I felt a sudden sharp pull and then i felt being crushed into hard wall..
*slap*
"Are you out of your mind?Do you even know what you were going to do?"
I looked up to see Manik shouting at me for something,his eyes flashed anger for which I didnt know the reason.I wasnt in my senses and was wondering why was he shouting and how dare he slap me.Tears stopped as I tried to assess the situation..I looked around and was stumped.I stood at the edge of a cliff..God ! How did I reach here.I looked down and saw a deep valley and a shiver ran down me..
"I..um..sorry"tears started rolling down again..He pulled me into a hug and the dam broke.I kept crying clutching to him while he kept soothing me.It felt so good in his arms.After,what seemed like hours,I pulled out of the hug.I looked at Manik and saw his moist eyes.."I am sorry i didnt know how i reached here.."
"Its ok nandini, but dont do that again.For a moment it looked that I had lost u and my heart stopped beating.If u r upset ,talk to me,beat me up but dont do this again"He said all this looking in my eyes ..
"Manik"i stamerred "..how did this happen?i mean she was alright a few days back"He grabbed my hand in his as if giving me his strength seeking courage for himself"Nandini did u hear about the flight which crashed yesterday.."i nodded as my heart thumped..i had guessed what he was going to say"she..she was in that flight.She was coming to london for the wedding"I closed my eyes as the words registered.
'But her flight was after two days.Manik may be there is some confusion.Lets check na."
"Nai nandini,She was coming early to surprise u all"He hi self sobbed.
"When did u all come to know?"i gathered myself and asked
"Nandini!uncle, aunty knew she was on that plane"
"but Manik ,how can u be so sure that she is de.."I couldnt speak those words as tears ran down"i mean may be there are survivers ,may be she is alive"i stood up hysterically "yes..lets go the airport.May be she is fine..chalo Manik"i forced him to stand and started walking when he held my hand"nandini..no one survived..its confirmed"my eyes were begging him to say that its not true,that some miracle had happened and she was alive but he just pulled me towards him calming me down..It was after so long ,when we stood up to go..
"Manik.."i held his hand"thank u"i whispered.He pulled me close and placed a kiss on my forehead which felt so pure,so surreal that i was sure that i loved him..Yes!i loved Manik.My heart suddenly felt at peace as if the puzzle had solved..
We reached home and I straight away ran to my room.The thought of nani not being there was too much to handle.Her smile,her presence,her hugs,her calm demenour,everything was flashing in front of my eyes.She was partner in crimes.My heart was not ready to believe it.I was busy mourning when my cell phone rang.I picked up without checking the caller id.
"Hello"I somehow spoke.
All i could hear was whimpering."Baby dont cry.I hate ur tears.It pierces my heart"
My heartbeat became fast listening to the voice"kA..KAUN ho tum?Kya chahiye tumhe.Please leave me alone."I fell down crying.
"Nahi baby dnt cry aur aise nahi bolte.I love u .Mai tumhe milunga phir tumhara mood bhi acha kar dunga.Phir hum yaha se door chale jaenge sabse door.'I threw away the phone as the chants of
"i love u" kept going on.It was too much for me to take and i broke down.
********* ***********************
A week had passed since nani's death..The wedding had been called off..Everyone was mourning.It was the toughest time for me and my family.Mom had gone into a shell and dad was her constant support. Manik had stood by me like a pillar. He became my support system,giving me strength,a shoulder to cry,a person to talk,a silent listener.In short,my everything...My love for him grew day by day.Everything about him attracted me towards him..It was getting difficult for me to hide my feelings ,with him being around all the time as I couldnt stop blushing whenever he said something ,i would go into day dreaming thinking about us..US!It sounded so good..But a fear had also made place in my heart.Fear of loosing him.I knew about his relationship with Anna and that made me scared.I did not want to loose him,did not want my 1st love to go incomplete but what could i do.How do i make him love me when he loved Anna.Even now he was on call with her,chatting happily while my heart was breaking.His this happy smile wasnt allowing me to go forward and confess.I did not want to ruin our friendship.Everything was so confusing that I couldnt decide what to do.On top of that ,the stalkers phone calls and messages became more frequent.I didnt share this with manik as he already had loads on his head and I did not want to add further to the burden.My heart and mind was in mayham with me constantly struggling with my feelings.Ronit had called me to inform that we had a next project to do and I had to report back soon.I tried protesting but Even mom dad agreed that it was better I go.Getting back to work would distract me.So finally giving up I had a booked a flight for the next day.My heart was not ready to go back,Manik was what was roaming in my head and i decided to call Navya,my best friend.Navya had gone back earlier and now i needed he guidance and her words.
