The Enchantress |COMPLETE| MaNan Fiction

5. Pursuit of Serendipity

A/N : This is a deep chapter with lots of revelations, this will leave you right into the middle of the plot. Hope you enjoy! Do share your comments & tell me your thoughts on these characters? Are you liking the dark tone of the story?

Happy Reading!

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Nandini:

"Between the ones' we have ever wanted, and the ones we eventually choose, lies either our strength or our weakness." ~ Voice of the Ocean, Nandini.

I wish more women saw this. We don't need others to tell us if we are strong or not? Our choice screams out who we are, whom we let ourselves be, for the sake of loved ones. Sitting next to a hollow-eyed Navya staring lifelessly at Armaan's sleepy demand of stories, I realized, amongst all the grief, agony, unfairness life has thrown at me, it had given me a weapon, my writing – my writing liberated me, but Navya?

After dinner, when we were about to leave, Navya suddenly turned to me and said, "Nandini, will you stay the night with me?" she didn't say more, and I didn't need to hear more. I had noticed Navya all evening, I was in fact waiting for an opportunity to talk to her. She had never looked more listless before, and I knew her. She was never a damsel in distress, she was a fighter. She was the same Navya who had lost her dad too early in life, and yet she fought to ensure Manik never felt the void. She was always more mature than her years. If she was defeated, the cause had to be great. I nodded in affirmation, and deep within me pride nudged at me. I was happy I didn't feel the need to take into consideration Manik's presence here before standing by Navya tonight – if that happened; my guilt would know no bounds.

"Navya, Armaan has dozed off. Let's get some coffee and talk?" I suggested quietly.

"Let's go for a drive and get coffee? I need some fresh air Nandini." She replied softly.

"Armaan will be fine here right?" I enquired.

"Don't worry, I will ask the butler to keep an eye on him"

~An hour later~

It was windy here, and at this time of the night, almost empty. We were sitting on the deserted benches under the inky night. The moisture laden wind from the sea blasting through my ears and nostrils and taking me to memories lost far back in time. As a child I would come here with my 'Amma' and 'Appa' in the evening. Worli Sea face was the residential area for the elitists in town – where there were vintage bungalows on one side, there was the vast open river on the other. My parents would bring me on weekends in the evening, I would sit here with them, have ice-cream, laugh and have a good time. Maybe it was these memories here, or the soothing sea breeze itself, but the years of life that followed, I had found that, sitting here, staring at the river always calmed me down.

I turned to Navya, "What have you done to yourself, Navya?"

She smiled a little in mockery, in response to my question. "Nandini, this feels so good. Just like old times. Only this time, the tables have turned. This time I am here with a heavy heart and seeking advice from you!"

I smiled. During the time Navya and I bonded in college, my father was a few years into marriage with 'Mumma' and they had Aal, I had lost my 'Amma' and I was going through an identity crisis, I felt I didn't fit in my own family. This was the time Navya stood by me like a rock solid pillar. She didn't have a dad either. Just her mom and a younger brother.

"Navya, you know you can talk to me right? Why didn't you call me yourself? What is bothering you? Since when did we grow all this distant? I thought...." but she didn't let me complete it.