The Broken Strings : A Manan ff (Chapter 10)

Nandini’s P.O.V ~

My hands were unsteady, shaking, as I picked up my phone and debated whether to call him or not. He was leaving in 24 hrs, and I had one last chance to meet him. But dad had ordered me not to see him anymore. What do I do? My mind was flooded with hundreds of thoughts when my phone started ringing loudly. This One Direction’s Most Annoying Ringtone really was very annoying.
” Hello? ” I answered the phone in a much bored and drained out voice, not caring who was on the other end of the line.
” What happened to your voice? ” The familiar voice spoke and I knew at once that it was none other than the person I was debating whether to call or not… Manik.
” Nothing much. What’s up? ” I asked trying to sound normal. But I knew I was sounding horrible.
” Okay, how was your exam? Don’t say it sucked. I know you must’ve rocked it, ” He said as I heard a little chuckle from his end.
” I did great, for a change. Thanks for asking though… ” I said. ” Did you call only to ask about my exams, or is it something else? ” I added.
He was quiet for a while. I only heard some shuffling going on, but not his voice. ” Manik, are you there? ” I asked hoping he hadn’t hung up on me.
” Yeah, yeah I’m there. Sorry, ” He muttered.
” Okay, listen, if you’re free today, can we meet? It’s kinda… important? ” I asked. I knew I had only one chance to meet him, nobody would even come to know about it! It was just so hard to let him go without saying goodbye. But it was not just about goodbye. It was also about the stupid article that was printed in the newspapers.
” Sure, what time and place? ”
” Half an hour, near the lake? If that’s okay with you… oh, and there won’t be many people around there. ” I said.
” Yeah, o-okay. I’ll see you then, bye, ” He said quickly and hung up. Something in his voice told me that he too wanted to talk to me about something. Maybe he too had seen the newspapers and wants to talk about it. But what if he starts hating me because of those articles? I’m certainly not good for his image…
Maybe I won’t see him again, but I only wanted to make things clear between us before he left.
I had reached the lake-side way too early. I had to wait another ten minutes for Manik and being the impatient person I was, I kept looking at the watch every now and then.
In front of me, was one of the few most quiet and beautiful places in Mumbai. It’s really hard to find peace in this city. But this one place was my favourite. I used to come here as a kid with Navya and we used to throw pebbles in the water. There was always a competition – who’s pebble will go farthest? I used to let Navya win. I never regretted losing that game. The expression on Navya’s face when she won, was more important to me. She was my baby sister… and still is…
I was facing the lake, thinking about the old happy times, when a little tap on my shoulder startled me.
” Boo. ” Came a little voice from my back. I jumped a little at the voice. Ofcourse it was Manik… whom I’d been expecting since last ten minutes.
” That’s not a very good way to greet someone, ” I said.
He laughed. ” You zoned out again, huh? Nandini in wonderland. We should make a movie like that, what say? ” He said standing beside me.
” That wasn’t such a polite greeting, but anyway… Nice to meet you, ” I said refusing to look at him.
” Nice to meet you too. ” He said shrugging as we stood in silence looking at the lake with still water surrounded by tall green trees. Now this silence wasn’t comforting at all. It was killing me from inside. So many things were left unsaid… so many thoughts were piled up in my head. I don’t know why, but I wanted him to say something first. Say something Manik!
” Okay! So this silence is depressing. ” He stated as if he read my mind.
” I-I know… ” I said. We sighed.
” We need to talk, ” We both said at the same time. Great. I could feel the tension in the air around me increase. The only question that popped in my mind was… what are we?
No, that wasn’t the only question. Are we friends? Will we ever see each other again? And the most important question… What do I feel for him?
” Alright, shoot. What is it? ” He asked bringing me back to reality. Yeah we needed to talk.
Here goes nothing… ” Well, about yesterday… that article- ” I trailed off, but he cut me off in between. He seemed really annoyed with something.
” I know, I know. I read that. It’s in almost all the newspapers and on Twitter, ” He said as if he was really annoyed by that news. I stayed still like a stone. ” I’m sorry Nandu, I guess I had an idea about all this. I should’ve been more careful, ” He said nervously. I still had that dumbfounded expression on my face.
Nandini, it’s not the right time to act so dumb! Speak up! My mind said but I just kept looking at him as if I hadn’t heard anything he said.
” You look creepy with that dumbfounded expression. It’s cute, but it’s kinda creepy too. So snap out of it Nandu… ” He said snapping his fingers in front of me, dragging me back to reality.
” I-I I’m sorry, ” I muttered looking away, but I could still feel his eyes on me.
” So? ” He asked, slightly annoyed by my cold reaction. ” So… what? ” I asked.
” So Nandini, what do you have to say to what I just said? Were you even listening? ” He asked.
” Of-Ofcourse I was! What are you saying?! I’m not deaf, okay? I was just thinking about what you said, ” I said defensively.
” Look, I’m really sorry if I caused you any trouble. But, I’m leaving tomorrow… ” He said.
Leaving… He was leaving. He’ll forget me? He’ll forget everything? The question here was… did I even want him to go? Did I want us to remain friends? Or was it something more than that… I had no freaking idea what was happening to me. All I could see was that I was probably losing a dear friend. Or a friend that could have been something more…
” Nandu? Say something… ” He said placing his hand on my shoulder.
” I think I’ll… I’ll miss you, ” I blurted out and surprisingly, did not regret saying it. I guess I just wanted to say it, and it wasn’t a lie. I would miss him. I would miss somebody whom I’d met a couple of days ago. But that somebody had somehow become an important part of my life… I just couldn’t figure out in what way. What were we? Us. Him & me…
Suddenly, I felt two strong arms wrap around me, pulling me into a warm hug. Oh God, his scent… He smelled so good!
” I’ll miss you too Nandini. I’ll miss you a lot… ” He said resting his chin on my head. I could hear his faint heartbeat as I clung on to him. It felt so warm, safe, happy there in his arms. I felt like this was the feeling I was longing for…
” Don’t worry Nandu, I’ll be back soon, ” He said rubbing my head. I didn’t even notice that a single tear had somehow managed to make its way out of my eye socket.
Why was I crying? Why didn’t I want him to go? Why this feeling?

***

I know it was sad ? ? But we’ve a special next chapter where they confess their feelings followed by romance. So yeah, keep commenting cause I feel no ones reading this ff. Prove me wrong guys! Do comment