Kaisi yeh Yaariyan Season 3

Chapter 96

"I think it's a risk worth taking. She works in Delhi... so lets go to Delhi and lets meet her. Fir jo hoga so hoga but I don't want to leave anything to destiny. I am not letting that shithead come even close to Nandini. Her granny is coming in 4 days and we got to do something before that."

"But uski granny, I am sorry if I sound mean. I don't know her personally but is she blind? Or deaf? Or mental? Kyunki I don't understand ki if she can see and hear and has a sane mind, how could she not make out that Neel Dixit Nandini ke liye to kya, he isn't worth any damn girl...or guy."

They decided to leave for Delhi that same night.

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Mukti was pouring some juice for herself when the doorbell rang. She was bone tired from the three back to back sessions in the hospital. It wasn't the talking that drained her out, but those sad dying faces and the utter hopelessness in their eyes. She saw death every day, from within an arms distance. She was an alternative healing therapist, and worked in a hospital trying out different ways to heal people or to relieve them of pain, long after medicine had stopped working on them. This was a niche field, both as a subject and as a profession. Only a handful of colleges in India taught it and an even fewer hospitals had an unit for it. For a country that has insufficient medical facilities, even the most basic ones, healing through music sounds no less than a luxury or may be sheer buffoonery.

Though she had been working for merely two months, most of the doctors had already shown their displeasure for her, and in their words, 'the ludicrous thing she did' . One even went as far as calling the chairman of the hospital a 'Dimwit' for introducing this therapy. But Mukti didn't give two hoots about what they thought or said. They hadn't lived her life, nor had they seen life through her eyes. They hadn't fought depression, they hadn't been to a rehab, they hadn't loved a dying man & they hadn't been rescued by music, SHE HAD! And so she understood the power of music, of kind words, of a smile or of a pat.

Every day was a new battle for her, every patient a new challenge. She didn't work for money, she worked to save lives, because she knew exactly how it felt to lose someone you love more than yourself.

The bell rang again, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She hurriedly opened the door to find Alya standing at her doorstep. Caught by surprise, she wondered if Alya was here to fight again? After whatever had happened, was there anything more to fight about.

She ushered Alya in, without much of a reaction reflecting on her face, neither the excitement of having Alya here, nor the carried over anger from the previous day.

It was bothering Alya, this numb response from Mukti. She had always known Mukti to be this hyper reactive, impulsive loudmouthed girl. She never recoiled, never went silent, not even when she was furious. And Alya was expecting Mukti to shout at her the moment she would open the door, and Alya would somehow manage to calm her down. But what she saw instead scared her.

It is easy to apologize to someone who is angry with you and shows it, but how do you touch a person, who is immune to your words. Had it hurt Mukti so much that Alya's presence made no difference to her? Had she lost Mukti's friendship for good, for ever? This suddenly brought tears to her eyes and without a word, Alya pulled Mukti into a tight hug.

For a long while she held Mukti in silence, and just when she thought her gesture would not be reciprocated, she felt Mukti's fingers slowly tugging at her top. That's when her pulse relaxed, & her breath became normal from the ragged knot it had become.

She broke away, tears rolling down her cheeks. But she wasn't the only one crying.

"I am sorry Mukti, I am really really sorry.." Her voice was soft & repentant, not catty like it had become of late. Mukti felt as if she heard the old Alya speaking after an eternity.

"Wanna have some juice?" Mukti asked, avoiding Alya's question.

"I really mean it Mukti, will you please forgive me?" She was pleading.

"It wasn't just you Alya, even I spoke crap, but you know what, it wasn't a one off thing, it has been building over months and may be years."

Mukti poured some more juice and offered a glass to Alya as the both settled on the couch facing each other.

"I know, it was me, I had slipped away. But I miss us, miss what we used to be before. I was insecure, because somehow you became closer to others and drifted away from me." Alya was fiddling with the straw, clearly uncomfortable in discussing her eaten up, hollow condition. This wasn't normal for her, to let go of things. She was more used to bottling things up & brooding in melancholy. But after the confession before Dhruv, something had changed in her. She felt lighter, like a boulder had been removed off her chest.

"If you are pointing at Navya, she never was and never will be your replacement, Alya. We don't forget old friends when we make new ones. And you are not even just a friend, we are soulies. But then, even if you did feel insecure, why didn't you come and tell me? Why didn't you give me a chance to clear things out. I am perfectly ok with us fighting and you venting out at me, what hurts is when you indirectly prick with words."

"I guess I just screwed up."

"Can we just forget everything and act like nothing ever happened." Mukti finally asked.

For a long while Alya stared at Mukti, observing every single bend of muscle on her face. "You have changed Mukti...changed for the better. You have grown up while I am still trapped in the past."

"We are a sum total of our experiences, Alya. Life twists & stretches us. We become what we see, and I only see the harshest realities of life every freaking day. I see loss and death and melancholy. All this, this fighting, anger, jealousy, it's a mess that we have built up. But life is too short to fight, life is too short to not love, to not hold on to your best friends. And I don't want to die alone Alya. Let's just be stupid again, shop drink, swear...live life....just LIVE!"

After ages, they chatted for hours and poured out everything going on inside their heavy hearts.

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Meanwhile at the airport, late in the night:

"Ranbir!!! Yeh yahan kya kar rahi hai? I can't believe she has come here to see you off?" Manik was super surprised to see someone else with Ranbir.

"Hum see off karne nahi aaye, hum bhi tumhare sath Delhi chal rahe hain."

Manik rolled his eyes in utter shock, first at the lady and then at Ranbir.

"Hold on Madhubala, hum picnic pe nahi ja rahe hain, incase Ranbir ne tumhe nahi bataya."

"Bataya na usne, ki tum log mission kill Neel pe ja rahe ho."

"Ranbir!!! I will kill you man."

Ranbir was standing like a guilty rabbit, wearing glares in the dead of the night just to avoid Manik's angry piercing looks. How would he explain it to Manik that it wasn't his handicraft. It wasn't his plan to bring Navya here. He had only asked her to book two tickets to Delhi because his credit card was malfunctioning but mam had booked three and self-invited herself. He had tried many things, like persuading her, reminding her about her radio show, scaring her with Manik and his rudeness, so on and so forth but none had worked. What was it about Delhi that attracted her like a bee to honey. Ranbir knew Manik wasn't exactly friendly with Navya and he would be super pissed off at seeing her here, but what the hell could he do except cursing Navya under his breath.

"O hello Manik Majnu Malhotra, Neel ko hum tabse jante hain, jab tum jud ko bhi nahi jante the. Tum to thanks bologe nahi aur bolne ki zarurat bhi nahi hai kyunki hum Nandini ke liye aye hain. Waise hume security check ke liye late ho raha hai, to agar tumhara interogation ho gaya ho to chalein?"

She started walking ahead . 'Did she just slay him? Was this the same Madhubala with fat braids and a knotty face who would run away at the first sight of him. The radio show had done more for her than earning her bread & butter.' Manik wondered while following her, Ranbir by his side. Out of sheer desperation, he checked around and then kicked Ranbir for being such a dud.

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A/N : Sorry for not replying to your comments on the last chapter. Will do so soon. But this one is extra long and before time, and extra long chapters call for longer comments :) *Just kidding*