Manik's POV:
I went to Nandini's flat again and rang the door bell. There is no response, so I had to open the door with the keys I had. She isn't surprised to see me inside the house. She isn't in her usual self today, she is not smiling, not looking at me. I sat down beside her. "Please say something Nandini" I asked her. "Please" I added. "There's nothing left Manik" she said lifelessly. It killed me to see her like this. "I'm an orphan again, there's no one for me" she said. ''No, don't say that. I'm here with you'' I said. She looked at me like an alien. ''I'm so sorry that I couldn't attend your call that night'' I said apologetically.
''Mujhe tumse koi shikayat nahi hai'' she said without an expression on her face. She is not that Nandini who I knew. It feels like there is a void in her. ''In fact mujhe kisi se bhi koi ummeed ya shikayat nahi hai'' she said again. ''Nandini, tum aisa mat bolo'' I said holding her hand. ''You seem to have high temperature'' I said as I felt her hands very warm and placed my hand on her forehead. ''You have a high fever, you should rest now. Thermometer kaha hai'' I asked her. She did not speak anything but is staring at a wall. ''We should go to the doctor'' I said trying to move her a little. ''I don't have any patience left, I'm tired'' she said. I made her sit on the sofa. ''Nandini, pick yourself up, I know ye tumhare liye kitna mushkil hai, but this too shall pass'' I said. She looked very weak so I went inside the kitchen to make her something to eat. I opened the fridge and I found nothing to eat.
Fridge mein kuch bhi nahi hai, mujhe cook karna bhi nahi aata and I cannot leave her like this too. I quickly ordered few groceries and searched recipes on YouTube which I can make myself. Luckily the groceries were delivered at the doorstep within 20 minutes and I decided to make instant soup for her. She might feel better. Thank God, these instant recipes saved me today warna I cannot take chance to order food from outside now. I managed to serve soup for her and handed it to Nandini. All the while, she did not move nor tried to speak a word. It is heart breaking to see her in such condition. Kisi bhi tarah unko khaana khilana hi padega. ''Nandini, please have it'' I said trying to make her eat. ''If Satya is here, he would feed me this way if I came late. He gets groceries, he cooks for me, he takes me to a walk, he does everything for me. I have never seen my parents but he is more than my mom and dad'' she said. ''Satya nahi hai tho kya hua, he might not be with you physically, but he will always watch you, if you fall weak now, even he won't be at peace Nandini, please have it'' I said.
Maybe she was convinced and is ready to eat now. ''Tum Banaras gayi ho?'' I asked her. ''It was Satya's last wish to immerse his ashes in Ganga river in Varanasi'' she said. All I could manage to say was a simple Oh but I knew how worried I was when I came to know she was missing from past three days. What she might have been thinking! How can she go all the way to Varanasi alone in this condition. Agar kuch ho gaya tho! No, I would have then blamed myself for not picking her call. ''You know Satya had left his family because of me. His children never wanted him to adopt me. They thought I would ask for their property if he adopts me. Satya left all his properties and assets to his children and left them for me, when his wife died. From then, we were always there with each other through all the hurdles in life. Everything went well till he was diagnosed with cancer'' she said. There was so much pain in her voice but she did not cry or shed tears.
I slowly shifted to her bedroom along with her. ''You lay down, I'll just be back in a minute'' I said. I searched for some medicines for fever. I know she would always keep some medicines stocked up but didn't find any in her room. Maybe I would find them in Satya's room. I went to his room and this is the first time I went inside. There were few pictures of him and Nandini. I searched his cupboards in anticipation of some tablets. Satya must be an enthusiast for photos as I saw more number of photos in his cupboards as I still searched. Few photos are his family's but most of them are with Nandini. There were some photos of her, which I already saw when she sent them during her audition. He also mentioned year and month on few photos. Nandini really looked cute in few of the photos and Satya marked them as her first portfolio shoot. Out of all the photos, one had caught my attention in which apart from Nandini and Satya, one more person is there.
Who could it be! Why there is only one photo? I shrugged away my thoughts as I found paracetamol tablets in the next cupboard. I gave the tablet to Nandini and she took it. I asked her to sleep. I sat beside her and my mind went back to the photo I saw. Should I go back and see if I could who it could be? Was it Sid! he was the only person that crossed my mind when I thought. Because as per Nandini, there was no one other than Sid so close to Satya and her. If he is Sid, then I must say he is very good looking and handsome. It was his loss to lose Nandini. I slowly drifted to sleep and laid down beside her.
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Cabir's POV:
I don't want to go home but I have no other choice. I cannot just leave Roshni like this all alone at home. I knocked on the door and she opened it. She adjusted her pallu on her head as she saw me. I went inside and sat on the sofa. ''Iski koi zarurat nahi, you can be as you wish'' I said to her about the pallu thing. ''Ji, maa ji told me to always cover up my head with pallu. I'm habituated to it since I got married'' she said. No doubt my mom would say this. They have destroyed her life by marrying her to me. She would never get the love she deserved nor Navya would never leave my heart.
''Dinner is ready, please come'' she said. I got freshened up and sat for dinner. ''Itne saare dishes?'' I asked seeing the dining table full. ''I have made only three curries, chapati and dessert for you'' she said innocently. Her phone beeped with a message but she did not looked at it. I began to eat and her phone beeped again and again. "Koi message aaya hai dekho" I said to her. "Kuch important nahi hai, aate rehte hai messages" she said carelessly but her phone is still buzzing. As she did not took her phone, I tried to look at it but she took it before me. "Kaha na maine kuch important nahi hai" she said restlessly. I have never found her acting all strange like this.
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Manik's POV:
I felt something unusual and suddenly woke up from my deep slumber. "Nandini" I found her struggling to sleep. "Manik, can I get a sleeping pill? I'm unable to sleep!" she asked me. She was the one who made me leave the habit of sleeping pills but now I'm shocked that she would need them. "Nandini, you don't need sleeping pills. Remember you told me sleep requires peace, then what happened to you" I asked her. "Maybe I'm not peaceful" she said. Her temperature is back to normal but she still looked weak and pale. I didn't know what to tell her.
I sat beside her and took her hand in mine. "Don't think about anything now, just close your eyes" I said and she did as I told. I hugged her to feel her warmth and in next minute, I felt her arms wrapping around my neck. "Manik, I don't want to be alone again" her voice trembled as she spoke. "I will never leave you alone" I said as I tightened my grip. She rested her head on my chest and I have patted her to sleep. What an irony! Last week I was running away from her and now I don't want her to move an inch away from her. No, I would never want her away from me. We didn't know when we fell asleep but next morning, we woke up with the calling bell.
Nandini opened her eyes first and tried to release herself as I have caged her in my arms. I realized and loosened my grip. "Itni subah kaun ho sakta hai?" I asked her but she never knew who is it. I quickly moved myself to the drawing room and she followed me to open the door. It was not so early in the morning as the clock had already struck 8 am. Nandini opened the door and didn't move an inch. Why is she not responding to anything since yesterday? I thought. "Kaun hai Nandini?" I asked and went near her.
Not just Nandini but I also came to a standstill as I saw Sid standing there.