I am back!!!
After a slow lunch over cute sibling talks between Mukti and Manik, and a few photographs, it was finally time for Arya and Mukti to leave.
"I will miss you Bhai" she said hugging Manik.
"I will miss you too... but yes, send me the dates of your show and we will be there" he said.
"Sure! I need to show them the basic collections first, if they like it, then the show will be confirmed, tab tak kuch nai keh sakthe hain" she replied.
"I know you will definitely impress them... give your best..." he said.
"Thankyou Nandini... It's all because of you! You are the best" Mukti said hugging Nandini.
"All thanks to you Mukti! You considered me as someone important, that you left all your work and came here to celebrate my birthday..." Nandini replied.
"Yeh mutual admiration khatham ho gaya ho toh kya hum bhi bye bol sakthe hain?" Arya asked.
"Sure Doc" Mukti said and walked back.
"Thanks for having us Nandini and Manik! It was great fun... the aerial tour in specific. Manik dude! I will never forget you for that... thanks for including me in this nautanki gang" he said side hugging Manik.
"Ab tujhe mein thanks toh nai bol saktha. It will be very less when compared to what you did for me. But whenever you need anything...don't forget that you have me" Manik replied.
"Bas yaar! It was my duty as a doctor to save her! Yaar ab 5 saal lagaa mujhe doctor banne mein, toh try karna thaa kisi pe poora talent aur phir yeh mil gayi" he said naughtily.
"Aryyaaaa" Mukti shouted.
"Achaa sorry baba! I was kidding. Waise Manik, mauke kaa faaydha uthaane dho, don't worry I was a gold medalist in my university, toh sahee sahee treatment hi kiya meine" he defended himself from the over protective brother.
"Ab chalein ya ur kuch bolnaa hain apne achievements ke baare mein?" Mukti asked Arya.
"Nai! Is baar directly dhikha dhoonga jab ghar aaoge toh" he replied.
"Okay bye guys! See you soon" Mukti said and got into the car.
"I have packed some snacks and food, raasthe mein khaa lena" Nandini said.
"Nandini aren't you forgetting something?" Manik asked.
"What?' she said.
"You have something for them right?" he reminded her.
"Oh yes! Ek minute, I will be right back" she said and went into the bedroom. She was back with a box and a bag.
"Sorry pack karne kaa time hi nai mila.. This is a small gift from all of us, for the very big gift you gave" she said and handed Arya the box.
"And Mukti this is for you" she said and gave the bag.
Arya opened the box to find a super classy Mont Blanc pen with a small note pad, and there was a pillow with the letter M for Mukti.
"This is so cool" Arya said taking out the pen.
"And this so cute and classy" Mukti said hugging the pillow.
"Thanks Nandini" both hugged her together.
"You are welcome" she smiled and replied.
"Okay guys! abhi final bye" Arya said and they went downstairs. After bidding goodbye, MaNan came back to Nandini's apartment.
"Manik can you put up that tent you put on that karaoke night again?" Nandini asked as both of them were snuggling on the minion bed.
"I sure can... par achaanak wohh kasie yaadh aa gaya?" he asked.
"These two days, we didn't spend time with each other. SO I wanted to get into that, zip it up and have only you in my world for sometime" she replied.
"That's so romantic" he said and nuzzled in her neck.
"Manik! kya kar rahe ho?" she asked as he was tickling her.
"Don't you know?" he asked.
"No I don't" she replied.
"Come let's go" he said and got up with a jerk, picked her up and went to his house.
He set the tent, put the pillows and blankets and they got in.
"Now this is the place I would love to be all the time" she said resting her head on his hand.
"These two days were so eventful" Manik said lost in his own thoughts.
"They indeed were. I celebrated my best birthday ever, with all the people I love the most, received some gifts which I never dreamt of and not to forget that balcony conversation... it was amazing" she said.
"And I got my Mukti back" was what he said. She moved closer and sealed his lips with hers. He was taken aback by her sudden move, slowly started responding. Her hands now reached his hair, she was ruffling his hair pulling it, caressing it and doing what her hands do involuntarily.
His hands were on her waist, holding her tight, pulling more towards him. They kissed like forever. Noticing her unable to breathe her broke the kiss.
"What was that for?" he asked caressing her baby soft tresses.
"Do I need a reason to kiss my love?" she asked slightly lifting her head, looking at him.
"No you don't" he replied smilingly. "It was beautiful" he added.
"Manik! I learnt a small song for you, with Cabir and Dhruv's help. Do you want to hear it?"
"I would love to" he said. She cleared her throat, "Drama Queen" he said smiling.
(Don't kill me for adding such old songs... but trust me this is a very beautiful song, every word means a lot to someone who are in love... It's from the movie called Ye Vaada Rahaa... try listening)
Tu tu hai vohi dil ne jise apna kaha ...
Tu hai jahaan main hoon vahaan...
Ab to jeena tere bin hain saza... Ho mil jaaye is tarah ... She sang and clapped her hands to cover the beat Do leharen jis tarah ... Clapped her hands again.. Phir ho na judaa..Haan ye vaada raha... Tu tu hai vohi dil ne jise apna kaha ...
Tu hai jahaan main hoon vahaan..
"Kaisa lagaa" she asked after she was done.
"Beautiful... Would you mind I add more to it?' he asked
"Never" she replied smilingly.
Tujhe main jahaan ki...nazar se chura loon.. Kahi dil ke kone main...tujhko bitha doon..Ho mil jaaye is tarah ... She joined him too. Do leharen jis tarah ... Phir ho na juda.. Haan ye vaada raha...
"That was beautiful Nandini" he said hugging her
"Thankyou! It took me two hours to learn it, and you added lines in just two seconds! Wow Manik.. You are commendable" she said patting his houlder.
"Thanks madam! Ab kya karein, if I have you so close to me, toh lines apne aap aa jaathe hain, as I already said, now I unable to write anything other than love... Ithna magic kar dhiya tum ne" he said.
"Awww thankyou thankyou! Keep up the good work" she said.
It was another calm Monday. They took rest, had dinner and slept at their respective houses.
(Finally the leap... :D)
After three months:
It was their finals week. It had been a pretty smooth semester. Though they missed quite a few classes, Manik with his professor's help and Nandini in turn with Manik's help coped up with all the classes they missed.
Mukti's designs were chosen for the exhibition. She was extremely busy working on it. Arya was promoted to a senior level and won an award for assisting his senior doctor in a very challenging surgery.
Back in India, Navya's restaurant was doing well. Navya and Cabir started their wedding plans. When they decided to get married, Navya was not in a very excited state as she was still in the trauma. But now there is no reason to be sad.
Exam's week:
"Manik! I have got an A on all the courses, but this Marketing is going to ruin my GPA" she said gritting her teeth, with the marketing book covering her face.
"Nandini! Stop being naughty and focus" Manik said looking into his own book.
"I think last month we watched Robot movie, Superstar Rajnikanth kaa. In that movie, when that Robot moves the book across his face, all the information gets in. I have my book on my head like for the last 10 minutes, I swear ek word bhi andhar nai gaya.. this is not fair na, why don't we have such nice techniques" she asked him, with the book still on her face.
She was on the bed while he was on her study table. He got up from his chair, walked to her and lifted the book from her face.
"Mazaak bohoth ho gaya, now not a word. Chupchap padho, the exam is tomorrow, not next year" he said and went back.
With a grumpy face, she continued to study, trying hard to memorize things. It was their last exam.
"Hasshh! After tomorrow I will be free, Manik mein kya soch ri thi" she was speaking when he turned around with a serious look.
"Kuch nai" she said and shut her mouth.
He smiled and turned away, "Paagal" he muttered in a low voice.
It was finally the day of exam.
"Good luck! Just remember you have studied everything and in the right way, toh question ache se padhke answer karna. Don't just start writing without reading the whole question" he was giving her all those suggestions, last moment tips which normally our parents give.
"Manik mein yeh sab yaadh rakhoon ya course syallabus? Bas bhi karo naa ab" she said with a sad face.
"Acha acha theek hain relax, I know you'll do an awesome job! All the best" he said and kissed her forehead.
"Thankyou" she said and went inside the classroom while he headed to his.
After two hours:
Manik was waiting outside her classroom, while she was still writing. She still had 30 minutes to finish it. He was waiting there nervously, even more nervous than she was.
After some 15 minutes, she came out with a happy face.
(FYI: There's a system here, few professors immediately grade the exam as most of them will be multiple choice and you will have the OMR reader in the classroom)
"Manik you won't believe if I say, I got an A... Yaayyy Manik I got an A" she was shouting in the corridor.
"I told you right" he was extremely happy.
"After all MMM ne jo padhaaya mujhe" she said raising his collar.
William also came out of the class.
"How did you do?" he asked as he already knew she wasn't good in marketing.
"I got an A Will" she shouted again.
"Nandini! I think half the university already knows that you got an A... Stop shouting" Manik said holding her hand.
They headed back home after the test and called Mukti.
Her show was two days later.
"Mukti, we'll be starting in a couple hours" Manik said.
"Ok Bhai! Are you driving?" she asked.
"Yes! I know it's too long, but its okay we'll take breaks" he said. After a little conversation he disconnected the call.
The trunk was piled up with their luggage while the back seat had food.
They started their journey, listening to songs and humming along.
"I am so excited for Mukti's show" Nandini said.
"Even I am... I am so happy for her. She is struggling to achieve what she wants and that is such a good quality" he seconded her.
After two hours, Nandini was sleepy already.
"Mein so rahi hoon, uthaa dhenaa baadh mein" she said and plugged in her ear phones and dozed off.
Manik was silently driving occasionally looking at her. She had her legs folded and was facing him. He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek, for which she moved a bit but didn't open her eyes.
After a 7 hour tedious drive, they finally reached.
"Welcome home Romeo and Juliet" Mukti came out of the house to welcome them followed by Aryaman and his mother.
"Hello guys! How was the drive?" Arya asked taking some bags from Manik's hand.
"Looong!" Manik said and threw himself on the couch.
"I totally understand" Arya said and aunty quickly got her special lemonade for them.
They drank it one go, which made the hosts wide open their eyes.
"I was dehydrated. Thanks for the lemonade aunty, would you mind getting me another glass?" Manik asked.
"Sure, give me two minutes" Aunty said and went into the kitchen.
"Mukti! Show me your collection" Nandini asked sitting next to her.
"Okay! Let's go" she said and the girls went upstairs.
"Don't' take forever" Arya shouted from downstairs.
"I will try" Mukti replied.
What next? :
Mukti's show, and the four of us to leave for India... So yes, fasten your seat belts... hhhehehe
Let me know if it was fine or seemed unchained... I will make the changes needed if it is...
Hope you enjoyed reading... :):) Goodnight and have a good rest of the day lovelies!!