrational yet it refuses to leave you.
Then one day someone suddenly shows you the stairs to reach them. Years of longing and all you have to do is take a step forward.
That is what I did when I wrapped my arms around Nandini's frame. I quelled my longing. I quelled my ache.
My fingers latched around her waist, finding their familiar premise and my heart hadn't felt so full in years. Turned out, all it needed was the agonizing sweetness of Nandini's being to function again.
A part of me wanted to pull back, and ask her what the hell happened and the other just wanted to cherish this moment.
What if this is just me hallucinating and the moment I step out of it, I'll find Nandini on the other end, staring at me with betrayal etched in her eyes?
Just the remembrance of that moment sent shivers down my spine.
I have toughened myself over the years. Building up walls around me, one brick at a time. They have been strong enough to keep everyone at bay but for Nandini, all it took was a look. A gentle gaze to bulldoze its way around.
"Manik", I looked down at the too good to be true figure in my arms, gazing at me with such fierce vulnerability that it killed me to think I put it in there. This was a result of my actions that replaced emotions from these eyes.
"Stop thinking about the past now", like always, Nandini spoke what was in my mind. "I...I am sor...", she interrupted me with a shake of her head. "I don't need your sorrys now Manik. That ship has sailed years ago. Your sorrys don't do the damage control anymore, they just rub against the healing wounds". Brutally honest. As usual.
"I need something else from you now Manik". For a brief moment, I saw the old Nandini in her eyes. That Nandini which used to stand in front of me, trying to get on my eye level with a hand on her hips, asking more like demanding me to give her the attention she wanted.
"Anything you say Nandini...it's yours", I am not joking when I say if she asks me for the stars, I'll do everything in my power to get them.
"I need a promise Manik", Nandini held me breathless in her gaze. Soft and alluring. "A promise that", a sharp exhale left her mouth as she prepared to speak the next sentence like the words coming out were physically straining for her, "you will not shatter what I am giving you again".
"My trust. My faith. My love, and my heart"
"Promise me that you won't break me again Manik", my heart was thumping in my chest like a drum. Those might have just been words for anyone, but I know for Nandini, they were her hopes. She was pinning them to me. Again. Even after getting them shattered.
