~And just when we think we are shaping life; life is shaping us.~
"I, Manik Malhotra, take you, Ms. Beautiful Nandini Murthy, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life"
"I, Nandini Murthy, take you, Mr. Adorable Manik Malhotra, to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life."
Manik leaned on gently holding my elbows as I watched him with twinkle in my eyes. He leaned a little more and I dodged laughing at him. Being all foggy he opened his eyes and the more muddled he looked the more I bursted into laughter in the empty church where my laughter was echoing as loud as the plane crashing.
He rested his hands on either side of his waist and kept sternly staring at me stating clearly how he disliked the impediment.
"Aww look at your face" I purposely teased to irritate the hell out of him.
"We were supposed to kiss." His lips thereafter formed a thin line.
Without voicing anything I just simply raised my brows at him indicating him to be kind enough to elaborate.
"Because that's what happens in a wedding, duh!" He rolled his eyes.
"Correction Mr.Malhotra. That's what happens in a real wedding where there is a father, best man, friends and relatives and other well wishers and don't you forget we were just practicing and so kindly control this basorexia of yours." I clarified knowing it'd displease him all the more.
He parted his lips, definitely to keep reasoning his stand but chose to give up.
"You know what Nandini, I really shouldn't be wasting my words on you. You are pathetic. Basorexia, seriously?." Jerking his head in sideways he began to leave and I held his hand because for his love I always was as thirsty as a camel.
When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you...
I sang lowly cajoling him with my horribly done puppy face and he couldn't help smiling.
He dragged me into his grip like the clouds sway in the wind.
"Manik?" I whispered staring into his eyes which refused to leave mine even for a jiffy.
"Nandini?" He smiled.
"When we'll get married na, there will be flowers at the every corner. I can't deny my love for them and doesn't matter of what size the wedding will be but the attendees must be the genuine ones. I don't want people to come and fake some smiles who we know are bound to gossip at our back." I stated resting my hands flat on his titan chest.
"Madam, as you say. My parents would be crazy hearing their son's getting married, like they always knew I freaked out at the concept of marriage since forever and now it is me walking up to them seeking to get married. Life's strange." He stated pinching his brows while the glow of happiness never left his face.
I smiled.
"But they'd be happy too." I straightened the creases on his brows with ny fingers.
"Well, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. "But what about your paren......" he stopped in the midway and I lowered my eyes not wanting to face the topic.
As he loosened his grip a little, giving him a feeble smile I distanced myself and slowly walked out of the church not because of any overpowering burden in my chest but only to avoid the aroused discomforting situation.
The soon I came out I realised it was chilling outside as it was snowing. Having glanced at the clouded sky above I rubbed my palms together and kept walking slothfully till the railing of the cliff which was covered with a thick layer of snow. The snow falling aimlessly was beautifying everything like they were the kisses from heaven. Thanks to my high leather boots that eased my walking through it. Standing by the railing I realised I couldn't desire anything more from this life. The entire city from the altitude looked ethereal under such snow with the yellow lights of those huts and houses glowing like the fireflies. It definitely felt that those thousands of stars whom I wished to came falling from the heaven in the form of these snowflakes.
As I felt the touch of a known hand on mine which was resting on the iron railing, I felt peace.
"I'm...sorry Nandini. I didn't realise umm... I was talking in a flow and...." I stared at him excusing myself from those clouds above.
He kept studying my eyes to measure the depth of pain he caused me by his words.
"And I thought we are above this 'explanation business'.." I whispered near his ear and he still kept observing me.
"We just understand without explaining it to one another Manik. That's us. Don't change what we are." I asserted and he held my hand tighter with a promise of an eternity in those almond eyes.
"Every time I see you, I'm more convinced that we madly belong to each other." He uttered while I was noticing the snowflakes resting on his shoulder and chest.
"Because we aren't right for anyone else." Wrapping my hands around his, I rested my head on his bicep adding a new moment of peace to album of our happiness.
They don't know how special you are
They don't know what you've done to my heart
They can say anything they want 'cause they don't know about us
They don't know what we do best, that's between me and you, our little secret
But I wanna tell 'em
I wanna tell the world that you're mine girl
They don't know about the things we do
They don't know about the "I love yous"
But I bet you if they only knew
They would just be jealous of us,
They don't know about the up all nights
They don't know I've waited all my life
Just to find a love that feels this right
Baby they don't know about
They don't know about us
***
Next day
At college:
"Ah it is a terrible day Cabir." I sulked over the phone grabbing a hot chocolate from the counter at the canteen.
"I know college must be really very boring without me, eh? But kya karein my viral fever didn't serve me a seven-day notice before intruding inside." He stated with all the sarcasm in his voice while I chose not to laugh at his diseased jokes.
"Jeez, get well soon Cabir so that I find you humorous again." I sipped on the shake walking out of the canteen towards the garden at the backyard of the college premises.
"Well Nandini, I love that our relation is based on the importance of insulting each other." I sighed nodding my head sideways.
"But accurately if I say........" I suddenly paused as I was staggered seeing Soha hugging Manik at the backyard at the distance of only few steps from where I stood.
I tried to hold it in but my eyes were moist on their own. People may call it jealousy but I call it the fear of losing the best person of my life because I knew in no other world I could find myself a man like that and the love I had for him was endless. They'll never understand what a love like this can feel like.
Wiping the tears away I turned around to have a last glance at their hugging frames and when it was all felt and realised, I left college to find myself some peace at the Butterfly Hill.
Stifled in the robe of an upcoming dusk were my all thoughts, memories and feeling regarding just one person. There were thousands of ifs, whys and hows I was fighting with that the happiness I was dwelling in seemed threatened.
"Cafe latte with brown sugar" I gasped since the clifftop was remotely remote but the inner strings of my heart composed itself recognising the voice.
I looked down at my side and found one covered coffee cup being pushed at my direction on the rock I sat. Without glancing at the owner of the hand, I picked the cup up and uncovered the lid mixing the sugar.
"Sunsets are peaceful.." I muttered rotating the stirrer melting the sugar.
"And it holds a lot of promises in it." He said.
"I love the peace the sky gives me as if I'm made of stars and clouds myself." Putting the cup aside, I drew my knees closer hugging them.
We both knew what happened there. I knew he knew I witnessed them together. He knew I was hurt.....yet there's that peace because at the end all that we had was endless love and trust for one another.
"You love the stars quite a lot na?" Manik asked gazing at my face which was lost at the beauty of the yellow and reddish hue of the sky due to the sun bidding us bye for a night.
"They're...beautiful." I kept looking above.
"Every beautiful thing has a terrible side, Nandini." He sipped on his chocolate shake.
"Beautiful has only one type whereas terrible has many" I mouthed lowly and felt his warming hand resting on mine. I was home.
"She came to the college bec....."
"Manik, can we please not discuss it? See... I.. I trust you and I love you and to me these are the biggest truths of my life else I don't want to be bothered about anything now that has the possibilities of upsetting us." I put together my thoughts in the form of words.
"Then there should be nothing hanging unfinished between us. C'mon Nandini, let's face it." He wrapped his hand around my back and my petite fingers played with his slender ones.
He expressed and conveyed everything to me like why she was there and what all she demanded and I weakly kept my heavy head on his supportive shoulder.
"You know Nandini, we both have done something great in our lives." I raised my head from his shoulder gazing at his face.
"And..what is that?" I quizzed.
"Give our hearts to one another" he planted a promise on my forehead in the form of a peck.
I rested my head back on his shoulder enjoying the calmness around whilst he held me more protectively.
•••••
"And what help do u exactly expect from me?" Aaliya questioned Soha sitting in a high end waterside cafeteria in the late evening.
"There's something precious of mine that she's keeping with herself. And although she looks harmless......" Soha's allegations got knifed.
"Uh uh uh? What did you just say? Harmless?" She snickered "Don't let her innocent face fool you girl. She can be anything but harmless. Because I know what a bitch she is...." The abhorrence in those thin eyes imparted the depth of hatred she had for me.
Soha watched Aaliya for a little while in the meantime the latter composed herself from getting all that revulsive.
"So my advise to you is, if she's keeping something you call precious then all you got to do is snatch it from her before she keeps it forever....... which must be her only aim now." Aaliya got up from her seat and placed her share of money for the finger food served, signalling her departure.
"Maybe, together we could be of some help?" Getting up from her chair, Soha called her back.
Aaliya turned around looking at those few eyeballs that her high pitched tone attracted. She came back to where her other crime seeking partner was and stood crossing her hands while the pricey handbag kept hanging from her elbow.
"And why would I exactly want to help you?" Aaliya smirked wickedly and Soha sniggered.
"Because the hatred in your eyes isn't settled yet." Soha smirked.
The barbie girl, Aaliya bobbed her head lowering her eyes conveying deep thoughtfulness.
"Maybe we could sit and talk some business?" Soha raised her brows though that smirk never left her lips and without answering anything back Aaliya grabbed her chair.
"I....think I exactly know what to do." Aaliya stated while Soha made a toast.
"This time you deserve something bigger and worse Nandini....." Aaliya cursed in her mind as all the old flames of her detestation got fanned once again.
But all they failed to understand was hatred no matter how many shades of intensity and layers of redness and darkness it had in it, it still was a weak feeling. It was like that acid which they ate themselves and died even before they're killed. If hatred was blind then so was our love.
Our love was sharpened and strengthened by the stone of those challenges and the struggles we fought together.
Love,
Rai.