"Par where the hell did you get Manik, wo kahan mil gaya tujhe?" Mukti finally asked.
"Actually..I..I.. was performing..."Dhruv stuttered, fidgeting with his fingers "and I heard this.. Scuffle.." Dhruv didn't mention, where. That he did these small gigs at night clubs and pubs to maintain himself was not unknown to his friends. But none of them had ever walked into one with him. Not that they didn't want to, in fact it was Dhruv, who made sure in one way or the other that none of his friends ever saw him at work. How could he, when he himself loathed going to these small, substandard bars. If only he had a better option..
Nyonika, or as he knew now, Mr. Malhotra had ruined his music career even before it could take flight. But then, music is all he knew. Neither did he have an illustrious degree to land a corporate job nor was he born with a silver spoon like his friends. "Kuch larai chal rahi thi bar ke paas, and jab maine dhyaan se dekha to it was Manik. A group of men were trying to snatch something from him and Manik was fighting back. Uski...halat dekhkar I was shocked. Pee rakkhi thi usne and bohot zyada. Manik was not even in his senses par fir bhi he was trying to save that thing.. It was a ring.. A diamond ring. Fir main use lekar ghar gaya to wahan uske dad..Nandini.." He stopped.
They were all at Ranbir's place. After the ruckus at Manik's house, the three of them had carried him here. And then Ranbir called Mukti, who came over with Alia. Except for Navya, who was still at Nandini's house, stepping in for Nandini, in her absence, the entire clan was here. Manik was inside in the guest bedroom and Nandini was by his side. The rest of them were in the living room, where Ranbir was narrating the happenings of the day in hushed whispers. They had a lot to catch up on, especially Mukti who was angry that they had kept her out of everything. Fuck, she didn't even know the truth of Neel until now. But this wasn't the time for such whining. Right now, they had a much bigger problem at hand.
"Thanks yaar..thanks a lot. Agar tu time pe nahi aata to pata nahi.." Ranbir patted on Dhruv's shoulder.
"Acha, to ab tum mujhe thank karoga for saving Manik?" Dhruv yelled back, surprising everyone. "How long do you know him? Abhi to one month bhi nahi hua..Manik aur main, hum bachpan se saath hain, mujhe tumhare is thanks ki zaroorat nahi hai Manik ko help karne ke liye, so apna thanks please apne paas hi samhalke rakho."
Ranbir was taken aback. After being with Manik for the past one week and witnessing everything first hand throughout the day, he could bloody well imagine Manik's mental state. He was so pissed off with Nandini's grandma & Manik's dad that he could as well go and blow both their heads off. Instead, he snapped at Dhruv, who as usual was being this thick headed attention seeker. "Haan aur mahine bhar mein hi sample dekh chuka hun tumhari bachpan ki dosti ka.."
"Will you guys just stop being so difficult?" Alya interrupted. "Its not about you Dhruv or Ranbir, its about Manik right now. So can you both please cooperate?"
"Don't get me wrong guys, but I think we should just let the two of them be and leave for now." Mukti had a quick glance at her friends, and that same 'Are-You-Nuts' expression hung across all the faces."I am not saying we back out in such a critical time..jeeez..No.. Never..all I am trying to say is lets not make it awkward for Manik. He is upset, not sick ki we are waiting here for him to come out of coma. The more we treat him differently, the more uncomfortable he is going to feel. Let's just act as if nothing has happened, and let's just be in the support system. I am sure, once he is a little sorted, Wo khud, he himslf will reach out to us. I think we should give him that space....Kya bolta hai ranbir? Am I making any sense?"
"Haan to why asking me, bachpan ke dost ko pooch na, wo to walking encyclopedia hai na...when it comes to Manik."
"Dekhlo, you guys always blame me na, that I am selfish..dekhlo ab who is acting up." Came Dhruv's instant reply.
The girls gaped at each other. "Ranbir, tu chal mere flat par, Alya, take Dhruv with you. I think Manik and Nandini need some time together." It was not as much to grant them some alone time, as to avoid another brawl between them, that they decided to part ways for the rest of the night. In any case, Manik wasn't in senses and the only thing that could be worse than what already was, was Manik waking up to his friends fighting over him.
Mukti tiptoed inside the guest room to inform Nandini that they were leaving. Manik was lying on the bed, face down and next to him, Nandini was sitting on the floor, her back pressed to the wall. How, had she ever thought Nandini had moved on? It stuck her today that this is why they had drifted apart, not they but she, this is why she had withdrawn herself from Nandini, though they had never had a fight or even a trivial misunderstanding.
Mukti realized it now, looking at Nandini, that while her modern outer-self had been perfectly ok with Nandini seeing someone else, to her core, it had been unfair. It had been so damn hard for her to digest that the girl Manik loved to death, shall ever move on and date someone else.
May be, she had been unreasonable all this while, but that's how she was. Even in her own life, she had loved a man for few fleeting moments, but those few memories had been enough to keep her warm all her life. She had not fallen for anyone else and she probably would not. The transient nature of her parents' volatile relationship made her look for unending and undivided loyalty in every relationship and Abhimanyu had been just that.. True to her till his very last breath.
In her own unreasonable way, Mukti felt proud of Nandini.
**************
Nandini heard the thud, as they pulled the door after them. There was silence, except for the sickening ticktock of the desk clock. She gathered herself, got up, turned the AC off and opened the windows. It was drizzling outside, the last spell before the monsoon bid them goodbye. So much had happened over this past couple of months, life had taken such fast turns, changing places, shifting jobs, Neel, her family, her students and MANIK.
Despite everything, this bygone monsoon would always remain her favourite, for it had returned to her, her most favourite person, after three long years of draught.
She climbed on the bed, next to Manik. His shoes were still on, she took them off and silently placed them on the ground. He was still lying face down. Nandini cautiously turned him around, and pulled the quilt over him.
She curled into a ball , snuggling up against him, her tiny face filling in the gap between his face and the pillow underneath. She nuzzled her lips on his cheek and wrapped an arm around his neck. A tear rolled down from her eye on to his cheek and she hastily got up to wipe it before it awoke him. Her cries, she knew could wake him up...from sleep, from coma, perhaps even from the brink of death. As she swallowed the unfallen tears that clogged her throat and forced her to gasp for air, she noticed a tiny cut on his temple from under his silken strands, swept to the side. She ran her fingers over it, as her eyes began to cloud again. His wounds from the accident were still fresh.
She folded the quilt to pull it down to his waist and with her trembling hands, unbuttoned his shirt. His once beautiful chest was a battlefield, he had more cuts and bluish red patches there than she had ever seen in one place and many of them were given by her. His shirt had blood stains in many places, from the cuts, he must have sustained while fighting the goons in the bar. Nandini looked over the bedside table where that small jewelry box was sitting, its edges torn.
Nandini rushed down, stifling her sobs by pressing her palm tightly over her mouth and ran to the other room looking for a first aid box. She locked the door and finally letting go of her tears, slid on the floor. Her knees were huddled close to her body as she made her palms into a tight fist. digging nails in her own skin.
Tears trickled down her face incessantly as she spoke to herself in that dark empty room. 'I ...I coul...dn't shine for you Maaaniikk. I asked u to be with me fore..ever.... So that I cou..ld shine for u, par I coul..dn't.. All I did was give you are those scars, those ..those..tho..se bruises... I...I ..am..I am sorry Maaniik.. I am very sorry..Meri waj..ah se.. " She wanted to pick up something and hit herself with it, she wanted to bang her head against the door, anything that would let her feel the pain he was carrying himself...like she had done in Panchgani, slashed her wrist in desperation. But she wouldn't do it today, she would not hurt him more to relieve herself of her guilt. Neither that, nor wean herself away from him like she had 4 years ago when he was in hospital, fighting to save his septicemic hand. She would do none of that bullshit, selfsacrificing nonsense. She would simply brush the dust off her, pick her balls and bearings , stand next to him and fight..fight for him, for herself and for them. So what if she couldn"t shine for him yet, she would do it now, she would heal every scar, every wound he bore on his skin and his heart, fill in for every failed relationship he had grown up around & repaint every single sad memory from his childhood.
Nandini wiped her tears and returned to the guest room.
One by one, she applied medicine on each of his wounds and sealed them with a kiss and a silent prayer. The new day would bring in new light. They would be just fine. She pulled up the quilt back & slipped in next to him, wrapping him with her tender little hands.