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Nandini drank the juice, and a little later, the effects of the drink started. She began to feel hot. She thought she felt so because the place was crowded. She moved away from the crowd and when she found an open door, she went outside.
A little later, Manik's phone started ringing, so he moved away from the crowd and received the call. When he was done and he was about to go back, he spotted a girl outside at a distance. It didn't take long for him to recognize that it was Nandini. He couldn't figure out what she was doing all alone outside, so he went out to check on her.
Nandini was sitting on a swing.
Manik : "What are you doing alone here?"
Nandini : "I am flying."
Manik : "You are sitting on a swing, but it isn't even moving, then how are you flying?"
She rubbed her eyes and looked at him, as though she was looking at something strange. Nandini then looked in all directions to confirm if she was really sitting on a swing and not flying. She looked confused. She was expressing whatever she felt freely since she was drunk.
Nandini : "I will believe that I am sitting and not flying since you are saying so."
The way she was behaving didn't seem fine to Manik.
Manik : "Are you alright?"
Nandini : "No, I am not. Something is wrong with my eyes. I feel as though my surroundings are moving. I am also seeing two of you, but you are actually only one."
Based on what she said and how she was behaving, Manik came to the conclusion that Nandini was drunk.
Manik : "You are probably drunk."
Nandini : "Drunk and me? I don't even touch the bottle or glass which contains alcohol."
Manik : "That I know. Did you drink something else?"
Nandini : "Yes, I had juice and it was very yummy."
Manik thought that she had alcohol by mistake, but he wanted to confirm.
Manik : "What juice did you have? .. What color was it?"
She was tapping her face with one finger and thinking.
Nandini : "It was orange in color, but it didn't taste fully like orange. I think it was mixed juice, but I am not able to figure out what other juice was mixed along with it. Whatever it was, it was good. I wanted to have more, but I couldn't find the juice which had the same taste. Can you ask Alya and get some for me?"
Manik : "How would Alya know what you had?"
Nandini : "She would know because she was the one who gave it to me."
Manik : "Alya gave it to you? Are you sure?"
Nandini : "Suprising, isn't it? She was also talking so sweetly to me today. I can't believe she is the same Alya who didn't like me. I didn't understand why she didn't like me before, or why she was so nice to me today."
Abhi couldn't tell Nandini what exactly Alya thought about Nandini because that would upset her. So he had told Nandini that Alya didn't like her mingling with Fab5, especially Manik, since Alya is possessive about him. For many years it was only them, so Alya isn't ready to accept Nandini's entry in their lives.
It explained why they wanted her to stay away from Manik and the rest of them. But Nandini hadn't been able to understand why Alya would go to the extent of pushing her or filing a complaint against her for that reason. If Alya would have expressed the same before, then Nandini would have stayed away from them earlier itself.
Manik thought that Nandini felt that Alya didn't like her because Alya and her dad filed a complaint against her. Even he didn't want to tell Nandini what Alya thought of her. So,
Manik : "Alya had an accident and she wasn't in the right frame of mind, so she misunderstood you. Now that she is fine, her misconception must have got cleared. Otherwise, I doubt there will be anyone who wouldn't like you."
Nandini : "It isn't the accident. She didn't like me even otherwise."
Manik : "What made you feel that she didn't like you?"
Nandini : "If she did, why would she try to get rid of me, that too two times?"
Manik : "Two times? What did she do?"
Nandini's attention had got diverted towards her fingers. She was trying to show two using her fingers, but she couldn't. She was holding two fingers, but her eyes were betraying her, so she was seeing four. She tried to feel her fingers with the other hand, and she felt it was only two. She was confused because of that. Manik held her hand.
Manik : "I got it, it was two times. What did she do?"
Nandini : "She? Who?"
Manik : "Alya."
Nandini : "Alya? Who?"
Manik felt that she was too intoxicated to answer his question.
Nandini : "Oh... Alya... your girlfriend."
Manik : "Now, do you remember what we were talking about?"
Nandini : "Sshhh... don't disturb me.. I am doing something important."
Manik waited for sometime. Nandini's expression showed that she was frustrated.
Manik : "What happened now?"
Nandini : "I am not able to find a suitable match."
Manik : "Tell me what you are trying to match. I will see if I can find one for you."
Nandini : "Not for me, for you."
Manik : "For me? What are you trying to match?"
Nandini : "You are a superhero. So I was trying to think of a suitable role for Alya to match you, but I am not able to find one. When I think of her, I can only see a witch or a she-devil or a.... oops sorry!"
She suddenly realized what she was saying, so she held her ears and made cute faces.
She had been imagining Manik wearing a cape like a superhero. When she tried to imagine Alya, once she saw Alya with two horns on her head like a she-devil. Another time, she could imagine her with long pointy nails like a witch. The third time, she imagined her with fangs like a vampire.
Manik : "There is no need to apologize."
He took her hands off her ears. She had once again lost track of what she was doing and why. She figured out that she was apologizing because Manik said so.
Nandini : "Why was I apologizing?... Actually, I wanted to thank you for saving me."
Manik didn't understand what he did now for her to thank him.
Manik : "I didn't do anything to save you now."
Nandini : "Not now. It has been pending from a long (she stretched the word) time. I didn't get a chance to thank you. You saved me from going to the prison. Thank you for that. Another thank you for saving me from landing in the hospital."
Manik understood the prison part but not the hospital part.
Manik : "How would you have landed in the hospital?"
Nandini : "If I would have fallen down, I would have landed in the hospital."
Manik : "From where were you going to fall? How and when did I save you?"
Nandini : "That day at college, I would have fallen from the top..."
She raised her hands to show from the top and her attention got diverted towards the sky.
Nandini : "l would have also turned into a star like Mom and Dad. They went to the hospital and never came back."
Manik tried to question her again about the incident, but she had turned sad. So instead of digging the past at that moment, he decided to handle the situation at hand.
Manik : "Are you sad because you are remembering your parents?"
Nandini : "I am not able to see them today. They have got lost in the crowd. See, there are so many stars and they are all dancing. How will I find them?"
Nandini was seeing multiples of them and her vision was also blurry. She was still trying to find her parents.
Manik : "They are also probably having a party with their friends today, that's why you are seeing too many stars. Try tomorrow, I am sure you will be able to find them."
Nandini : "Friends? .. You should also be with your friends. What are you doing here?"
Manik : "I saw you here, so I came to get you."
Nandini : "You should go and join them. I will go home. I am feeling sleepy."
Nandini got up wobbling. She stepped forward, but she lost balance and Manik held her.
Manik : "You aren't even able to stand properly, and you are planning to go home on your own?"
She managed to stand without Manik's help.
Nandini : "See, I can stand properly. It is the ground which is irregular."
Manik : "Instead of going to your house to sleep right now, you can sleep here. I will tell Abhi to take you home later."
Nandini : "The ground is so irregular, how will I sleep here?"
Manik : "I didn't mean on the ground. You can sleep on the bed, at my house."
She agreed and stepped forward, but she lost balance again and Manik held her.
Manik : "You won't be able to walk on your own, so hold onto me."
Nandini : "How will you be able to walk if the ground is irregular, when I am not able to? We both will fall."
Manik knew she wasn't in a position to understand the reality, so he went with what she was saying.
Manik : "Neither will I fall, nor will I let you fall. It is my house yard, so I am used to walking on this ground from a long time. It is new to you, so I will guide you through it. Would that be fine?"
Nandini agreed and they started walking. Nandini continued to talk and ask questions, and Manik responded to her questions patiently, in a way which could convince her. Manik took her to the backside door of the house. He didn't want people to see Nandini in that condition.
Manik : "We will go inside using the backside door. I want you to be quiet for some time."
Nandini started whispering.
Nandini : "We aren't thieves, then why are we entering quietly through the backside door?"
Manik : "We are playing hide and seek. Till we find a place to hide, we don't want anyone to find us."
Nandini : "We aren't kids to play hide and seek."
Manik : "I felt like behaving like a kid today and you are giving me company. I don't want to get caught, so I want you to be very quiet for sometime."
Nandini : "Who are we hiding from?"
Manik : "I will tell you later. For now, I want you to be very quiet. No talking .. no questions .. no whispering also, till I tell you."
Nandini nodded her head and kept her index finger on her lips.
Manik opened the door. After making sure, no one was around, he brought Nandini inside and took her to the nearest guest room. He closed the door.
Manik : "You can speak now."
Nandini was quiet and her eyes were closed. Manik thought she was asleep already. So he picked her up to carry her to bed, but she woke up with a jerk. Manik wasn't sure if she was aware of her surroundings or not.
Manik : "Nandini, it's me, Manik. You were feeling sleepy, so I am putting you to bed at my house. Abhi will take you home later."
She leaned onto him and went to sleep. Manik put her to bed. Nandini was holding onto his shirt. He slowly freed her hands and covered her with a blanket. After confirming she was fast asleep, he switched off the main lights, switched on a night light, locked the door and went out.
Manik felt at peace. He had managed to reach her and keep her safe before she wandered out of their house premises. Also, he was able to meet her and talk to her after quite sometime, though she wasn't fully in her senses.